#Review: NOT A DROP TO DRINK by Mindy McGinnis

NOT A DROP TO DRINK

Author: Mindy McGinnis
Series: Not A Drop To Drink #1
Source: Purchased from BookOutlet
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: September 24, 2013
Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary:
Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water.

Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.

Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.

But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it….

With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own. 

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

I picked NOT A DROP TO DRINK up because the cover is cool and then read that that MC is named Lynn (which is my mom's name!) so I bought it. #impulsebuy But I am REALLY glad that I did because I really enjoyed it! I liked that even though this is a dystopian, it isn't about FIGHTING THE POWER! It is more about survival vs living and what that means in a time when you really only have the option to do one.

I loved the writing in this one. I liked being in Lynn's head to see what she felt and how she made her decisions. I liked seeing her evolution of how she viewed the world because I would use the same adjectives to describe her from pre-Mother death and post-Mother death, but they would mean different things. Lynn goes from being tough and frightened about surviving winter to tough and frightened about protecting those she cares about. And it's SO GREAT!! You can see her little heart warm up to people and I love it. It is definitely one worth reading.

ALSO! This book isn't about "taking down the government" as so many dystopian novels are: it is about what it means to survive and if this overlaps with what it means to live. Because as our characters find out, they are not the same thing. I liked seeing the general consensus and shifting mindsets about surviving in this barren land to living in this barren land. I liked that it wasn't about how the government is evil and atrocious, but that everyone was doing what they had to to survive... but maybe they could do a little better in order to really live.

I did not like parts of the ending however. I thought some stuff at the end was a little too convenient and a little too easy for the characters. I wanted there to be a little more resistance than what they got but there is a companion novel, IN A HANDFUL OF DUST, so maybe it will look at that more for me. I also didn't really enjoy the romance because it felt kinda insta-love to me but I was okay with how that played out tbh.

I recommend this book if you are looking for a different take on the dystopian narrative. It has so much to offer about what could happen in the future and how instead of rolling over and playing at living, we should embrace what happens and live our lives to the fullest.