Not A Drop To Drink

Today’s post is on Not A Drop To Drink by Mindy McGinnis. It is 309 pages long and is published by Katherine Tegen Books. The cover has a very desolate landscape with a pond and a house with a girl on the roof. The story is told from third person close of the main character Lynn. The intended reader is older young adult and adults and for good reason. There is some language, talk of rape, and a lot of violence so older young adult and up just for the best. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water.
Lynn knows every threat to her pond; drought, a snowless winter, and, most important, 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 had 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 rooftops, rifles in hand.
But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, the nighttime threats, and the 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 from our own.

Review-This is a very dark book but it is very well written and I liked it. The main character grows so much over the course of the book. She starts out strong but over time she becomes compassionate which makes her stronger. In this world were water is controlled or tainted with disease Lynn makes hope. That does not happen until the end of the book but the ending is so different and good from the beginning. In the beginning Lynn and her Mother are alone and they want to stay that way. Trusting no one and needing no one else they kill to protect what little they have. At the end of the book Lynn has made a safe haven for other people to come and live. She has given others hope to survive and even comes to a place of forgiveness for herself and others. The last two lines of the book was very moving.

Lynn watched as he reached the pond, his long tongue hungrily happing at the life-giving water. “Leave him be,” she said. “He’s just trying to survive. Same as us all.”

The reason that is so moving is that is the coyote that killed her mother. Her character is so good at the end. There is a lot of darkness in this book with the world in the shape that it is in but if you are willing to brave it I think that you will like this piece.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I was given a copy of this book for free to review by the publisher.