Not a Drop to Drink: Mindy McGinnis
Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, animals, and, most importantly, people. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all. Lynn has no need to leave her home and near by woods. Living in what the world has become means dedicating your life to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having her own personal pond means having to defend it 24/7. Luckily Lynn's mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.
With smoke appearing on the horizon it can only 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 steal it from her.
I read this book awhile back, but when I saw that it was EpicReads book of the month I figured I would post my review for it on here. When I first saw this book I wanted it right away. The cover is so striking.
I think that a lot of times when people think about dystopian/world ending novels the fact that water might be something that people are fighting and willing to die over oddly wouldn't even pop into mind. Mcginnis has taken a different spin on dystopian novels.
This book had so much going for it. It wasn't a novel where the angsty teen age girl falls head over heels in love with a mysterious man with some kind of super power and her and her lover run off into a government building and try to save the world (don't get me wrong I love novels like that as much as the next ya fan) but this book had so much heart. It isn't a book that's trying to shove a massive amount of chase scenes or gun battles in it even though there are some, or trying to come up with a million different categories for the characters to fall into... Mcginnis took something that would seem so simple and made it into something so beautiful.
To me Not a Drop to Drink, is what I imagine it would be like if the world did have a disaster or plague. Lynn and her mother have spent their lives living just together in their home defending the pond in the backyard. Lynn's more or less happy with the way of life that she's been taught and that's to focus on the essentials and surviving. After a series of events Lynn is left alone and having to rebuild her world.
All of the characters in this novel are stark, but with so much hidden beauty and strength. Watching Lynn break down, and then have to find the strength inside herself to move and and to start trusting people is really something to read. Eli is the definition of character development. He starts as such a small person but becomes someone you can really get behind. Neva is a sweet and loveable character and will steal your heart.
I love how subtle the romance is with Lynn and Eli. It's never over the top, and it's falls way closer to realistic than other ya novels I've read. Getting to know McGinnis characters was like how you go to know your own friends. Slow and steady. The world building is easy to come by in this book because everything seems to feel like it does right now. No crazy locations or places. This book for the most part keeps a pretty steady and light tone the whole time. There aren't any of the usual explosions, mass deaths, and chaos that you might find in a typical dystopian, and the book is stronger for this. Instead, the shocking moments are very human-driven and makes for a bigger impact on the whole story. I know that I usually write sillier and more lax reviews, but I felt this one needed a little more seriousness behind it. This will be a book you didn't see coming.
Not only will the cover of this book catch your eyes the pages between will really make you think and be thankful to have water at your fingertips.
8/10 Stars
-Angela
