Not a Drop to Drink

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After finishing this book, my initial reactions were simply these words - stark, spare, clean, bare, raw. Sad. Determinedly good.

This story follows Lynn, a young girl in a dystopian world where water, food, and supplies in general are in short supply. Those in the cities are starving and desperate. People out in the rural areas, like Lynn, are better off but unprotected. Lynn and her mother spend their days defending their house and land and pond while surviving the elements and attacks from coyotes and strangers, some good, some bad, some tragic.

Lynn is a sympathetic protagonist who has been raised to survive. Her survival skills are not secondary but rather simply the way she is. Her mother is a hermit by necessity while yearning for community. Because of the way she has raised Lynn, Lynn is conflicted when presented with the compassion she feels for strangers who come into her world. Her willingness to trust grows slowly, balanced with her background and current situation.

There is a romance with Eli, a boy who gradually enters Lynn's world. It is honest and sweet, unlike most YA romances. It is a side happening, with most of the action focused on the defense of Lynn's property.

A surprisingly likable character is Stebbs. Stebbs is a neighbor who has known Lynn and her mother for many years. He is a bit of a curmudgeon, offering sound advice to Lynn and telling her the truth while also communicating his compassion and regret.

And offsetting the plain black-and-white view of Lynn's world was Lucy, a young girl with an innocent but honest view of people. Lucy changes Lynn dramatically through the course of the book.

While it seems that a story about a girl just defending her land would drag along, this plot is anything but slow. It has a steady pace that is gripping. it is realistic. It is at times devastating. The world building is good but not great. The details are revealed bit by bit, but I never felt that I really got a good grasp on the way things were and why. The ending wrapped up well, but I think it could have gone another way and been just as good. Still, it fit the tone of the book.

This book was narrated on audio by Cassandra Campbell. At first she sounded flat, giving the characters little to no depth. But as the book went along, it became obvious that it was the characters themselves that were not flat but simply bleak. The narration fit the story extremely well, especially the contrast between the voices of Lynn, Eli, and Lucy.

This book did an amazing job of raising the question of whether it is enough to simply survive. Do we need community? Do we long for it even when it is dangerous? Is living enough if it is simply surviving?

It is thought provoking and serious while being easy to read. I recommend this one highly.



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