Published: September
24th, 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books
Source:
Purchased
Format: Audio
book narrated by
Genre:
Dystopian
Age group:
Young adult
Grade rate: B
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.
My Review
McGinnis’ Not a Drop to Drink is a raw and intense
depiction of the life shortly after a catastrophic event takes place. This is dystopian at its best.
The story starts a few months before Lynn’s mother passes
away and it gives the reader a clear idea of what life is like about 16 years
after ‘it’ happened. What exactly happened? I’m not sure.
It’s really not explained very well, but the gist of it is that water no
longer flows through the pipes, there is no electricity, law and government are
non-existent, production of essential items has stopped, and it’s an “every man
for himself” kind of situation. That
is, except if you live in a city, in which case you have to pay for everything
and adhere to sever rules. This new life (the only that Lynn has known) is hard
and harsh and reminds me of the Wild West of 100 years or more ago. You get the idea, right? The difference though is that the people
retained knowledge and that makes this transition easier.
Lynn’s mother is a very hard woman. She opted to stay in her family’s farm house
in Ohio, since she had a pond by the house and she was expecting a child. She
raised her daughter to be self sufficient, but completely isolated and
unprepared to deal with other people, and sorely lacking in the social
graces. Thus, Lynn is very
straightforward, rude, and even ruthless. She is self-assured and knows
what’s right and wrong only in the context of the situation. I think the
character of Stebbs, Lynn’s neighbor, acts like a paternal figure for her when
she needs it the most. He shows her a
quite sort of affection and kindness.
Lucy is a
five-year-old girl that Lynn sort of adopts, which is surprising to me because
it’s somewhat out of character for her.
On the other hand, it serves for Lynn to find purpose; it reminded
me to The Life of Pi in that
regard. The other important character is
Eli, Lucy’s uncle, which is about Lynn’s age and is the love interest. The
romance is not a big part of the story and I felt indifferent towards Eli, that
is to say that he didn’t blew me away and I think they ended up together because they were both there and there was no one else
around (kind of like the way you gravitate to the last cookie in the box, you
know what I mean?)
The story
progresses slowly, and as stated in the blurb above the writing is evocative
and spare. As I was listening to this
book, I was not bored at all. You have
to understand and feel the sense of complete isolation, where every moment
is occupied with chores to do, with protecting the pond and the house, and with
making sure that survival is achieved until the next spring. The
ending was very unexpected, but realistic and I’m glad that some resemblance of
order was the end result. There is
certainly enough there for a short story or even another book about this world.
I will definitely read more from McGinnis. Not a
Drop to Drink it’s not your typical dystopian, but a simple story of
survival in a not too far future. All in
all, a great story.
About the cover:
The cover was one of the first things that I liked about the book. It portraits the house as I imagined it
(without all the out buildings) and Lynn on the roof. It also has the coveted pond front and
center. I love the play of the colors,
how there is darkness and light that blend together.
Do you like dystopian? What would you do in a situation like this? Would you be able to live without electricity, running water and internet? Would you do anything to survive?
.JPG)
.JPG)
