Book Reviews

Not A Drop To Drink (2013)

Not A Drop To Drink - Mindy McGinnis

Rating: 4/5

Genre: Dystopian, Fiction, YA

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SWEARING

Not A Drop To Drink is Mindy McGinnis' debut novel.

"Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink."

Lynn's world is a world where proper, drinkable water is scarce and everybody is the enemy.

"Lynn was nine the first time she killed to defend the pond, the sweet smell of water luring the man to be picked off like the barn swallows that dared to swoop in for a drink."

Not a Drop to Drink is set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. What I love most about this book is that the Lynn has been brought up in this world so she doesn't know the difference between normal and now. Lynn is a trained and experienced killer, so throughout the story she does kill people but there are no graphic details.

"Do you want to die like this?" Mother had asked that night and every night since then.
Lynn's answer never changed. "No."
And Mother's response, their evening prayer. "Then you will have to kill."

This book starts off really well, we have our strong female lead who will shoot anyone who comes to close to her farm. But, eventually the plot begins to unfold and a character defining moment happens and then everything goes to shit. Because this is a YA novel there is, of course, a love interest. Honestly, the love aspect of the book felt forced and really rushed. I completely understand why Lynn fell for her love interest, she's a 16 year old girl who has never met another boy before but, I felt like he just wasn't worthy of her.

"Years before, Mother had shown her pictures of the thirsty dead. Their skin hung from their bones like the wallpaper that sloughed from the walls in the unused upstairs hallway. Swollen tongues were forced past lips cracked and bleeding. Eyes sunk so deeply into sockets that the outline of the skulls was evident."

WARNING: THIS NOVEL CONTAINS SWEARING AND MENTIONS OF RAPE

SIDE NOTE: There is a companion novel to this book, which I started but couldn't get into so I stopped reading it. Not A Drop To Drink is a good stand-alone so don't bother with the next book.