Genre: YA Dystopian
Published: September 24th 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books
Length: 320 pages
Source: bought (at Barnes & Noble)
“ 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.“
If you’re thinking this book is action packed with lots of gory descriptions, killing, and blood…I’m sorry, you are wrong. That’s what I was expecting too. Instead, this book is about survival and staying low-key. Not a Drop to Drink disappointed me a bit because I was really hoping for lots of action scenes with lots of blood since people are fighting for water. The protagonist, Lynn, is the only one with a house that has a pond at the backyard of her house. Since there’s not enough water to suffice everyone in this dystopian world, people are trying to get into Lynn’s property.
The characters were okay for me; I didn’t really feel close to them, and I feel like I was just reading and not being with them if that makes sense. I did not feel like I was part of their world. I guess I was just shocked that this book was focused on drama instead of something action packed like The Hunger Games. However, I do like the relationship between Lynn and her mother. I love how Lynn’s mother have high hopes and she isn’t a mother who’s like “BS this BS that there ain’t no water. Peace! *Shoots herself*”. Instead, her mother is really kick ass and ready to kill whoever tries to raid their house and pond. Overall, I do like the concept of having a world where there is not a lot of water left. I just think the world building could have been developed more. The story focused just on Lynn’s story, and we don’t really get to know much of what’s going on outside of Lynn’s situation except that people are looking for more water.
