Early Unraveling of Not A Drop To Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Title: Not A Drop To Drink

Series: N/A

Author: Mindy McGinnis

Publication Date: September 24, 2013

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.

  

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My Thoughts

A copy was provided through Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review

I hadn't read any real dystopians in a while, guess I was burned out, so I was kinda excited to get around to this one. Unfortunately the only word I can think of to describe Not A Drop To Drink is dull.

I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe some epic out of control fight for water, but that's the last thing I got out of this. Yes there were some parts that were eyebrow-raising and exciting but they were so short lived! There are about 3 distinct scenes that I would say were exciting and that out of a 320 page book is just sad.

The writing was good enough and there were enough distracting bits to keep me engaged enough to finish, but by the end I was left feeling glad that it was over so I could pick something else up to read. I'm writing this review just a few hours after I finished reading and do you think I even remember the reason why there is a shortage of water? Cause I don't. I don't know if they actually did come out and say it or if it was just implied and that's why I don't remember. And at this point I simply don't care.

Not A Drop To Drink is as exiting as the blurb makes it sound. Nothing more nothing less. It follows the life of Lynn who lives next to a pond, and the whole book revolves around just that. Her life next to a pond that she has to defend, and how she lives in such a world. That's it. The big conflict? A big group of men who were trying to set up close to her place and wanted her house because of the pond. Again, that's it. That's what it all comes down to.

Sure it was mildly interesting learning about some survival techniques and seeing Lynn learning some actual humanity once she starts having contact with people other than her Mother. The romance was just weird in my opinion. From all the contact she had with the guy things developed WAY too quickly. I mean they were cuddling and sleeping in each other's arms after like the second meeting. This from a girl who didn't have any kind of human contact before besides her mom, and didn't know anything about romance per se. It was just bizarre.

The ending definitely picked up with various 'plot' threads coming together all at once and it made for a very fast paced last 1/3rd of the book and the epilogue was sweet, but this all came way too late. I felt numb through most of the book, just going through the paces.In the end Not A Drop To Drink left me feeling meh.

So...

Would I Recommend it?

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