She even has to be willing to kill in order to survive. She has to be willing to defend the water at all costs. Lynn has been taught the importance of protecting the water in the pond by their home, she knows that sometimes extreme measures have to be taken in order to save the water and survive. Lynn has been brought up by her mother the two of them live alone in a house away from the rest of civilisation (if, indeed, civilisation actually exists anymore). It's a quiet - but quietly fierce - story of survival. Like I said, this isn't a loud and dramatic tale. And yet, I still think McGinnis has managed to deliver something special here. How many of those have I read these last two years? Well, I've completely lost count. If you pictured the end of the world as a loud affair, full of guns, bombs or fallen angels, then Not a Drop to Drink is the perfect book to show you how something so seemingly trivial can turn the world on its head. Sometimes the biggest threat to survival is a lack of that which so many of us take for granted.

Sometimes it isn't about demons and monsters and all those things that go bump in the night and are secretly trying to drag you off to some hellish dimension. Sometimes it isn't about a dramatic fight to the death in a deadly arena that is being controlled by sadistic morons who want to create some good TV. 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. 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…. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.īut wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water.

She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.Ĭonfident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water.

Not a drop to drink by mindy mcginnis