Book Review: Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: September 24, 2013
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Teenage Lynn has been taught to defend her pond against every threat: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most important, 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. But when strangers appear, the mysterious footprints by the pond, the nighttime threats, and the gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it. . . .

I thought this book was a great offering in the wide, wide world of YA dystopian fiction. One thing that made it unique in terms of the dystopian YA books that I’ve read is that I could easily imagine a water shortage like this happening at some point in the future. Maybe even in the not-so-distant future.

I would have liked to see more world building in this book. It’s never really explained what caused the water shortage. Also, there is some talk of a city – I would have liked the author to have delved more into what the city was like and more of its rules for the people who lived there. What would be fantastic is if Ms. McGinnis wrote a prequel about the lives of some people from the city that Lynn encounters. (If you read the book, you’ll know which characters to which I’m referring.)

I liked how well developed the characters were – no one seemed like a stereotype. Lynn was the tough girl but she had depth as well. And I loved that she was stronger and more capable than some of the men in the story.

I’m looking forward to reading whatever Ms. McGinnis comes up with next.

(I received this book courtesy of the Amazon Vine program.)