Sometimes you just know a book is going to be good. In this case, it is because I know the author, Mindy McGinnis, and I know the quality of her writing. Her debut book, Not
A Drop to Drink, is outstanding. While the categories it falls into, such as Dystopian and YA, are not my normal fair, that did not diminish my enjoyment of this book at all.
First off, the setting is very realistic. It is Ohio, sometime in the future, a generation after society has had a drastic change due to the scarce availability of water. It
is an interesting premise and it is handled perfectly. Nothing is far fetched and everything is believable. You believe this is a world you could find yourself in should such a water shortage occur. The setting is fantastic
and, more importantly, so is the description, which really draws you in.
But what is better than the setting are the characters. I strongly believe that all the best stories are truly about the characters and Mindy had given us a very strong set of
characters. It starts off with just Lynn and her mother, struggling to survive and succeeding thanks to their location, the family home for several generations. Every character that is brought into Lynn’s circle is fully
fleshed out. You care about everyone of them.
The story itself revolves around a change. Strangers come. As we come to know these strangers, some are good and some are bad, but all change Lynn’s world forever. The events
take Lynn from a pretty straight forward child of survival, to a more rounded person.
While the target audience is young adult, this book is really for everyone. I highly recommend it. If you love character driven stories, like I do, you will love it.
For more from Mindy McGinnis, visit her blog - Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire
