BOOK REVIEW: Not A Drop To Drink by Mindy McGinnis

This is a book review for Not A Drop To Drink by Mindy McGinnis. This book has been on my TBR for quite a while, so I am using this book for my TBR Pile Challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader. This book was also the debut book for this author so I am using it for my New To You Challenge hosted by Herding Cats and Burning Soup.

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.

Ahhhh, so many feels for this book! This book got me out of my dreaded reading slump and then some. 

I loved the world that the author created and it struck me as something that could actually happen in this country. It took a while for the author to build the world sufficiently and explain what happened to the water. Lynn and her mother live in a very remote part of the country. I am still unclear about the state. I just know that it's rural and houses are few and far between. There are people do live in other big cities, but water is highly regulated. The water shortage becomes so severe that water companies won't even maintain the lines anymore. People have to take buckets to certain towns and buy the water themselves. In the bigger cities, there are "population schedules" that prevent people from having too many children. According to the government, they can't spare water for too many people. If you have more children than you are allowed, you get kicked out of the city and have to take your chances in the neighboring rural communities. Lynn and her mother have a pond on their farm and this pond is their only source of water. That makes it a very hot commodity. 

I loved the character of Lynn. She was a total bad ass and such an awesome character. She is the polar opposite of most female characters. For one thing, she is a better shot than the guy character. She also saved the man a couple of times. Love that. 

As many ways as Lynn was smart when it came to survival, she was also naive in other ways. Her mother never even taught her about sex so an older male friend had to do it. Lynn has this hard outer shell that makes it hard to care for others. That and the fact that she has had to defend her home and her pond her entire life. Lynn fears every single person that she cones across. She is not afraid to shoot first and ask questions later. Every person who comes close to her property is seen as a threat to her water supply and her home and she isn't afraid to get rid of them. 

But then Eli, Stebbs and Lucy come into the story. Ahhh, Lucy. She is such a sweet, optimistic little girl and the complete opposite of Lynn. Lynn doesn't want to even take care of her, let alone actually care about the little girl. Before I knew it, Lynn had a family and people she cared about. I loved the burgeoning romance between Eli and Lynn. Eli was from a big city and had no clue how to survive out in the wilderness. The banter between Eli and Lynn was so sweet and made me smile a couple of times. Lynn didn't even know what flirting was so it was cute when he tried to explain that to her. And Stebbs was just like a big, cuddly teddy bear. He was a father figure and he also helped push her to open her heart to Lucy and Eli.

Then came a shocking event towards the ending that I did not see coming.

I was so devastated that I had to go over that part again just to make sure I read it correctly. Or maybe I was just in shock. My only real issue with this book is that Lynn's reactions to certain events and the ending felt a bit rushed. I wanted more tears, more drama! But looking back on it, it probably would not have made sense for Lynn to react the way I wanted her to. She spent so much of her life protecting her land and her heart. Yes she transformed throughout the novel in a very real way, but she was still Lynn: hard and tough. She did what needed to be done and then moved on. So maybe the author knew what she was doing with that one hmmm?

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy for sure!!!