*Review* Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

"Just know that there's bad men in the world, and dying fast by your mother is a better way than theirs." Lauren to her daughter Lynn 

Not a Drop to Drink was, for me, probably one of the most highly anticipated releases to come out of Harper Collins this summer/fall. Ever since I saw it on #Tea Time by Epic Reads, I've been wanting to read it but kept putting it off hoping to get caught up on other reads while avoiding spoiler reviews that would take away from my enjoyment of the story itself. Mission completed.

Not a Drop to Drink is the story about 16 year old Lynn who along with her mother Lauren, have protected a fresh water pond from intruders and those intent on taking what's not theirs. This is a brutal world for survivors. There is a shortage of water and those that do have access to it, bleed the rest of the population dry and push citizens into living within city limits where they pay exorbitant fees just to gain access to the rare resource. There was also a point where Cholera made a huge impact on the population and left survivors struggling for medication in order to survive. 

I really liked Lynn. She's just the right blend of being righteous and hard and eventually ends up with a conscience to see things differently from her own mother's points of view. The same mother who raised her and taught her right from wrong and believing that anyone that comes near her property is up to no good. I liked the fact that she had to grow up quickly after a horrible incident leaves her alone and struggling to complete her daily responsibilities. I liked how she eventually opened up her heart and soul to let others like Eli, Lucy, and Stebbs into her life. I also liked how she wouldn't let things stand and took action in defense of those she let into her life.

As for the secondary characters, I liked Lucy and Stebbs. Lucy is pretty much an essential part of this story and it would have been a whole ball of wax had she not showed up. Her arrival heralds more than a few changes in Lynn's belief system that everyone should be left alone to their own devices. Stebbs opens Lynn's eyes to things in the outside world that her mother failed to educate her about and becomes her most loyal companion. There is a tepid romantic angle in Not a Drop to Drink. I'm grateful to McGinnis that she didn't screw around with the darkness of the story by adding an insta-lust situation into the story. There was just enough feels that if anything else had happened, I would have been left devastated and disappointed.

I did have a few minor issues with the story and that was the back story and world building. I would have liked to have read more about the Shortage and Second War for Oil and perhaps it could have come earlier in the book. I would have also liked to see the confrontation between Lynn and her biological father expanded and played out a bit longer. After all, he was pretty much the reason for a bunch of people's problems with being shoved out of their homes, and their belongings taken by force, and the daily struggles to survive that were thrust upon Lynn and Lauren.

This story could be considered a human interest story in how humanity deals with troubling times and lack of resources like water that is necessary for almost everything in our lives. I think that Americans should really believe that this sort of thing can and will happen if we don't start acting responsibly. 

*Recvd via Edelweiss 04/11/2013* Expected publication: September 24th 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books

Author - Mindy McGinnis
Title - Not a Drop to Drink
Publisher - Katherine Tegen (Harper Collins)
Releases September 24, 2013
Genre - Dystopian