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In the world after an apocalypse, life will revert back centuries. A day will revolve around the sun, work will be for survival, and modern medicine, like vaccines, will be a forgotten luxury. In Mindy McGinnis's sequel to Not a Drop to Drink, she takes the apocalypse one step further in the fight for survival. In a Handful of Dust doesn't stop at simple survival, like finding food and water. It takes these characters through something far scarier.
Lynn used to shoot anyone who dared to walk near her pond, the only healthy water source nearby, and a guarantee for survival, at least in a world where water is difficult to come by. Now she has a whole civilization around her pond and even adopted Lucy, a girl whose family was lost to the apocalypse in the worst kinds of ways. They have a fairly decent life, given the circumstances, until people start to get sick. When a polio outbreak threatens the community, and Lucy is targeted as a possible carrier, Lynn has no choice but to go with the young girl when the community insists she leave to protect them from the illness.
With no real knowledge of the world outside her property, but still a stubborn determination to survive, Lynn decides to head to California to see if there is a place unspoiled by the water shortage. As they pick their way across the country, they encounter all manner of people. Some mean well but are clearly suffering and struggling to survive. Others are capitalizing on the circumstances and thriving in the wake of such devastation. Regardless of the obstacle in their path, Lynn refuses to give up. She and Lucy will get to California, even if it kills them. And it just might.
I really loved the first book in this series, and this second book was just as great of a read with the exception of one huge, glaring flaw- its entire premise. Lynn isn't just a stubborn survivor. She is a smart, logical woman who understands how to survive and how to weigh the pros and cons of every decision. We saw her be ruthless when she needed to, and we saw her compromise when it was the best decision. But one thing was for sure. Lynn did not take kindly to the unknown and her home was her home. So why on earth would it be so easy to displace her from her own darned property?! I understand McGinnis wanted the story to be about the journey, but the part where Lucy and Lynn are pushed out is so rushed, it doesn't do justice to Lynn's character. There is no way Lynn would leave her own property and her pond without any kind of a fight, but that was exactly what she did. It felt too much like a quick plot device than an actual development in the character, especially when you see how she is on the road- same old Lynn. Logical, sometimes ruthless survivor.
That annoying flaw in the story aside, this was a very interesting book. The characters they met on the road were realistic and interesting. They were varied and different, and some were downright terrifying. I also loved the differences between Lucy and Lynn. When Lynn can be cold and pragmatic at times, Lucy is kind and trusting. The dichotomy between the two was the perfect duo to cross the country in such dire times, giving the reader two different perspectives on the world. It was a good sequel, albeit not a perfect sequel, and it would still leave me interested in whatever McGinnis chooses to write about next!
If there were a water shortage, the people living in cities with no real water sources of their own would be desperate. In Lynn's world, water has always been scarce to the point that those who have it, guard it with their lives. In Not a Drop to Drink, Mindy McGinnis isn't afraid to show just how dark and cruel the world can be.
Lynn and Mother live and survive by themselves. They don't need anyone else. They protect their little pond, gather and store food and wood to get them through the winter, and they shoot anyone who comes close to their water. They have to. In this world, its killed or be killed, and Mother doesn't let anyone get close enough to tip the scales in their favor. When an unfortunate accident leaves Lynn all by herself, she knows she can survive, but she isn't sure she is willing to survive the way her mother always taught her to. When her neighbor, Stebbs, makes contact, Lynn breaks every rule her mother set. She talks to him. Even worse, she agrees to check out the camp of strangers down stream who clearly have no idea what they are doing.
Lynn has never had to deal with people, so she doesn't come off as terribly empathetic when she meets Eli. He and his niece Lucy and Lucy's very pregnant mother Neva have been camping and trying to survive, but with the group of dangerous men nearby who took all their food and Neva's refusal to leave the side of the stream, life hasn't been easy. Now Neva is in labor and in trouble. Normally Lynn would have left them to fend for themselves, but Stebbs convinces her that the world isn't always so black and white. When people have more than they need and have the ability to help those who don't, their choices say a lot about them. And so begins Lynn's new life- one where she has to trust people more than she ever has.
This was a seriously realistic, interesting post-apocalyptic story that, in my humble opinion, accurately depicts the world we would live in if water became more valuable than money. The descriptions of life in the cities where people are forced to live in poverty, desperately trying to make enough to buy water and the life in the wilds where people with water sources hold onto them fiercely. The descriptions of Lynn and her mother were truly remarkable. A woman with a daughter, surviving all those years alone, they had to become a hardened to the plights of those around them, and McGinnis did a beautiful job of explaining that. I loved that while Lynn grew up being suspicious of everyone and shooting before asking questions, she still had it in her to care about people, like her love for little Lucy. Even giving Stebbs a chance was a huge step for Lynn, and while each step took courage, she was willing to brave new territory.
This is a great book for anyone new to the PA genre or someone who already delved into it. It is a very realistic portrait of life after the end of the world as we knew it. The violence is certainly there, as it has to be for this kind of landscape, but it isn't gratuitous. The story is relatively short, about 300 pages, but it is a full and complete story from start to finish with an ending that couldn't be more perfect. The characters certainly suffer some losses, and you see how truly ugly people can be in a world like this, but you will be happy with the course of events that has to take place. I really loved this book, and I will be keeping an eye on McGinnis from now on!
