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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!
It is hard to imagine a world where fresh water is not only in short supply, it is almost completely gone, save for one tightly controlled aquifer. In Jonathan Friesen's dystopia, the world will do anything to get the fresh water it needs to stay alive.
Luca knows his fate will eventually make him an Other. As the only son of the Deliverer, he will one day have to take over for his father and travel underground to barter for water from the aquifer. His father doesn't tell him anything about what lies underground, but the rumors of the Rat men are enough to terrify him. While he is a "normal" kid now, once he descends, the community will always think of him as an other: necessary to bring them water, but still disconnected from their own lives. He doesn't look forward to that day, but he knows he must accept his lot in life.
When his father goes missing, supposed to be Undone, Luca's entire life falls apart. He knows his father hid books in their house, and Luca's own desire for the books he can't even read is just as dangerous. But the Amongus aren't just concerned with a boy who has found contraband books. They want the aquifer. Despite generations of negotiations between the Rat men and the Deliverers, they are determined to find the path to the Aquifer even though the knowledge of the journey is only passed from one Deliverer to his replacement. And you should never underestimate people who have nothing left to lose.
First, I must admit I finally gave up on this story and put it away after weeks of trying to finish it. I read over 200 pages of a 300 paged book and just couldn't go on any longer. It's not that the story itself was uninteresting, its just that the characters weren't terribly likable and the story was so confusing with tons of different elements that I just couldn't invest in it. For instance, on the surface, there is a whole layer of the Council installing these meter-type things that calculate how much emotion a person is exerting. If you are too emotional, you could be undone. This whole element is confusing and intricate, but by the time Luca goes underground, it is also completely unnecessary. So why include it? Add to that all the different people who have different, hidden identities. Then the "secret" of what is underground. Finally, ask yourself why no one tried to get to the aquifer without the Deliverer before now. I mean, really? Generations go by and no one thought to follow him or blast the crap out of the mountain to get at it? Then there are the books. This whole description about why books aren't allowed, but it really didn't matter to the story. All these different elements leave the reader confused and uninterested (at least it did to me).
Most importantly, I never cared about Luca. Sure, I felt for the guy occasionally, but he was just not the type of main character I could get behind. In truth, he was uninteresting and flat. Even his interactions with other characters like Seward and Wren fell flat for me. And finally, when he was underground, I thought to myself, "Oh why don't you just drown yourself in the bloody aquifer you ineffectual, personality-less toad!" I got so annoyed with Luca that nothing else in the story really mattered to me. So, I gave up. The story had potential, but it was too bogged down by extraneous elements to really come together and the main character was too wishy washy to get behind. I simply couldn't go on any longer!
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!
We take fresh water for granted, but there are parts of the world where freshwater is a commodity. When that becomes the case for New York City, especially after the Wash Out, fresh water is the only thing people care about, next to a cure for the Blight. In Jordana Frankel's first novel in The Ward series, we see just how far people are willing to go to save the lives of those they love.
Ren can't tell anyone she works for the Blues, even if it is only to scout for water. Everyone would think she was a traitor who turned in the sick for a ransom rather than a selfless hero searching for a source of freshwater to sustain the population. Granted she wouldn't be working for the Blues had she not gotten arrested and forced to work for them, but still, she believes she is doing a good thing to find fresh water for the sick, dying, quarantined population. When she is told by a Blue to search a specific quadrant in the middle of a race whose purse she needs desperately, she can't tell him her sister is home suffering the final stages of the Blight. Instead of finding just fresh water, however, she finds something more important than she ever could have imagined.
She finds water that is essentially the Fountain of Youth, heavily guarded and protected, but powerful enough to cure everyone of the Blight. Or at least for a little while. When her sister Aven drinks the water, it beats back the Blight in her body briefly, but then it makes her worse. Now Aven must get to the bottom of what was int hat water to make Aven better, how to get more of it, and how to cure her sister. What she doesn't expect is a crazy governor, a group of guards who protect the spring to the death, and even people who she thought she could trust who have darker intentions. All Ren wants to do is save people, but it seems like everyone is standing in her way.
A good PA or dystopia has to create a world I understand and believe in. Unfortunately, The Ward had great potential, but it really didn't delve very deep into the world that was so integral to the entire story. For instance, what is the full story of the washout that dropped New York City into the water? How is it possible to have lots of technology like racers and some "party noise filter" that gives you a beam of silence in a party to talk in but still be poor enough to not be able to treat the illness or at least buy pain relievers, or even have electricity? The racing is another thing I never truly understood. They are subs, but then they are on the roof? At first I worried I had possibly read the book too fast, and that this caused me to miss this important backstory, but in looking at some other reviews online, I realized I wasn't the only one pretty confused with the backstory. This was a shame for me because the story was actually pretty interesting and read quickly for its size. But still, the backstory was a huge thing to leave out of the story and it took away from my enjoyment of the story. I hope Frankel puts more into the back story of the rest of the series, but I am concerned the story is going to struggle without having already established this background.
Ren is a great character with a headstrong need to help people, even in a world where so many are dying. I like her relationship with Aven even though they aren't blood sisters, and how Aven is the only concern for Ren's entire life. It made Ren an investible character for me, even when I struggled with other parts of the story. I was a little torn and confused about some of the supporting characters like Ter, Derek, and Callum, but I guess there could be more to give them a boost in the next book. Overall, this wasn't a bad book, but I shouldn't have finished 460+ pages with so many questions about basic plot points and characters. I don't think I would give this story to many students unless they were strong readers and could handle the plot holes. It might be interesting for someone who has already read a lot of PA or dystopias and is looking for another. I will certainly read the next book in the series, but I strongly hope Frankel plugs the holes when she writes it!
The end of the world can come in so many ways you will make yourself crazy trying to think about all of them! So when you get three different stories who share nothing in common but the end of the world, it might you into a paranoia tailspin where you end up digging a bunker in your backyard! But with 'Til the World Ends by Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre, and Karen Duvall, you will welcome the end of the world... in the pages of the book anyway!
Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa
Red Lung has decimated the population. Kylie survived an earlier form of the virus, so she has taken that as a sign she was meant to help people. Even as young as she is, she is one of the last still working in a slipshod clinic trying to make people comfortable in their final days. But when a mysterious stranger arrives with a torn-up friend, she can't figure out what happened to them. Ben Archer won't tell her how his friend got hurt, but she knows there is more to the story than just an animal attack. What she doesn't expect is the new virus that turns humans into animals... or where the virus came from.
Thistle and Thorne by Ann Aguirre
The world is a chemical wasteland, but money still separates the haves and the have nots. Mari is trying to take care of her younger brother and sister, but gang overlords don't make that easy. When she is forced into a job for a gang leader, she quickly realizes the job wasn't as easy as she made it out to be. She almost doesn't make it out of the walled city, created to protect the uber-wealthy from having to deal with the starving peasants outside, but Thorne, a former member of the gang, saves her. When she learns the true nature of her mission, she and Thorne, the most unlikely of duos, combine to fight back.
Sun Storm by Karen Duvall
The sun's instability has created solar flares and sun sparks that can kill a person. The earth is scorched and dry, and water and food are a luxury. But something else has happened. For some people, the sun has changed them, made them into Kinetics. There are many different kinds of Kinetics, but they can all do something supernatural. Sarah has the ability to predict the deadly sun storms, and she takes the responsibility of such a gift very seriously. When she happens upon Ian, a Kinetic who can control the weather, she realizes their combined powers have the ability to amplify. But, as if the world weren't dangerous enough, a crazy former government agent is now rounding up Kinetics like a slave trader, and he is hunting Ian. But together, Sarah and Ian are more powerful than anyone could have predicted... or did they?
This was a fun trio of novellas that I really enjoyed. Kagawa's story is a prequel to The Immortal Rules, which was brilliant, by the way, and this prequel gave so much insight into the fall of humanity before that series started. I also really liked Duvall's novella, and I hope she runs with this and continues the story of the Kinetics. It was so fascinating, and the story can easily continue into a series! The one story that wasn't my favorite was Ann Aguirre's. This was surprising, because I have been following her Enclave series since it was first released. I am not fully sure why this was my least favorite story, but it might have been the characters. Mari and Thorne just didn't seem to have a connection, so it made it hard for me to imagine the huge sacrifices they were making. Still, it wasn't a bad story, just not my favorite out of this trio.
The last two stories are clean and good for a wide range of students, but the Kagawa story has a decently graphic sex scene in it. Honestly, I don't think it was anything too graphic, but some might object to giving it to a student who isn't old enough. Basically, if they have read Immortal Rules they shouldn't have a problem with the short story. Otherwise, this collection is a fun group of novellas that might be good for a kid who has trouble with full-length novels, but would like shorter stories to go with their attention span. I know they were perfect for me during a busy work week!
With such a haunting and beautiful cover, this post-apocalyptic story by Cameron Stracher had a lot to live up to. How do you take a scary scenario and breathe some life into a hopeless world? The Water Wars does it with strong characters who keep you rooting for them through every obstacle and struggle.Vera and Will live in a world where the water is gone, and with it, life as we know it has gone as well. People survive on genetically modified foods, are given water rations that barely keep them alive, and dream of the days with grass, animals, and rain. When Vera sees the new boy, who rides in a limo and has a bodyguard, pour a cup of water out onto the road, she knows there is something different about Kai. No one wastes water anymore, not when there isn't enough to keep the world alive.Kai tells Vera and Will about a hidden river, and they can't stop thinking about it. One day, Kai takes Vera to an old abandoned mill where he shows her the water in a hidden aquifer below the surface. Later, when she and Will go to find Kai, they discover his body guard shot and his apartment trashed. Kai is nowhere to be found. Worried about their friend, they take off after him, using his father's notebook they found in the apartment. From the minute they leave their small, dehydrated town, they find themselves on a whirlwind journey that they just barely survive.Kidnapped by pirates, they are taken out of Illinowa and to Minnestoa. There, environmental terrorists blow a dam that almost kills Vera and Will. Now they find themselves in the hands of the most brutal and greedy group- the environmentalists who destroy the earth just as quickly as the others, if they can make a profit doing so. Just when they think all hope is lost, Ulysses, the pirate leader, comes to their rescue. They continue on their journey to find Kai, but in the meantime, they realize all they knew about their government, the water, and the world is wrong. Now they must rely on the help of outlaws and pirates to get to Kai in time. Can they do it? This was a really interesting post-apocalyptic tale. Since it was a shorter novel, it would be a good start for a student who is interested in this kind of topic but hasn't read much yet. The writing is fairly simple, and the horror of the story isn't in the language or the gruesomeness, but rather in the sheer possibility of something like this being possible. It would be a good story for any age group, from late elementary students through high school. It is particularly good for older students with lower reading abilities who want a mature subject. The action is non-stop and will keep the attention of any reader.The beauty of this story is that even when the worst thing possible happens, there is still a way to survive it all and come out on top. Even when Vera or Will were ready to give up, the other one kept them both going, refusing to give up on their friend Kai. Nothing was going to stop these two kids. I also liked the idea that things are not always as they seem. With the pirates and the other outlaws, the ones who you would assume are good people turn out to be horrible and greedy, and the pirates turn out to be pretty good people- Ulysses even risks his life to save the kids. This story will defy all your assumptions and keep you reading until the very end. There is never a dull moment in a world where there isn't enough water.
