Not A Drop To Drink: Review

Synopsis:

Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water.

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….

With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own.

***

I have a hard time reading this book. It's not long. But it's not those that is considered as "short and sweet" because I don't think there's anything sweet about the book. I have so many problems with this book that it's so hard to bring myself finish it.

Starting with the background of the story. It's just too ordinary. A world with little water. People are defending them with their life and are willing to kill for water. Well, I've seen crazier things happen in other dystopian novels and a world like this is nothing new. I don't even know why I chose to mark this as "to-read" in the first place. But this is not the biggest problem of all. 

One of the biggest problems is the development of plots and characters. Okay, I won't say choosing Lynn is a bad choice because I admit she has some potential. I also don't blame the author that it's a standalone thus there's not much character development. But there's no spark in this book. NONE. Nothing tremendous. Nothing really stands out and nothing to fess about. I don't want to say it so harshly, but the book has a poor development of plots and characters.

Another big problem I have with this book is the writing style. It's FLAT, no kidding. We read this book as an outsider, watching everything happen with indifference. But seriously do you need to make the narrating so flat and lifeless to just prove a point that we are reading this as an outsider? There's no fun reading it. Everyone is just so flat and lifeless that I can't even concentrate a little on the story itself. No personalities in one particular character whatsoever. So basically I don't feel anything for the book or for the characters. No I can't even... Nope.

Prioritizing is also a problem. What is with the whole several chapters with Mother telling Lynn what to do and what not to do and waste so much paper just to create a single SMALL mystery? Me thinking Lynn's mother unlikable only make things worse. Then there's the whole new-characters-coming-to-the-center-stage thing which wastes another several chapters. And bear in mind that this book has only 21 chapters and the author wastes at least 8 chapters just to build up some mysteries that can be forgotten so easily by the bleakness of the story. I seriously think more can be developed in 21 chapters. 

No, Not A Drop To Drink doesn't do it for me. Nothing is likable in this book. At least it's a standalone. 

Rating: 2/10

P.S. I always feel bad for giving a low rating for books because I always try to find something redeemable in a book. But no, nothing is redeemable in this book. Sorry.