Lynn was nine the first time she killed to protect the pond, the sweet smell of water luring the man to be picked off like the barn swallows that dared to swoop in for a drink.

- first sentence

 

I couldn't wait to see how this one would end. It is the story of a young girl raised in the wilderness by her mother. In this world, water is more than scarce. The only water Lynn and her mother have comes from their pond and they will do anything to defend it. Her mother taught her not to trust anyone and to be entirely self-reliant. But how long can they survive this way?

 

I enjoyed the wild west feel of this one. I loved Lynn and enjoyed watching her mature and adapt emotionally as the book progressed. Her life is full of struggles and the constant threat of death, but Lynn is strong and she doesn't give up. There was a devastating event towards the end that I totally didn't see coming - it was tough.

 

Apparently, there is a "companion book",  In a Handful of Dust, that I look forward to reading after Halloween Bingo concludes.

 

I read this one for the Doomsday square:

 

4.25 stars

This has been on my TBR list for a while, and when I saw that it was at the library, I borrowed it. I’ve read one other book by the author, Given to the Sea, and I still have mixed feelings about that one. The world-building made for a repulsive setting, but the writing was compelling and I couldn’t put it down. Not a Drop to Drink also has a grim setting, but I enjoyed this book much better. It’s a tight, fast read, one I read in just two sittings. And the more I think about it, the more I liked it.

Lynn has spent her entire life protecting the pond on her property. Along with her mother, she mercilessly shoots anyone who dares to approach their water source. In a world with severe water shortages, water is everything. Because their pond is fed by spring snow melt and rain, a dry season is disastrous for them.

After her mother is killed in a terrible accident, Lynn is on her own. Taught to survive by her mother, she rides out her grief, and then gets back to the business of staying alive. It’s all she’s ever known. When Stebbs, the man who lives on the property next door, approaches her, her whole life changes. She doesn’t have to do this alone, and not every stranger is an enemy. But when a group of men sets up in a town nearby, Lynn is in danger of having everything she possesses stolen away from her.

I loved Lynn. She has no idea how to trust, and her mother’s paranoia has kept them both isolated. When Stebbs asks her to check on the people living near the stream, she reluctantly agrees to go and see if they are still there. If not, she’s to bring back whatever they have left behind, and split it with Stebbs, in payment of him watching the pond while she’s gone.

What Lynn finds is a small family struggling to survive in the wilderness. Starving, Eli, a boy about her age, begs her to take Lucy, a young girl, back with her. Lucy has a better chance of surviving with Lynn. Eli is struggling to keep his sister-in-law alive, and they don’t have enough food to go around. Reluctantly, Lynn agrees, and her whole outlook on life changes after this one, awkward encounter.

At first, Lynn, like her mother, is distrustful of strangers and possessive of what’s hers. Mainly the water in the pond. The water is life. Without the water, they would be dead. She jealously protects her water source, and has never felt remorse dropping intruders with her rifle. But after meeting Lucy and Eli, and after getting to know Stebbs, she starts to develop a conscience, and wonder if it’s really necessary to kill everyone who approaches the pond. She begins to understand the value of friends. And she starts to want better for Lucy than sitting on the roof, waiting to shoot the next person who steps foot on the property.

I wish there was more world-building, but like Lynn, the reader’s world view is extremely limited. With no electricity, no safety, and no guarantee of survival, defending what one has is everything. Not a Drop to Drink is a gritty tale of survival, and it was one I had a hard time putting down.

Grade: 4.25 stars

Bon Om Touk: The Cambodian Water Festival Bon Om Touk is celebrated in early November and commemorates the end of the country's rainy season, as well as the annual reversal of the flow of the Tonle Sap River, the central part of a hydrological system in the Lower Mekong Basin which the Mekong River replenishes with water and sediments annually. The Water Festival was first celebrated in the 12th century, around the time of Angkorian King Jayavarman VII, when the King’s Navy helped usher in the Cambodian fishing season. The festivities made the gods happy and secured good harvests of rice and fish in the upcoming year. Another interpretation is that Bon Om Touk was a way for the King to prepare his navy for battle. -- The biggest celebrations take place in Phnom Penh, lasting night and day for three days, with boat racing along the Sisowath Quay and concerts..

 

Book themes for Bon Om Touk: Read a book that takes place on the sea, near the sea, or on a lake or a river, or read a book that has water on the cover: Not A Drop To Drink: I thought it was kind of ironic to choose this book... But it has water on the cover! 


Tasks for Bon Om Touk: my favorite vacation on the sea is in Spain (Catalonia) where I spent one or two weeks each year with my family (since I'm a child). But I'll post a picture about my most recent one, which was in Miami Beach. It's really special for me because it was the first time I went to the United States (the first time I left Europe actually) and I had an amazing time there even if it was really really short (we arrived on Saturday afternoon and left on Tuesday morning.. I know 10hours of flight for less than four days, but it was worth it!). My sister is a fying attendant and I got to spent time in Florida thanks to her job. We also visited Universal Studio and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so it was amazing (can you imagine i've been to Middle Earth and Hogwarts in the same year?!)

 

 

(Yayyyy, thank you Murder By Death!)

 

I had such a great time reading this book. I’m a sucker for post-apocalyptical novels and even more when it is realistic and it involves bad-ass female characters. Lynn lives with her mother in a world where water has become rare and expensive, they have a pond and will do everything to protect is as it is their only source of water. Lynn was born after all this and has never seen water running from the tap. She also does not know a lot of people and Mother is the only person she trusts. As you can imagine, something will happen and disrupt Lynn’s world.

 

I enjoyed this book so much, it was easy to read, the pacing was great, the characters were really realistic and the world created was flawless (now I want to tell you that this is a debut novel, I’m so impressed). I love the clash between country people and city people. Lynn does not know a lot about the outside world, she lives secluded in her little house (she has never heard music for example). I think the author did a really great job depicting a young teenager having only known her mother and poetry books her whole life. She, for example, have no idea that she is pretty, not having seen other women except her mother. She is clueless as what a man would want to do with women… I think this part was really well done.

 

My only complain about this book is that it was too short and I wanted more! Thankfully, there is another one and I have it on my shelf!

 

(+ this cover is one of my favourite ever!!)

This is it. Best book of 2016 so far, and it's going to be hard to beat.
It's been a long time since I've struggled to hold back tears (and I did because I knew if I started bawling I wouldn't stop). This book... This book has broken me.
Read it in a few hours, but I know this hangover will last a couple of days. I will read anything this author writes.