In a Handful of Dust (Not a Drop to Drink #2)

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In a Handful of Dust (Not a Drop to Drink #2)

Author(s)

Mindy McGinnis

Publisher

Katherine Tegen Books

Genre(s)

Age Range

12+

Release Date

September 23, 2014

ISBN

9780062198532

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The only thing bigger than the world is fear. Lucy’s life by the pond has always been full. She has water and friends, laughter and the love of her adoptive mother, Lynn, who has made sure that Lucy’s childhood was very different from her own. Yet it seems Lucy’s future is settled already—a house, a man, children, and a water source—and anything beyond their life by the pond is beyond reach. When disease burns through their community, the once life-saving water of the pond might be the source of what’s killing them now. Rumors of desalinization plants in California have lingered in Lynn’s mind, and the prospect of a “normal” life for Lucy sets the two of them on an epic journey west to face new dangers: hunger, mountains, deserts, betrayal, and the perils of a world so vast that Lucy fears she could be lost forever, only to disappear in a handful of dust. In this companion to Not a Drop to Drink, Mindy McGinnis thrillingly combines the heart-swelling hope of a journey, the challenges of establishing your own place in the world, and the gripping physical danger of nature in a futuristic frontier.

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2 reviews

Another Handful of Post-apocalyptic Bleakness

November 03, 2014

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4.0

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What I Liked:
The publisher calls In a Handful of Dust a companion, but it actually spoils the events of the first book, so be careful about that. It took me a while to get into In a Handful of Dust, but it was ultimately similarly satisfying and bleak.

Trying to remember Not a Drop to Drink was a big issue for me. In a Handful of Dust jumps ten years into the future and so I’m trying to remember characters who are the same but different. There have obviously been changes and I was hard-pressed to keep up with who was important with my memories of Not a Drop so far in the past. Eventually that got sorted, but I spent a while frustrated, trying to recall which characters I already knew.

The main character of In a Handful of Dust is Lucy, the adopted daughter of Lynn, the main character of Not a Drop to Drink. Lynn is now an adult, but just as practical as ever. I love that Lynn isn’t any softer than she was in Not a Drop. Though she’s a mother of sorts now and truly loves Lucy, she’s still not emotional or any less apt to kill first and ask questions later. Lynn is as hard-edged as she needs to be to protect herself and her kin.

Lucy, however, is a foil to Lynn. Despite what she’s been through, she retains a certain naivete and faith in other people. Raised for the last years by Lynn, Vera and Stebbs, surrounded by mostly good people, she expects those she meets to be good. She likes to give people the benefit of the doubt and to seek non-violent solutions. They’re almost character studies, highlighting the benefits of skepticism and of trust in such a scenario. Ultimately, both Lucy’s kindness and Lynn’s mistrust come in handy, but I think Lynn’s really built to survive.

What I do love about this series is that McGinnis is brutal, sort of like Lynn. There’s nothing easy or convenient about life in her novels. Often, YA post-apocalyptics aren’t all that brutal. People die, but no one we care about, and ultimately the situation is resolved and normal life resumes, all while giving the main character a sexy romance. Not so with McGinnis, who obviously hates romance and wants to show a realistic scenario, by which I mean a horrifying one.

What Left Me Wanting More:
The one aspect that didn’t really work for me was the minimal romance. It wasn’t intended to be romantic, but it was a bit plothole-ish to me at times. Lucy was starting to have feelings for this boy, Carter. What the blurb doesn’t mention is that he’s also sent out of the community for the same reason as she and Lynn. However, he doesn’t know what to do and follows her. Lucy promises to leave him food and water, so he won’t starve, and tries to keep Lynn from moving to fast so he gets left behind. Then some stuff happens and she and Lynn end up moving REALLY quickly, but she never really gives thought to the fact that she’s just left him behind. This is picked up again later, but the fact that he wasn’t considered for so long bugged me. Ultimately, I liked the resolution to Carter’s story, but I think Lucy’s feelings were inconsistently handled.

The Final Verdict:
If you enjoyed Not a Drop to Drink, I think that In a Handful of Dust will likely please you as well. McGinnis’ series is a good choice for those who like their post-apocalyptic fiction truly bleak.

Christina Franke, Staff Top 10 Reviewer 677 reviews

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Enjoyed their journey and Lucy's character growth.

September 08, 2014

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I wanted to read In a Handful of Dust since I devoured Not a Drop to Drink. Ten years have passed and Lucy is a teenager now. She is a helper and unlike Lynn she is more of a people person, wanting to be around and surrounded. So when polio wipes through the community that Lynn and Lucy had accumulated since the first book. Lynn is still mourning Eli and the others that were the first that she let in. But Lucy is so full of hope, optimism, and she has this sweet romance with Carter.

It is neat to see Lucy grown up and the changes that were made in their camp. But when Lucy and Carter are both suspected of being the carrier to polio, and their lack of knowledge about such diseases, both are to leave the community before anything else could happen. Lucy leaves food for Carter as they travel after seeing him, and she so wants to find answers about the disease... If they can one day have a life together if the incubation period was shorter rather than something that never went away.

Lucy and Lynn meet a few people on the road and while Joss always rubbed me the wrong way, I loved Fletcher. He had such a kind and generous spirit. He helps the women with their horses, and gives them more news and a traveling companion part of the way to California, where there were rumors of a desalination plant as well as electricity. This dream really settles in Lucy's heart and Lynn supports her completely and they journey to California across the plains and mountains in hope of a brighter future and a community.

They had their fair share of hardships from altitude sickness, to being shot at, near drownings and lack of the amount of water and food they need. But things keep working in their favor at the end.

So again, the writing as well as Lynn's strength of character, her fighter's spirit, along with her rock solid determination to live as well as take care of Lucy. The plot kept me riveted and I didn't want to put it down. It did have some pretty disturbing twists in a community that took them in after a particularly bad time... and they see the lengths that some will go through in order to have water to drink and feel safe. It really blew my mind and I totally couldn't believe what I was reading.

Lucy grew so much in this one. She went from being afraid of everything and so dependent on Lynn to a girl with a fire in her heart and okay to start standing on her own two feet with the help of community.

While the Lucy and Carter thread was present, romance was never front and center in these books. I was a diehard and hoped for a way for them to eventually be together. That is why I don't give it a 5 star. It just didn't give me quite what I wanted as far as romance and the ending that I would want. I think that this ended better for me than the first one, but I still wanted a bit more closure. I have a lot of hope on Lucy's end, but Lynn I am so afraid of what happened with her and her decisions.

If there is another in this series I will jump at the chance to read it and I would love more in this world and find out what happens next and maybe they can have the romantic ending that I wish for them. The ending is laced with a lot of hope and promises of better times for the most part.

Bottom Line: Enjoyed their journey and Lucy's character growth.