IN A HANDFUL OF DUST by Mindy McGinnis

In a Handful of Dust
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by Mindy McGinnis
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to be published on September 23, 2014
by Katherine Tegen Books

                       

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.

                       

3.5 owls

After my minor disappointment with Not a Drop to Drink, the first book in the kind-of duology (because apparently this is advertised as a companion novel, not a sequel), I was hesitant to read this one. Another surface-level bummer: this book is noticeably longer than its predecessor. I was hoping that being bored in the 300-page first book wouldn't be worse in a book that's even longer.

But luckily, I felt a lot more invested this time around. The relationship between Lucy and Lynn developed interestingly, enough to keep me wanting to read. The very middle of the book lagged a bit, but picked right back up before the end.

Speaking of the end, talk about a powerful punch! The ending made me physically emotional, made me appreciative of the literate journey I had just embarked on. I can't wait to see if there'll be another novel in this series thingy. If there is, I'll definitely check it out.