In a Handful of Dust

"And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you
I will show you fear in a handful of dust."

When I first saw there would be a companion novel to [b:Not a Drop to Drink|13112869|Not a Drop to Drink (Not a Drop to Drink, #1)|Mindy McGinnis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360951660s/13112869.jpg|18286567], I was giddy. The first book in the series just blew me away.

This book is EVEN BETTER. I know, I see your raised eyebrow and look of skepticism. I was worried too, but this one is - it's amazing.

You have Lucy, raised by Lynn, is becoming her own person. You see the house, the small town and what became of it all.

But there is something flowing through show more this town and it's deadly. it's forcing Lynn and Lucy to make some decisions they never thought they would and leads them down a path we wouldn't send our worst enemy on.

The story gripped me and was completely impossible to put down. But the easy banter and wry humor of Lynn left me giggling in the aftermath of many of the more intense moments.
I'm so amazed and grateful that [a:Mindy McGinnis|5351825|Mindy McGinnis|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1379437958p2/5351825.jpg] gave us a book 2. But...would it be too much to ask for a book 3??? Pretty please?? :) show less

Another great book from McGinnis and a sequel as good as the first book. Taking place ten years after [book: Not a Drop to Drink], Lucy, the little girl from that story is now 16 and living happily with Lynn, her mother figure (the teen who was the main character in the first book). Lucy doesn't know any world but the place she lives, the pond that provides their water, her friendships with Vera, Stebbs and a possible romantic future with Carter. But when polio strikes down many of the community and strangers who come straggling in for help, Lucy's world is shattered. She must separate from Carter and all she's known, setting out with Lynn to try to find a new place to live that will be safe and sustaining. Thus begins the hardest of show more road trips--a journey on foot from Ohio to California, braving the elements, lack of water, difficult terrain, and trying to avoid any people along the way, because in a world with hardly any water and no amenities, Lucy has to follow Lynn's example, against her own cheerful disposition, and not trust anyone they meet.

I loved going back into this harsh world and reacquainting myself with Lynn, who is tough, gruff, and amazingly strong, yet full of heart (she just never ever wears it on her sleeve). It was cool to see her grown up, and in the position of mother, and to see little Lucy coming into her own. The relationship between the two women is awesome. And Lucy's sense of humor was a great leavener in some pretty grim scenes. I've read quite a few post-apocalyptic survival stories, but I definitely rank these two up at the top for realistic setting and suspenseful plots and well-rounded characters you remember long after you put the book down. show less

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One of the things I hate is when a sequel is announced after I’ve read the first book. Not a Drop to Drink was one of my favorite YA post-apocalyptics, but I was still disgruntled to discover I’d started yet another series. Even so, I enjoyed McGinnis’ story enough to be willing to try the next book. Plus, THOSE COVERS YO. 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 show more 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.

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.

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. show less

In this post-apocalyptic road trip story, drinkable water is scarce enough to kill for and seventeen-year-old Lucy has lived her entire life in a community whose survival depends on their pond. When an outbreak of polio threatens their little world, Lucy and her adopted mother Lynn set out on a trek across the country. Their hope is to reach the West coast and rumored desalinization facilities that allow people to drink the ocean--all the water one could ever need. Along the way, through encounters with other travelers and surviving communities, Lucy's sheltered idealism is shaken, and she must decide what sort of person she is.

McGinnis tells her tale in matter-of-fact (yet not artless) prose and third person point of view that is show more somewhat removed despite being limited to Lucy. I'm all about language economy, but I also typically favor deep POV. For some reason, though, the step back in the voice works perfectly for this story and didn't keep me from caring about Lucy and Lynn. They're solid characters, as are several of the secondaries. McGinnis fuels what could be a plodding plot (literally walking across the country) with interesting character interactions and natural dialogue and the tension of knowing that Lucy and Lynn's lives are at stake every day of their journey. I was never bored while reading this book.

Some of the storyworld seems contradictory or is flat-out never explained, but I haven't read [b:Not a Drop to Drink|13112869|Not a Drop to Drink (Not a Drop to Drink, #1)|Mindy McGinnis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360951660s/13112869.jpg|18286567] yet; it's possible these things are explained in the first book. For example, what exactly happened to the drinking water and all the technology? The cataclysmic event took place before Lucy was born, and at least two decades later people are still filling canteens with creek water and buckets with rainwater. Yet multiple characters carry firearms (Lynn's weapon of choice is a high-powered rifle), and there appears to be no shortage of ammunition. Lucy and Lynn ride horses for part of their journey, but later come upon a group of people with several cars. It's mentioned that gasoline can't be wasted, but it's not explained how these people are able to replenish the gasoline at all.

Another shaky point for me is the beginning, which feels rushed or maybe just underdeveloped. The book opens with crisis in Lucy's community and focuses on several characters, but it doesn't have time to introduce them fully--not with polio killing someone on page one and spreading from there--so I took a bit of time to start caring about any of them. Again, it's possible this wouldn't be an issue for me if I'd read the first book first, but the reasons for Lucy and Lynn's departure seemed rather contrived and rushed as well. The story doesn't really find its footing until the two women are on the road.

Ultimately, though, the plot is not the point here. The weight of this book rests on the shoulders of Lucy and Lynn, and they bear it well. Their relationship is what kept me reading, more sisterly than motherly, though Lynn has raised Lucy from the time she was orphaned as a young child. Lucy is gifted with the ability to dowse water, wants a full life and believes she can have one in California, wants to find a cure for polio and take it back to those she loves. She waits to distrust people until they give her a reason to. Lynn is ten years older but decades harder, a skilled sniper who has killed to survive and protect others. She no longer expects from life what Lucy does, and she distrusts everyone until they give her a reason not to.

As for the story's conclusion, as one would expect from post-apocalyptic fiction, there is some heartbreak; but it doesn't feel like the author's attempt to shock or crush her readers. Rather, it is the inevitable result of who the characters are at their core. This is a book that looks unflinchingly at the importance of hope and what happens to those that lose it.

The light and dark of Lucy and Lynn, their loyalty to each other that is pushed to its limits, and the observations each of them makes about humanity itself--these are the reasons to read IN A HANDFUL OF DUST. This is a character-driven work that is bleak but not hopeless as it examines the ruthlessness of human nature and the ties that can bind us together anyway. I'm looking forward to discovering Lynn's story in [b:Not a Drop to Drink|13112869|Not a Drop to Drink (Not a Drop to Drink, #1)|Mindy McGinnis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360951660s/13112869.jpg|18286567], and if the author ever decides to give us a third book, I'll read that one, too. show less

Mindy McGinnis does not mess around. She has no problem killing characters who could create happy endings for the main characters and for that I admire her a lot. Love isn't super important when you're trying not to dehydrate to death. Our library has this classified as a YA thriller and while I don't necessarily agree with the thriller label, I did have a hard time putting it down. Two thumbs up.

Rarely is a sequel as good as its predecessor, and rarer still is a sequel that surpasses its predecessor. So imagine my delight when I read IN A HANDFUL OF DUST (IHOD)and found it even more enthralling than the excellent NOT A DROP TO DRINK (NDTD.

Picking up ten years after the first book, IHOD introduces us to a fully grown Lynn and a now sixteen year old Lucy as they are forced to trek across the country constantly pursued by natural and human dangers. In the previous book, all the major events happened--by necessity--within a few miles of the pond, so there was an intimacy and hyper focused feel to the story. In this sequel, we get to see the world as it has become. And it's often horrifying, bleak, and amazing.

One of the more show more amazing aspects of IHOD comes from the decade gap between stories. We get a full picture of the woman Lynn has grown into, and more than that, we get to see how she shaped Lucy. The dynamic is very different from Lynn's relationship with her mother.

While just as gritty as NDTD, IHOD delves deeper into this world and the people groups it has created--good and bad. There is a similar feel in places to shows like The Walking Dead, and like that show, it makes you question the costs of survival, cling to the moments of happiness, and reveal in the characters who must walk the fine line between them.

This is a stellar follow up to a stellar debut. Highly recommend. show less

(3.5)

Well, this world is just as cruel as I remember from Not a Drop to Drink.

Apparently this book takes place about ten years after the first one, and it follows Lucy instead of Lynn. Their camp by the creek is disturbed by an outbreak of polio, and because Lucy is suspected of being a carrier, she's exiled. Naturally, Lynn goes with her, and they both set their sights on California, where things are supposed to be more like it was before the Shortage.

In a Handful of Dust is definitely survival fiction more than anything else. The fact that at its core is two strong women is something I love to see.

But the lack of happiness and heartwarming moments in this book made it hard to read, and not in a good way. Hardship after hardship after show more hardship. Characters didn't seem to grow or change, they just bore each event with the same: "But you're Lucy, and I'm Lynn." It didn't seem to have the same power and effect as the first book did.

When Lucy and Lynn reached Las Vegas near the end, it just reminded me of a later season of The Walking Dead. Instead of keeping the story well-contained, it branched out to show a more broad view of its dystopian world, and ended up sacrificing a little bit of its originality. People are not to be trusted, everyone has ulterior motives, things are too good to be true, strong men are the ones in control, etc. etc. etc.

And the ending! I didn't like the ending at all. It was something that was foreshadowed throughout the entire book as something that was supposed to be a difficult decision for Lucy, but it ended up feeling like "eh, whatever, do what you wanna do." I know it's such a childish thing to think, but I wish I hadn't read this companion novel and just stuck with the ending of Not a Drop to Drink. It had a completeness that this one lacked. Lynn is still my hero, and she was left without an ending, which broke my heart. show less