Title: In a Handful of Dust
Author: Mindy McGinnis
Series: Not a Drop to Drink #2
Genre: YA Dystopian
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: September 23rd 2014
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a honest review

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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.


In a Handful of Dust is a kind of sequel. And I think that is one of the reasons why I enjoyed this book so much, it had all the makings of a sequel, with us seeing some familiar faces but it was a completely different story and setting. This book also follows the same format as the first book in which characters travel distances in order to find shelter and gain some sense of a home.

This book follows Lucy who is forced to leave the only home she has ever really known and trek across country in order to find a place that is without any kind of infection and with water, something that is hard to come by in her world. But what i think made this book for me was who Lucy was traveling with...Lynn. If you don't remember, Lynn was the main character in Not a Drop to Drink and I had the biggest smile on my face when i read her name. It was great to see Lynn years after we left her and it was great to see that she was doing well. I loved getting to know Lucy throughout this book because she was so different from Lynn in general. Lucy loves being around people and is excited with the fact of getting to a place that is booming with life and culture, whereas Lynn is the exact opposite so seeing them interact was great and made for some great conflict.

The only issue I had with this book was the middle. I found that it lagged a bit when Lucy and Lynn were traveling across country because it was mostly the same thing over and over, with the occasional new character intersected here and there. I loved the new characters, they made the story that much more interesting at times but when it was just Lucy and Lynn I found that there was more description and not enough dialogue and it was a bit boring. I honestly hate saying that because I really enjoyed this book and I lobe Mindy, she is a such an amazing person, but I always tell myself that I have to be honest when it comes to reviewing and so I am sticking with that.

Overall In a Handful of Dust was a great companion novel to Not a Drop to Drink and i loved seeing Lynn in her new role as guardian of Lucy. I also really enjoyed getting to know Lucy and how she differs from Lynn and what we saw in IAHOD. If you love cross country trip reads, this book is for you, and obviously if you loved NADTD then this book is for you as well!