In a Handful of Dust

by Mindy McGinnis

Overview

Fans of classic frontier survival stories, as well as readers of dystopian literature, will enjoy this futuristic story about an epic cross-country journey.

In a Handful of Dust is set ten years after the first novel, Not a Drop to Drink, as a dangerous disease strikes the community where teenage Lucy lives. When her adoptive mother, Lynn, takes Lucy away from their home and friends in order to protect her, Lucy struggles to figure out what home means. During their journey west to find a new life, the two face nature’s challenges, including hunger, mountains, and deserts.

New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant says Not a Drop to Drink is a debut “not to be missed,” and this companion title is full of Mindy McGinnis’s evocative, spare language matched with incredible drama and danger. In a Handful of Dust is perfect for fans of the Partials, Enclave, and Legend series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062198549
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/08/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	821,945
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 5.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	870L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Mindy McGinnis is the author of Not a Drop to Drink and its companion, In a Handful of Dust, as well as This Darkness Mine, The Female of the Species, Given to the Sea, Heroine, and the Edgar Award–winning novel A Madness So Discreet. A graduate of Otterbein University with a BA in English literature and religion, Mindy lives in Ohio. You can visit her online at www.mindymcginnis.com.

Editorial Reviews

2014-07-16
Ten years after Not a Drop to Drink (2013), the orphan Lynn rescued is a teenager forced to set out on a dangerous, cross-country journey. Protagonist Lucy, Lynn's adopted daughter, and the expanded community have flourished in the hard-won peace. Their serenity's forever ruptured when a polio outbreak ravages their population, killing and crippling indiscriminately. The disease's spread is charted to identify the source, and Lucy's love interest is identified as the most likely, an unknowing asymptomatic carrier who now faces exile (and crippling guilt). There's a miniscule chance it could be Lucy though, so she must leave as well. Due to a sticky situation involving an unstable, paranoid woman, as well as the mother-child bond, Lynn accompanies Lucy on a dangerous trip to California, where it's rumored there are desalination plants and electricity. The two encounter multiple people of various moral standards and threat levels, nature's obstacles and, of course, the water shortage that destroyed civilization. Throughout it all, Lucy clings to her optimism, especially the hope that she can rescue her love interest. Ultimately, the novel is concerned with the differences between staying alive and living—with Lynn and Lucy, and their rich dynamic, representing both sides. Tension's maintained by constant, subtle foreshadowing (rather than transparent cliffhangers), and the characters rarely feel safe enough for readers to relax. Hard to put down. (Adventure. 13 & up)

Kirkus Reviews