Mindy McGinnis Books In Order

Publication Order of Given Duet Books

Publication Order of Not A Drop To Drink Books

Publication Order of The Initial Insult Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Maximum Ride: Hawk Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Mindy McGinnis is an assistant teen librarian and Edgar Award-winning writer who resides in Ohio. She graduated from the Otterbein University with an undergraduate degree in Religion and English Literature. She sees nothing wrong with owning 9 cats along with 2 dogs that balance out things nicely.

Mindy McGinnis is the writer of A MADNESS SO DISCREET. This is a book that won the 2016’s Edgar Award for The Young Adult Fiction. She is also the author of the post-apocalyptic duo IN A HANDFUL OF DUST and NOT A DROP TO DRINK. The last book has been optioned for movie by the Fickle Fish Films.

Mindy McGinnis runs a blog for the aspiring writers at Writer Pants on Fire. The blog features several interviews with agents, debut authors and established authors. Learn how they managed to land their agents, how the submission process is like as well as how it feels at the time when you see your cover for the very first time. Mindy McGinnis does query critiques on Saturdays on for those who are brave enough for volunteering.

Below is a description of the 2 early books in Not a Drop to Drink series by Mindy McGinnis:

Not a Drop to Drink

This is the first novel in the Not a Drop to Drink series by Mindy McGinnis. Lynn knows nearly every threat to her pond: coyotes, a snowless winter, drought and, most importantly, individuals looking for drinks. She makes sure that anyone who comes near her pond leaves thirsty, or they don’t leave at all.

Confident in her abilities, Lynn doesn’t have any use for the world that’s beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having life means dedicating the life to survival along with the constant work of gathering water and wood. Having a pond will normally require the fortitude for protecting it, something that her Mother taught her quite well during the quiet hours that they spent on the rooftop.

However wisps of smoke in the horizon mean just one thing: strangers. All the mysterious footprints by her pond, gunshots and nighttime threats make it all clear that Lynn has exactly what they need and they will not stop till they get it.

With evocative, incredible drama and spare language, romance and danger, Mindy McGinnis has managed to depict a girl’s journey on a barren world that’s quite different from our own. This is certainly a great book that you will never get bored while reading.

In a Handful of Dust

In a Handful of Dust is the second book in Not a Drop to Drink series by Mindy McGinnis. Lucy’s life by her pond has been full at all times. She has friends and water, laughter as well as the love of Lynn, her adoptive mother. Lynn has made sure that her childhood is very different from her own. However, it seems that Lucy’s future is already settled — children, a water source, a man, a house and anything that’s beyond their life by her pond is beyond reach.

The book jumps 10 years into the future. However, it’s still easy to remember the characters from the first novel in the series. There’s obviously been changes and you might be hard-pressed to keep up with the most important characters.

The main character in this book is Lucy. She is Lynn’s adopted daughter. Lynn is by now an adult, yet she remain just as practical as she was in the first book. You will love the fact that Lynn is not any softer than how she was in the first novel. Though she is now a mother of sorts and truly loves Lucy, she is still not too emotional or less apt to kill first and then ask questions later. She is just as hard-edged as she ought to be so as to protect herself as well as her kin.

However, Lucy is a foil to Lynn. In spite what she has been through, she still retains a certain faith and naivete in other individuals. Raised for the past years by Vera, Stebbs and Lynn, often surrounded by good people, Lucy expects those that she meets to also be good. She likes giving people benefit of doubt and also to seek the non-violent solutions. They are character that highlight the benefits of skepticism and trust in such scenarios. Ultimately, both Lynn’s mistrust and Lucy’s kindness come in handy. However, Lynn is built to survive despite all the ongoing issues.

You will certainly love the fact that McGinnis is brutal in this series. There is nothing convenient or even easy about life in all her novels. People die, yet there is no person that we care about. In the end, the situation is finally resolved and then normal life resumes. All this happens as McGinnis gives the main characters a sexy romance.

The one aspect that some people don’t really like about the novel is the minimal romance. Even though the book wasn’t intended to be one of the romantic novels, it’s still a bit plothole-ish at times. Lucy had started developing some feelings for the boy, Carter. What the blurb didn’t mention is the fact that he is also sent out of his community for similar reasons as Lynn. However, he does not know what he should do and he decides to follow her. Lucy then promises to leave him water and food, so that he will not starve. She also tries to stop Lynn from moving too fast so that he’s left behind. As events unfold, she and Lynn end up moving very fast, but she never actually gives any thought to the simple fact that she has just left Carter behind. This is again picked up later. However, the simple that he was not considered for a long period of time might bug some readers. Nevertheless, you will certainly love the resolution to Carter’s story even though Lucy’s feelings were somehow handled inconsistently.

If you like the first book in the series, Not a Drop to Drink, then there’s no doubt that you will fall in love with In a Handful of Dust will as well. Mindy McGinnis’ series is a great choice for those people who like the post-apocalyptic fiction.