In a Handful of Dust

In a future America, where usable water has run short, people settle wherever there is a supply of water, and guard it carefully. But Lucy’s peaceful life at the pond is threatened when polio strikes. Not only has she lost her best friend, but Lucy must leave because she might be a carrier and people fear she is dangerous for the well-being of those living by the pond. Lucy and her adoptive mother Lynn set off from Ohio toward California, where there are rumors of desalinization plants and a potential for a normal life. As Lucy travels across the country, she depends on Lynn for protection, and faces challenges she never had at the pond, such as hunger, thirst, betrayal, and exhaustion. As the story progresses Lucy learns to depend more on herself.

I haven’t read the prequel Not a Drop to Drink, so I don’t understand everything about what happened to the world, but I was drawn in fairly quickly and picked up most of it. There was a scene that reminded me disturbingly of Soylent Green, but it shows that even a place that seems peaceful and safe can be anything but. This is a book that makes you think.