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notalice's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The plot is good but the theme is so oversimplified, and she keeps saying she hates her husband It's also too similar to "Vox". It's about a highly educated woman whose husband work is directly related to the goverment and has kids, one of them a young girl.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Kidnapping
nila's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Genocide
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, and Sexual assault
norwegianforestreader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Gun violence, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Antisemitism, Death, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Cursing, Homophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
meluhnie's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was kind of a dystopian in the near future. This story touched on lots of uncomfortable topics, especially eugenics, politics, our education system, abortion, elitism...it's a squirmy read for white America. As an LGBT+ parent and a POC, I couldn't help but think..."Am I supposed to be surprised?" Meh.
I did enjoy the read, I enjoyed the story, I connected with the MC as a mother. I'm glad I read it. But I just couldn't identify with the struggle, like this isn't the worst America has done. It's good to learn about, but it's nothing new. I did enjoy the Author's note at the end, and I think she accomplished her goal. So on that end it would be 5 stars. But for me, not so much.
I did enjoy the read, I enjoyed the story, I connected with the MC as a mother. I'm glad I read it. But I just couldn't identify with the struggle, like this isn't the worst America has done. It's good to learn about, but it's nothing new. I did enjoy the Author's note at the end, and I think she accomplished her goal. So on that end it would be 5 stars. But for me, not so much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Ableism, Medical content, Gaslighting, Classism, and Abortion
mira123's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Ich kenne keinen einzigen Menschen, der sich nicht über irgendwelche Zahlen definiert. Notenschnitt, Intelligenzquotient, gelesene Bücher pro Jahr, Gewicht, Kleidergröße, wie viel am Monatsende noch am Konto ist. Und das ist auch nicht immer nur schlecht. Ich meine: Wem schadet es, wenn ich messe, wie viele Bücher ich pro Jahr lesen kann? Aber schon in unserer Realität kann sowas sehr schnell außer Kontrolle geraten. Dann entstehen zum Beispiel Essstörungen. Oder Menschen werden als weniger wertvoll angesehen, nur weil ihre Noten schlechter sind oder sich ihr Intelligenzquotient nicht im dreistelligen Bereich befindet.
In "Q" ist wirklich alles von einer Zahl abhängig: deinem Q-Wert. Was da so genau reinspielt, weiß keiner so genau. Auf jeden Fall sind deine Schulnoten mit drinnen oder später deine Leistungen bei der Arbeit und auch die Leistungen deiner anderen Familienmitglieder spielen eine Rolle. Und wenn du einen höheren Q-Wert hast, darfst du zum Beispiel die Express-Kasse benutzen. Auf Kinder wirkt sich dieses System besonders stark aus: Je nach Q-Wert müssen sie eine andere Schule besuchen. Auf silbernen Schulen sind die kleinen Einsteins, auf grünen Schulen die Schüler, die im guten mittelmäßigen Bereich abschneiden und in gelben Schulen alle die Kinder, die unterdurchschnittliche Leistungen erzielen und deswegen als minderwertig angesehen werden. Das sind dann Internate, denn offensichtlich haben die Eltern ja bei der Erziehung ihrer Sprösslinge versagt, also muss ihnen der Staat unter die Arme greifen. Wenn diese Kinder überhaupt geboren werden... Denn die Messung des Q-Werts beginnt schon vor der Geburt und wenn der dann zu niedrig ist, wird den Eltern eine Abtreibung empfohlen.
Dieses Buch war verdammt gruselig und genau deswegen konnte ich es nicht mehr aus der Hand legen. Dystopien behandeln immer auch Aspekte unserer Wirklichkeit und auch hier wurde mir schnell klar, dass diese Idee nicht aus der Luft gegriffen wurde. Spätestens gegen Ende des Buchs wird das auch offensichtlich.
Mein einziger Kritikpunkt ist die Gewalt gegen Ende des Buchs. Beziehungsweise die Art, wie die Gewalt beschrieben wird. Gewalt kommt eigentlich gar nicht so viel vor, in vielen anderen Büchern gibt es mehr. Aber sie wurde auf eine Art beschrieben, die mich dazu zwang, immer wieder Lesepausen einzulegen. Gerade von einer Szene wurde mir richtig übel.
Mein Fazit? Eine unglaublich spannende Dystopie, über die ich sicher noch länger nachdenken werde.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Abortion, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Medical content, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders
infairveronaa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Was nauseous for 90% of this book. This was better than Dalcher's debut novel, Vox, for me though so if you didn't like that one I'd still give this dystopian world a try but only if you're cool with thinking about how close America came to or could come to this world. And the nausea, gotta be cool with the nausea inducing occurences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, and Xenophobia
Eugenics, fertility manipulationbex_knighthunterbooks's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really enjoyed this dystopian thriller. It was pacey, tense, and thought-provoking. The world wasn't as plausible or well rounded as other dystopian societies I've read but that didn't stop it being interesting to consider and use to reflect on my own values. The perspective was also often a bit convenient but I could clearly see why it was written in that way in each case - for instance the Hitler youth grandmother gave reason to bring in some of the history around eugenics which added some important context. Overall, the created world contained enough horrifying believable elements (particularly the scoring system) that the story kept me gripped and drew enough parallels to our current reality to have me reflecting on what could be just around the corner...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Sexual violence
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