Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Blue Ticket

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh

7 reviews

fiainkvinna's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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bookedbymadeline's review

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as The Water Cure. Unique and interesting plot but lacked a good execution. There was minimal world building and background, leaving me with too many unanswered questions-how did the lottery start? Why did they decide to hold the lottery? Who decided? How are the cities set up? Details about the trip to the cities? I think it would’ve been a better story if there was more background.

The characters were okay but there was a lack of depth and development. It was a quick read but could be boring at times especially in the middle. The ending had a good twist but left me unsatisfied.

Overall Blue Ticket has an interesting concept and makes you think but I wish it had more world building and didn’t leave me confused.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5)

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kimschneider's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

3.0

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jodierose14's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

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margotnelson's review

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I started this book on a whim, and was a little slow getting into it, mainly because the narrator is not especially likeable as a character. However, as the story went on, I wanted to know what would happen and how it would end. It was a quick and intense read, and a subsection of the dystopian genre that I hadn't yet dived into but had potential to be really interesting. Descriptions of the logic of this world felt glossed over in a way that didn't serve the story (i.e. Is the ticketing system just in this one country? Why was it implemented in the first place?) and made for an unsatisfying ending.

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archaicrobin's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Why did everyone smoke in this book? Pregnant women, doctors, men, children, like what was that about?!! This is just one of the many questions I have about Blue Ticket.

Calla lives in a world where women are given tickets that determine whether they will live the life of a mother or the life of a single woman, free of children and marriage. Calla pulls a blue ticket at her lottery and is immediately given invasive birth control and sent on her way to live her child free life. Only problem is, soon Calla starts to yearn for the other life. The life of a white ticket woman with her children, her husband, and her cozy suburban life. Calla removes her own birth control, becomes pregnant, and suddenly is a fugitive on the run trying to save herself and her unborn child she is not allowed to have.

The premise for this one was so intriguing and I was so excited to read it but I wish the author had explained more. Why are women forced to pull these tickets? How did this society occur where women lack the ability to choose whether they have children? Why are girls made to wander and survive in the woods on their dangerous journey to “a city” after they pull blue tickets? Why do they have to leave their families and everything they’ve known when they get their period? Why do fathers walk around with their babies and collect tips?! Wtf is up with doctors in this? Why are they so powerful? Why do women get assigned a doctor and why is that doctor like a god?

There are just so many questions and none of them are ever answered. I feel that if the author had taken the time to really craft this world and at least try to explain how it came to be and why it is, the book would have been a lot stronger.

Obviously since I gave it 3 stars, I did still enjoy the book but I feel it could have been so much better. There were twists that I did not see coming in this one and the author’s prose is fantastic. Despite all the unknowns and the slow going in the middle of the novel I still enjoyed this sci fi read and felt it had some qualities worth giving it a try.

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rosenaughtin's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I loved this book for the writing, not so much for the plot. Sophie Mackintosh is a master of dark, mysterious prose, but it didn't translate as well in this novel as in the closed-off world of The Water Cure. There was just too much of the unexplained and nonsensical in her dystopia, and it was hard to get into because of that. It was tense and exciting at times and kept me invested until the end, but I craved more context and character development.

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