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laurenbaggy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, Confinement, Abortion, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Medical content, Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
beccajdb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Sexual assault, Bullying, Violence, Sexual content, Rape, Confinement, Child death, Blood, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Abortion, Pregnancy, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death
jennylo's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
It rang very "not all men", which I just feel is not a point that needs to be made. There's also brief transphobia toward the beginning which was very icky. The protagonist is written as though she doesn't necessarily agree, but doesn't fight the point. It left me wondering about the authors personal views.
I also feel like it completely avoided a whole topic that felt too obvious to me to be ignored, that socialising all new humans in a healthy way would probably make the world a much better place. Instead it's one extreme or the other: either men abuse women, or women abuse men. I get it's a dystopia but the idea wasn't floated until the epilogue
I think I partially guessed the key twist so was reading more to see if I got it right, than actually enjoying it. I guess it's kind of an interesting take on a female led dystopia, but I won't be recommending it to anyone in a hurry.
Graphic: Blood and Child abuse
Moderate: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexism, Gun violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Rape
rhi_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
It’s certainly fast-paced, but this pace is achieved by cutting out almost all character development and relationship dynamics. Every choice made by the characters seem completely random. Why does Emma latch on to Jen Jones (the charasmatic leader of this seeming idyllic off-The-grid community, with a name so subtle she may as well just have been called Dr Evil) as soon as she meets her, to the point where she abandons her own mother? Jen has done nothing to earn this, there’s absolutely nothing to suggest Emma supported the extreme ideals of Femlandia before all this.
The ‘twist’ of the book was gross and not even especially clever, but don’t worry because it’s all resolved in pretty much the next chapter.
There are some absolutely sublime 1* review for this book on StoryGraph that go in to more detail about why exactly this book is so awful, Id suggest reading them over reading Femlandia - you’ll certainly experience more nuance, structure, and entertainment. My search for a great feminist dystopian story continues.
Graphic: Child abuse, Slavery, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Gun violence
Minor: Transphobia
siriface's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Death, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Suicide, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship
thekaylie's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Transphobia, Suicide, Rape, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
hattie's review against another edition
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Child death
Minor: Abortion and Suicide
sdwilliams92's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Death
lsbonnie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I'm not saying that this book is perfect, but I like that it got me questioning, sometimes agreeing with one side, sometimes with the other, sometimes leaving me not knowing what to think.
I couldn't put the book down. The story was gripping, and sometimes very intense, a real page turner. I don't know if I'm really into the dystopian genre, but as a feminist I was excited to read this.
I like that the characters are deeply flawed therefore deeply human. Let's take Miranda, the main character. At times, yes, she is frustrating because she doesn't get the need for feminism, was a kept woman and because she understands why Nick did what he did. But at times she is also angry at him and at men, she is not completely blind. She has a very moderate point of view when it comes to feminism, it's true, but surprise surprise, it's still the case of many women nowadays. A lot of them don't really have problems with men, or they roll their eyes playfully at them and their antics, without thinking much about it. They know there is violence against women, including sexual, but they don't see it as being spread in the whole world. They don't get it, as Win would say. Maybe they're blind or society (men?) made them blind, maybe they're not educated enough, maybe they think it's normal ("hardwired"), maybe they accept their situation and are happy with it (what's wrong with being a kept woman if you enjoy it?). But these women exist, and there are many of them.
Also, can you really blame Miranda for her difficult relationship with feminism/her mother, when
Win too is a complicated character. Yes her view of the world is extreme and raises issues. But I also understand why she
Contrary to what some people wrote in the reviews, I don't think that the author's point was to say "boo extreme feminism is bad!" or that "men are good, poor men, mean women". I honestly think Christina Dalcher wanted to question what kind of world is possible, what we want, how far we would go in our thinking.
I do agree with people saying that the "big" twist was a bit predictable, but I still think that it is worth a read. Be mindful of the content warnings, though.
About the epilogue:
As we got closer to the ending, I imagined something like just a few years later. With boys reintroduced in the society, turning into teenagers then men, would violence and sexual assault against women happen again? And how would that be handled by the society?
Alternatively I imagined the boys/teenagers/men living within Femlandia, but being second-class citizens, at least for the next generations as they would still be wary of men. But this could have carried on, just like in our world women have been treated as second-class citizens for generations/centuries.
Graphic: Violence and Transphobia
Moderate: Pregnancy and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Miscarriage
About transphobia in the book:lpdx's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Trafficking