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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
Way too depressing. Was not in the right heads pace for it.
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A cataclysmic banking crisis has disrupted Life As We Know It and Miranda and daughter Emma are struggling to survive. After examining all possible options, Miranda decides the best idea is to head for a place she'd vowed never to visit: the colony/settlement of Femlandia. Femlandia is a womyn only place, absolutely no men allowed. Women with troubled pasts and struggling with life join, heal and stay. But the founder Win Somers and her partner Jen not only want to have a safe place, they founded the Femlandia communities based on active misandry and have kept infusing that hatred into the womyn who join. But that's not Miranda's philosophy, and she actively separated from Win, her mother, years before... yet now she needs her help. It's not a spoiler to say that adding Miranda to Femlandia will change everything.
Readers may find either Win or Miranda's philosophy difficult to deal with, while the idea of a Femlandia reminded me of the many womyn I knew in college 30-40 years ago. Enough said about that.
eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.
Readers may find either Win or Miranda's philosophy difficult to deal with, while the idea of a Femlandia reminded me of the many womyn I knew in college 30-40 years ago. Enough said about that.
eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.
I'm sorry to say that this book was not for me. Between the misandristic villains of the story and a MC who seems to believe inequality & discrimination don't exist, it was really difficult for me to empathize with any of the characters in this book.
I disliked a lot that the concept of what is called "Femlandia" is portrayed as a feminist post-apocalyptic reality, and yet, it's nothing but a misandrist cult (which I feel it propagates the misconceptions around feminism because of the way the concept is framed, but that's another topic).
At some point, as much as it's obvious to hate the villainous cult, it's also difficult to root for Miranda, the MC that is supposed to save the day. In fact, it often feels Miranda dismisses the other women's experiences, which often makes her a dislikable character, and also makes this book everything but feminist. In Miranda's head, there are, of course, both bad and good people regardless of the gender, but everything else is disregarded, as if we all have the same opportunities in life and it doesn't matter who you are nor where you come from — more about having bad luck for finding awful people in your life? (or is this part of the utopia?) Let's not even start talking about how this book approaches gender. It felt like trans here was only mentioned in order to tick some sort of checklist, because it's quickly dismissed to never be mentioned again.
Because of all of the inconsistencies in the story and in the characters' development, it's very difficult to understand what is the lesson and moral we're supposed to get from the story. Plot wise, it's predictable, there's not much to find once the grim details of Femlandia are revealed, and we kind of know already how the book will end.
It's not even clear if the author meant for the reader to side with anyone at all. No one will want to side with a misandrist cult, but will we want to side with someone who's unaware of her own privilege?
I disliked a lot that the concept of what is called "Femlandia" is portrayed as a feminist post-apocalyptic reality, and yet, it's nothing but a misandrist cult (which I feel it propagates the misconceptions around feminism because of the way the concept is framed, but that's another topic).
At some point, as much as it's obvious to hate the villainous cult, it's also difficult to root for Miranda, the MC that is supposed to save the day. In fact, it often feels Miranda dismisses the other women's experiences, which often makes her a dislikable character, and also makes this book everything but feminist. In Miranda's head, there are, of course, both bad and good people regardless of the gender, but everything else is disregarded, as if we all have the same opportunities in life and it doesn't matter who you are nor where you come from — more about having bad luck for finding awful people in your life? (or is this part of the utopia?) Let's not even start talking about how this book approaches gender. It felt like trans here was only mentioned in order to tick some sort of checklist, because it's quickly dismissed to never be mentioned again.
Because of all of the inconsistencies in the story and in the characters' development, it's very difficult to understand what is the lesson and moral we're supposed to get from the story. Plot wise, it's predictable, there's not much to find once the grim details of Femlandia are revealed, and we kind of know already how the book will end.
It's not even clear if the author meant for the reader to side with anyone at all. No one will want to side with a misandrist cult, but will we want to side with someone who's unaware of her own privilege?
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No