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elysiamann's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Creative, relevant concept. Some parts needed tightening up. Great though, I sped through it!
sarahb919's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Masterfully written. I couldn’t put the book down! I loved all of the main characters but was a bit conflicted by the character Ate though that may be due to Jane’s POV and her suspicions about her cousin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Classism, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Medical content, Mental illness, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Ableism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Infertility, Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Blood, Vomit, and Eating disorder
mollconn7's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5, a little bit of a slow start, but overall not too bad!
bookph1le's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I get the "scifi" label slapped onto this book, but I also don't. For as far-fetched as this concept may sound to some people, what the book depicts is already happening all over the world. Ramos may be offering up a slight exaggeration, but the fact is that underprivileged women the world over are being exploited in ways that should be unimaginable, up to and including essentially becoming baby factories in order to try to provide for their families.
Instead, I think this book takes a long, hard look at and raises many questions about, the unique ways in which impoverished women are exploited by wealthier, more privileged people. I thought the book skillfully walked a tightrope in portraying the viewpoints of all the women, all of whom are essentially doing what they need to do in order to get ahead in the world, whether that's offering themselves up as surrogates for the privileged, recruiting said surrogates, or brainstorming new forms to enterprise in order to secure their place in corporate America.
This doesn't mean I sympathize with or like all of the characters all that much. Unquestionably to me, Jane is the single most exploited character in the entire book, yet the book does a very good job of not making her out to be an unrealistically martyred hero. She's a woman with few options doing what she thinks she must in order to provide a better life for her daughter. There are many women in the world just like Jane, many of whom are in the U.S., this supposed land of opportunity. Jane is a sobering reminder of what happens when people fall through the cracks, when the institutional boundaries placed in people's way force them into spaces they would otherwise be able to avoid.
Equally interesting to me, though I mostly found her loathsome, is Mae. She's a great example of how people can become so blinded by their own privileges and ambition that they can see themselves as helping others when, in fact, they're exploiting them. I didn't find her actions at all unrealistic, particularly when considering corporate scandals like those exposed in the tobacco industry, or what's currently playing out with the opioid epidemic. Psychological literature can offer up plenty of examples of how people at the top become so far removed from everyday life that they are so blind to the harm they cause others that they're astounded when their exploitation is exposed. When your whole life revolves around maximizing profits and providing value to shareholders, it becomes easy to justify all kinds of things that should be unconscionable. And while examples abound of how men exploit women for all kinds of reasons, I do think it's important not to forget that women participate in that exploitation too. This is what happens in a patriarchy, where those who aren't exploited convince themselves that they could never find themselves on the other side, that they're part of the in group.
This book gave me a whole lot to chew over. I was already uncomfortable with the concept of surrogacy. It's one thing if a woman offers to carry a child for a close friend or family member who's unable to carry their own child, but I think it becomes something entirely different when a woman is being paid to do so. I don't see how paying surrogates should make people any less uncomfortable than paying someone to donate their organs would make them feel. To me, preying on people financially is odious enough, but when you start throwing preying on people's bodies into the mix, you reach a whole new level of alarming. Mae and her privileged clients excel at convincing themselves that their exploitation of the surrogates is good for the women, that they're offering them opportunities they wouldn't otherwise enjoy in life, but I think we all need to take a good, hard look at society whenever we start trying to tell ourselves that exploiting the bodies of other human beings is perfectly acceptable.
I get the "scifi" label slapped onto this book, but I also don't. For as far-fetched as this concept may sound to some people, what the book depicts is already happening all over the world. Ramos may be offering up a slight exaggeration, but the fact is that underprivileged women the world over are being exploited in ways that should be unimaginable, up to and including essentially becoming baby factories in order to try to provide for their families.
Instead, I think this book takes a long, hard look at and raises many questions about, the unique ways in which impoverished women are exploited by wealthier, more privileged people. I thought the book skillfully walked a tightrope in portraying the viewpoints of all the women, all of whom are essentially doing what they need to do in order to get ahead in the world, whether that's offering themselves up as surrogates for the privileged, recruiting said surrogates, or brainstorming new forms to enterprise in order to secure their place in corporate America.
This doesn't mean I sympathize with or like all of the characters all that much. Unquestionably to me, Jane is the single most exploited character in the entire book, yet the book does a very good job of not making her out to be an unrealistically martyred hero. She's a woman with few options doing what she thinks she must in order to provide a better life for her daughter. There are many women in the world just like Jane, many of whom are in the U.S., this supposed land of opportunity. Jane is a sobering reminder of what happens when people fall through the cracks, when the institutional boundaries placed in people's way force them into spaces they would otherwise be able to avoid.
Equally interesting to me, though I mostly found her loathsome, is Mae. She's a great example of how people can become so blinded by their own privileges and ambition that they can see themselves as helping others when, in fact, they're exploiting them. I didn't find her actions at all unrealistic, particularly when considering corporate scandals like those exposed in the tobacco industry, or what's currently playing out with the opioid epidemic. Psychological literature can offer up plenty of examples of how people at the top become so far removed from everyday life that they are so blind to the harm they cause others that they're astounded when their exploitation is exposed. When your whole life revolves around maximizing profits and providing value to shareholders, it becomes easy to justify all kinds of things that should be unconscionable. And while examples abound of how men exploit women for all kinds of reasons, I do think it's important not to forget that women participate in that exploitation too. This is what happens in a patriarchy, where those who aren't exploited convince themselves that they could never find themselves on the other side, that they're part of the in group.
This book gave me a whole lot to chew over. I was already uncomfortable with the concept of surrogacy. It's one thing if a woman offers to carry a child for a close friend or family member who's unable to carry their own child, but I think it becomes something entirely different when a woman is being paid to do so. I don't see how paying surrogates should make people any less uncomfortable than paying someone to donate their organs would make them feel. To me, preying on people financially is odious enough, but when you start throwing preying on people's bodies into the mix, you reach a whole new level of alarming. Mae and her privileged clients excel at convincing themselves that their exploitation of the surrogates is good for the women, that they're offering them opportunities they wouldn't otherwise enjoy in life, but I think we all need to take a good, hard look at society whenever we start trying to tell ourselves that exploiting the bodies of other human beings is perfectly acceptable.
msalane's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jillaay_h's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Cancer, Gaslighting, Grief, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Medical content
joonity's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
rebeccasarine's review against another edition
3.0
Such an interesting premise with lots of potential BUT unfortunately not satisfying