Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
A confronting, compelling yet timeless story of navigating the pitfalls of being female in a patriarchal world. Can't really be called dystopian since it is entirely realist. Defining the characters by their relationship with others (daughter, wife etc) was sometimes confusing but ultimately made you consider the assumptions we make about those roles. Artfully written and constructed.
I started this book and got to about 40% but stopped for a few days because I wasn't picking up on the writing style and the attempts at humor. I started it again and around 44% it begins to help you understand where it's going. Seems slightly predictable but it's still worth reading. Plus, it is literally written about people in a Oregon and even has a part that is based in my neighborhood. So that was fun. I ended up really loving it & will likely reread it someday.
A frightening "what if" story that's seemingly not all that impossible right now. How would you cope? This book gives you all the possible scenarios in which to react to the "Personhood Amendment" and "Every Child Deserves Two." And manages to make all of them relatable. What would you do?
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This will draw inevitable comparisons to The Handmaid's Tale, and while it is equally timely, this novel stands alone on its own literary merit. Yes, we are asked to consider a future in which abortion and in-vitro fertilization are illegal, "witch hunts" are real, and the government is a frightening parallel to our own at the moment -- nothing seems so far-fetched that our current administration couldn't achieve it, and the setting (a coastal town in Oregon) is familiar enough to make this an even more unsettling read for me. But what makes this novel soar is the characterization and the author's language, because if a writer can't tell me a story in beautiful sentences, I'm not as invested in the story. I read this novel in a single weekend, and if I could have, I would have read from the first page to the last without closing the covers. It's lovely, frightening, triumphant, and important.
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-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:
No
The idea of the story really intrigued me, but overall it felt like it was just one of those works jumping onto a popular theme/controversy today. It claims to follow the lives of various women going through very real, threatening situations, defining what it is to be a woman in that world — However, all the characters blended together with little identifying traits, dulled personalities and sluggish approaches to their goals. Barely any of the characters felt real to me during the read, mostly falling flat. Along those lines, we are usually only given 2-3 pages with each character before we switch to another. Yes, it’s one of those trendy multiple POV books with chapters alternating which story we are following. There were 4 different POVs along with a 5th “story” usually in-between chapters. Unfortunately, I think there were too many and I never latched on. It was almost as if there was advice given to the writer: That the readers would have ADD if you stayed with someone too long and developed them.
Obviously this book was disappointing to me and I feel no reason to go any further in explaining why. I’d much rather let others who do enjoy it, enjoy it.
Obviously this book was disappointing to me and I feel no reason to go any further in explaining why. I’d much rather let others who do enjoy it, enjoy it.
I really wanted to love this book but I was left disappointed. The writing style was not for me at all and in parts really took away from my enjoyment of this book. It almost felt as if it was trying too hard. The topics covered in this book are so important and I felt the potential was wasted a little. Perhaps in part due to the writing style but I also really struggled to connect to the characters and felt the general plotting quite disjointed.
A very important message but sadly not done in a way I found particularly powerful.
A very important message but sadly not done in a way I found particularly powerful.
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Took me a minute to get into the writing style. Can’t say I really cared about any of the characters. It was more a collection of thoughts and observations on the primary roles women fill in society.