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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
What really worked for me: the way that even smart, capable, critical-thinking people can get swept along in the face of rhetoric and minor concessions. We see the perilous danger of white feminism and what it could be if allowed to fester. And Korn also did a very good job at pulling people from different backgrounds to show various effects.
However, most things kind of fall apart under close scrutiny. I was constantly bubbling with questions about how religion would factor into the Inside, or how so many smart and educated people (from diverse backgrounds!) didn’t look deeper or rebel at all. We don’t know if there was some kind of system of justice. We don’t know what manufacturing or any other kind of non-food-related production looked like. I think having the limited viewpoints saved Korn from having to explain those things, but it also meant that I personally got wrapped around the axel wondering about them.
The other thing that really got me was the timeline. We kind of do a fast-forward montage of like 25 years, which is a LONG time. We also get the sense that some of our characters would get bored in 20 years (legit can’t fathom how Shelby, a personal assistant, didn’t read her boss’s email even ONCE in twenty years; no way). There’s no way everyone would just be mindlessly going along with things for that long, particularly not if they’re both highly educated and from varying backgrounds. If it was 5 years, yeah okay, but 20 is way too long for absolutely nothing to change or be challenged.
But one more thing I did really like was how Korn played with generation stereotypes; with millennials being the old people and Gen Z being, like, parents of teenagers. The nods to those stereotypes and memes were great.
{Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}
However, most things kind of fall apart under close scrutiny. I was constantly bubbling with questions about how religion would factor into the Inside, or how so many smart and educated people (from diverse backgrounds!) didn’t look deeper or rebel at all. We don’t know if there was some kind of system of justice. We don’t know what manufacturing or any other kind of non-food-related production looked like. I think having the limited viewpoints saved Korn from having to explain those things, but it also meant that I personally got wrapped around the axel wondering about them.
The other thing that really got me was the timeline. We kind of do a fast-forward montage of like 25 years, which is a LONG time. We also get the sense that some of our characters would get bored in 20 years (legit can’t fathom how Shelby, a personal assistant, didn’t read her boss’s email even ONCE in twenty years; no way). There’s no way everyone would just be mindlessly going along with things for that long, particularly not if they’re both highly educated and from varying backgrounds. If it was 5 years, yeah okay, but 20 is way too long for absolutely nothing to change or be challenged.
But one more thing I did really like was how Korn played with generation stereotypes; with millennials being the old people and Gen Z being, like, parents of teenagers. The nods to those stereotypes and memes were great.
{Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book feels like when you have all the ingredients to make a cake, but it just doesn't rise. Conceptually, it had it all but I don't feel like anything was really done with the ideas and none of the conversations were pushed far enough.
Yours for the Taking is mostly set in the 2050s. The climate is out of control, water levels are rising, and the heat is becoming unbearable. Governments and wealthy individuals create large structures to withstand the coming storms called Inside, and only some people are allowed in.
A "fifth wave feminisit" named Jacqueline decides the Inside she invests in will be made in her image, and will contain no cis or trans men. Residents would be dosed with valium via the airvents without their knowledge or consent, and envoys from the space shuttle Jacqueline lives on would collect a portion of the food grown Inside to sustain the people in space.
I won't spoil anything but there was a very interesting conversation to be had around surrogacy, IVF, and eugenics. The plot was begging for it, but it never quite happened. The writing style also was not my favourite and never really drew me in, and I
It bothered me that the threat of storms hung over the whole book but, even during Outside sections, we never actually got to experience one.
I think this book was too broad and tried to do too many things at the expense of doing any of them particularly well. Too many characters meant I didn't feel close to any, and too many ideas meant none were fully explored or expressed.
Yours for the Taking is mostly set in the 2050s. The climate is out of control, water levels are rising, and the heat is becoming unbearable. Governments and wealthy individuals create large structures to withstand the coming storms called Inside, and only some people are allowed in.
A "fifth wave feminisit" named Jacqueline decides the Inside she invests in will be made in her image, and will contain no cis or trans men. Residents would be dosed with valium via the airvents without their knowledge or consent, and envoys from the space shuttle Jacqueline lives on would collect a portion of the food grown Inside to sustain the people in space.
I won't spoil anything but there was a very interesting conversation to be had around surrogacy, IVF, and eugenics. The plot was begging for it, but it never quite happened. The writing style also was not my favourite and never really drew me in, and I
It bothered me that the threat of storms hung over the whole book but, even during Outside sections, we never actually got to experience one.
I think this book was too broad and tried to do too many things at the expense of doing any of them particularly well. Too many characters meant I didn't feel close to any, and too many ideas meant none were fully explored or expressed.
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Went back and forth between 4 or 5 stars. Very well written. Loved reading about the feminist utopia point of view. Can't decide if I LOVE the ending or hate it.... leaning more towards love. Just the out of the box book idea of NOT having every question answered. I'd suggest this book to those who love futuristic books, and getting exposed to other's point of views with good vs evil, male vs female... and what exactly IS the way to achieve equality?
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
I like what the novel was going for overall, but the ending was a bit too open-ended and bleak for me. They never did solve the issue of patriarchy and SA in the other Insides, and I’m not sure how I feel about the carceral punishment.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated