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gsmallwood63's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book is very interesting in that one major event/change changed how the world functioned and how people are perceived and perceive others.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship
agirlsnightbookbash's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
migalu23's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
What would you do with your life if you knew exactly how much you had left? The premise of this book (A debut novel! Imagine!) hooked me immediately, promising an introspective reflection on eight different people grappling with one of life's greatest mysteries. A masterclass in parallel storytelling, it was such a joy to see how these stories, of short strings and long strings alike, became intertwined in beautiful and unexpected ways as time unfolded. I can't remember the last time a book moved me to tears. Perhaps heightened by my reading experience - racing against the clock of a soon-to-expire digital library loan - I was struck with such an urgency to hold onto this story for as long as I needed to reach a fulfilling ending. How lucky am I to have stories, to have art, that reminds me of the uncertain, fleeting promise of life, and of humans' capacity to squeeze every last drop from it?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent
wordhallucinator's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Mass/school shootings
emilywemily6's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was incredible. I could not put it down! This book contains many deeper themes that are reminiscent of the COVID-19 pandemic, which made this book feel very personal for me and almost triggering as I remembered the strife of that global event. So if the pandemic is a hard topic for you still this book might be difficult emotionally because of the parallels. But this book was reflective and meaningful and emotional, and I have no regrets that I went on this journey. Told through multiple POVs that intersect at moments throughout the book, this book made me feel for and love every character. This book was surprisingly human and realistic; I forgot I wasn’t living the string reality they faced. The societal issues related to the divisive nature of the strings were portrayed really well through the lens of the multiple POVs. I loved the discussions on discrimination and prejudice and the ties with both history and current examples of discrimination. This book was beautiful and heartbreaking and gave me a lot to think about my own life and what it would mean to know how long I have to live, or how long my family has. If you need a good cry with some hope, this book is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Terminal illness, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Violence, Death of parent, Bullying, and Cursing
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Suicide, Alcohol, Racism, Sexism, and Hate crime
Minor: Classism, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
karinreadsalot's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Death, and Gun violence
catsandbooksandcoffee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gun violence
savyelizabeth's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
marypaz13's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Would you open your box?
Format: Audiobook
Resource: Scribd
Narrator(s): Julia Whelan
So, I get the same vibe as when I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I know, I know, they are different, talking about different things, but the vibe is there. And maybe it's because they both contemplate life. One takes place in one's own limbo vs this one, which takes place in present time.
The Measure brings about a lot of life questions. And yes, most of them are generic:
• What would you do if you knew how long you had to live?
↳ What would you do if you find out your partner only has x-years left to live?
↳ Would you have kids?
↳ Would you spend time traveling?
• What are you new priorities in life?
• Are you willing to die alone?
• Are you a good person?
↳ Does living make you a bad person?
• Does not knowing make you a selfish person?
↳ Does not wanting to die make you a selfish?
↳ What about survivors guilt?
Those kind of questions. I mean, shit (T_T), like, way to put us on the spot, ya' know!
I don't know, I mean, we just got through a pandemic (easy now, we technically are still in one, but at least it's not a "surprise" like it was in 2019/2020). And it's situations like those that force people to contemplate their own life and priorities. And that what this book this.
Told in various POVs, the plot travels between the various characters, all of which are somehow related. Some we know right off the bat, other take time to find the "connection." To me, I will always assume that the first characters mentioned will the MC's, in this case, that'll be Nina & Maura. We do get a glimpse in the lives of all the characters, with all their fears & ambitions. That also just leaves me too many options to dislike characters. I did find that Erlick did a decent job at not making me dislike a character unless it was meant to be disliked -- like Anthony (the politician -- he was such a dick).
There were times that I found this book to be inspiring, and other times too real -- like the whole politics & inequality aspect -- and I don't know how I feel about that. Like is Erlick trying to make a political statement on inequality among various marginalized groups by creating something so simple as life expectancy? Or are they trying to make a statement of "put yourself/family first" type of thing? And I feel like that's what bugged me. To me, it should have been one or the other. Having both aspect made the storyline seem so superficial & trying to be something "deep" 🙄. Idk, maybe listening to it left me unsatisfied (also, I'm still on that reading high from previous novel so....).
I did find it curious that Erlick chose 22 as the age to receive the boxes.
Anyway, here are some of my favorite [out of context] quotes:
Format: Audiobook
Resource: Scribd
Narrator(s): Julia Whelan
So, I get the same vibe as when I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I know, I know, they are different, talking about different things, but the vibe is there. And maybe it's because they both contemplate life. One takes place in one's own limbo vs this one, which takes place in present time.
The Measure brings about a lot of life questions. And yes, most of them are generic:
• What would you do if you knew how long you had to live?
↳ What would you do if you find out your partner only has x-years left to live?
↳ Would you have kids?
↳ Would you spend time traveling?
• What are you new priorities in life?
• Are you willing to die alone?
• Are you a good person?
↳ Does living make you a bad person?
• Does not knowing make you a selfish person?
↳ Does not wanting to die make you a selfish?
↳ What about survivors guilt?
Those kind of questions. I mean, shit (T_T), like, way to put us on the spot, ya' know!
I don't know, I mean, we just got through a pandemic (easy now, we technically are still in one, but at least it's not a "surprise" like it was in 2019/2020). And it's situations like those that force people to contemplate their own life and priorities. And that what this book this.
Told in various POVs, the plot travels between the various characters, all of which are somehow related. Some we know right off the bat, other take time to find the "connection." To me, I will always assume that the first characters mentioned will the MC's, in this case, that'll be Nina & Maura. We do get a glimpse in the lives of all the characters, with all their fears & ambitions. That also just leaves me too many options to dislike characters. I did find that Erlick did a decent job at not making me dislike a character unless it was meant to be disliked -- like Anthony (the politician -- he was such a dick).
There were times that I found this book to be inspiring, and other times too real -- like the whole politics & inequality aspect -- and I don't know how I feel about that. Like is Erlick trying to make a political statement on inequality among various marginalized groups by creating something so simple as life expectancy? Or are they trying to make a statement of "put yourself/family first" type of thing? And I feel like that's what bugged me. To me, it should have been one or the other. Having both aspect made the storyline seem so superficial & trying to be something "deep" 🙄. Idk, maybe listening to it left me unsatisfied (also, I'm still on that reading high from previous novel so....).
I did find it curious that Erlick chose 22 as the age to receive the boxes.
Anyway, here are some of my favorite [out of context] quotes:
⇒"There could be a lot of pain waiting inside that box too."
⇒"...even before the boxes appeared. The traditional barriers of privacy, had long been collapsing."
⇒"...until finally, even the act of looking at your string, which should've been the most intimate, the most personal of moments, become just another insight into your life that no longer belonged to you alone."
⇒"Did a patient receive less care because her string was short, or was a patient's string short because she received less care."
⇒"It takes real strength to keep on fighting, and yes, usually that's the right answer; 'Keep fighting, keep holding on no matter what,' but sometimes I think we forget that it also takes strength to be able to let go."
⇒"living long is not the same as living well"
⇒"'...but I reread the inscription: "The measure of your life lies within." Sure it's pointing at the string inside, but maybe that's not the only measure we have. Maybe there are thousands of other ways that we can measure our lives, the true quality of our lives that lie within us, not within some box. And by your own measure, you can still be happy. You can live well.'"
⇒"'...But he and Javier both made such a difference with their lives. Their impact will be felt for years, even generations', she said. 'In a way the two of them had the longest strings I've ever seen.'"
⇒"And though her own string still stretched out long before her, Nina wondered if perhaps she herself could try living as if it were short, unafraid of the expected, embracing the chance to say yes"
Rating Breakdown
Writing Style & Pacing: 3.5
Characters: 3.75
Storyline/Plot: 3
Audio Narration: 4.5
Overall Rating: 3.69 rounded ↑
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Cancer and Mental illness
sshull's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
I really loved this book. It was a unique plot line that I haven’t experienced before. I felt like many of the plot points were similar to COVID emotions and experiences. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something different to read. It’s got high tension, high emotion, and I loved the connections among all the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder