Reviews with content warning for Mass/school shootings - The Measure

Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

56 reviews

aparker89's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The opportunity to create a new category of othering arrives overnight for anyone over the age of 22 and prejudices flow amidst the panic.

I wish that there was some closure on some of the (what I consider) plot holes, as well as a couple of characters we grew to know over the 15 years that pass in the book, though I was given enough to be satisfied. It was a bit predictable and cliche, but I teared up a couple times and definitely cried at the end because thinking about life and death and found family gets me in the feels.

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convivialcatch's review

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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lonelylooper's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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sandysmith's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

What a book, such an interesting concept that gives massive food for thought. It would make for great discussions at a book club. Written from 8 characters points of view, which normally I would find too many, but not in this case. I fell in love with all the intertwined characters apart from the power-hungry politician Anthony. The rest, Hank, Maura, Nina, Amie, Ben, Jack, and Javier, were all loveable in their own ways, adding depth to the differing points of view to the books premise. Potentially knowing when you might die via a box delivered when you are 22, containing different lengths of string, which indicates length of life. Long and short stringers and those who choose not to open their box, so a new and interesting look at discrimination. The size of the text in the book I was reading was smaller than normal and uncomfortable, so this was the main negative for me. I didn't mind that I didn't get to know where the boxes came from, and it's had to place this book into a particular genre. In summary, I love books that make me think, and this one does in spades. Excellent stuff.

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badgergatan's review

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emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.5

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cheye13's review

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This one fell apart for me early; the strings were not presented/narrated in a way that I could buy in. I didn't understand immediate global ramifications, I didn't believe things would move that fast, I didn't understand why it was such an intense and sustained "big deal." And with this being written post-covid, it felt even more egregious.

It's one of those books that reads like a straightforward MFA thesis. It's trying to say something big and poetic and falls short. It's stuck between a global storyline and a small personal one (when choosing one or the other would've been stronger). There's a "gotcha" set up and predictably executed. It's like the author got some big pieces of feedback and worked them in instead of sitting down and deciding what story to tell first.

I would've preferred a small, central story with Nina, Maura, Amy & Ben, exploring how life precedes with this added knowledge, maybe with some of the big deals amounting to "on the tv in the background" peeks. As is, once it grows to a bigger scale, it raises more questions about the conceit of the strings themselves. All of the deaths on-page are direct results of the strings existence. There's on-the-ground data about the strings (they're not recognizable material, they fog out surveillance). All pointing to in-world answers that we simply never address.

Not a popular comp title, but if you're interested in this, I'd recommend Hank Green's The Carls duology instead.

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