You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
I understand the comparisons to Children of Men and Handmaid's Tale, but it didn't have nearly the effect on me as those 2 did (well the movie for Children of Men at least - the book was no good). It was more of a run away thriller book in my mind, didn't have the weight I would have expected when talking about essentially no men left on Earth and the controlling of men in the US.
Twelve-year-old Miles is one of the last boys on earth and he and his mom, Cole go on the run to get back to their home in Johannesburg, South Africa. Miles has to pretend to be a girl named Mila so they don't get caught. Along the way, they are being chased by Cole's sister Billie, and they end up joining a cult to hide out.
This book sounded really interesting, but it just didn't grab me. The chapters alternate between Cole, Billie, and Miles and there is some past and present. I was expecting there to be more action considering they were on the run the entire time, but there weren't a lot of suspenseful moments. Some of it was odd with the Miles/Mila because Cole would go from calling her Mila to calling him Miles within the same paragraph.
The part about there being no men in the world didn't seem to be much of a focus in the book. With Miles being one of the last males left, I thought there would be a bit more about how not having males impacted the world, but that aspect was missing.
Most of the book with Miles and Cole was centered around their time in the cult which thought that if women repented, the men would eventually come back. I love cult stuff, but this one was kind of boring and I wish less time had been spent on that.
I was hoping the end would be a little more exciting since the entire book was building up to that moment, but it was a bit of a letdown.
Overall this was an okay read, but definitely not what I was expecting. I was hoping to be kind of on the edge of my seat the whole time, but I wasn't. I could relate to the grief of losing loved ones and that part gave me some feels, but the rest of it was kind of mediocre. I loved Broken Monsters so I will be reading more Lauren Beukes, but this one just wasn't for me.
This book sounded really interesting, but it just didn't grab me. The chapters alternate between Cole, Billie, and Miles and there is some past and present. I was expecting there to be more action considering they were on the run the entire time, but there weren't a lot of suspenseful moments. Some of it was odd with the Miles/Mila because Cole would go from calling her Mila to calling him Miles within the same paragraph.
The part about there being no men in the world didn't seem to be much of a focus in the book. With Miles being one of the last males left, I thought there would be a bit more about how not having males impacted the world, but that aspect was missing.
Most of the book with Miles and Cole was centered around their time in the cult which thought that if women repented, the men would eventually come back. I love cult stuff, but this one was kind of boring and I wish less time had been spent on that.
I was hoping the end would be a little more exciting since the entire book was building up to that moment, but it was a bit of a letdown.
Overall this was an okay read, but definitely not what I was expecting. I was hoping to be kind of on the edge of my seat the whole time, but I wasn't. I could relate to the grief of losing loved ones and that part gave me some feels, but the rest of it was kind of mediocre. I loved Broken Monsters so I will be reading more Lauren Beukes, but this one just wasn't for me.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow. I cannot recommend this book. It's tedious and gory. About halfway through there was a paragraph so full of inaccuracies, I kept reading because I thought it had to be a sign that a character had given a false identity or something but no, just wildly inaccurate. And seriously, if 3+ billion people died within three years, society would be way less functional than it is in this book.
I've never been so happy to be finished with a book! This has been holding my Kindle hostage for a couple months now.
This was simply boring. The set up is a very near future where all the men have died in a pandemic except for a mystery few who seem to have immunity. Fun, right? The story dumps us right into a situation where something dramatic seems to have happened and we have to put the pieces together to figure out what.
The prose is note-worthy. It is very edgy and colorful...to the point of being distracting at times. I'm still undecided on whether I liked it or hated it. The far flung, edgy metaphors do get much more toned down by the end of the book.
So why didn't it work? I think the number one issue was pacing. Every chapter switched point of view. They rotated through three pov's. Not a bad way of doing it generally, except that I was only starting to actually get caught up in each pov by the end of each chapter and would then have to start over with the next chapter.
Plus, the characters just weren't very lovable. Not any of them. Not really. I just didn't care about them.
The whole plot felt very slow and plodding. I wasn't invested enough in any of the characters or the plot to really enjoy this. Like I said...I'm glad it's over. :-/
I will add that the ending was very satisfying though.
Sexual violence? I don't think so. Other triggers? Religion, violence, cancer, death.
This was simply boring. The set up is a very near future where all the men have died in a pandemic except for a mystery few who seem to have immunity. Fun, right? The story dumps us right into a situation where something dramatic seems to have happened and we have to put the pieces together to figure out what.
The prose is note-worthy. It is very edgy and colorful...to the point of being distracting at times. I'm still undecided on whether I liked it or hated it. The far flung, edgy metaphors do get much more toned down by the end of the book.
So why didn't it work? I think the number one issue was pacing. Every chapter switched point of view. They rotated through three pov's. Not a bad way of doing it generally, except that I was only starting to actually get caught up in each pov by the end of each chapter and would then have to start over with the next chapter.
Plus, the characters just weren't very lovable. Not any of them. Not really. I just didn't care about them.
The whole plot felt very slow and plodding. I wasn't invested enough in any of the characters or the plot to really enjoy this. Like I said...I'm glad it's over. :-/
I will add that the ending was very satisfying though.
Sexual violence? I don't think so. Other triggers? Religion, violence, cancer, death.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Transphobia