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greerd's review
challenging
dark
tense
2.5
I remember reading somewhere that the success of Harry Potter showed publishers that young adult novels could be much longer than previously thought and still be successful. Before that, publishers imposed strict length limits on authors writing for teenagers. I don't know if that's true, but holy shit did this book need to be longer that it is to cover all the topics it raises.
There's just... so much to unpack here.
Roughly 150 years after the majority of Earth's population was wiped out in a plague, Hal is sent away from his community by his parents, David and April (from Come Lucky April) to avoid castration. He doesn't really want to go - he just wants to fit in, and if that means losing his balls then so be it.
He ends up at another settlement, who palm him off onto a severe religious cult (Watchers) who live on the fringe of the community ("you're a weirdo, go live with these other weirdos"). They are a strict patriarchal society who use corporal punishment frequently and worship at their Shrine.
Women who have "sinned" leave the Watchers and are never spoken of again. Hal eventually learns what happens to them and is horrified and returns to his original community.
leaving and never being spoken of again, to Hal's abandonment and huge jumps between cultures, to the whole castration issue. I don't know if I'm too demanding and want spoon-feeding, but this was not a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
There's just... so much to unpack here.
Roughly 150 years after the majority of Earth's population was wiped out in a plague, Hal is sent away from his community by his parents, David and April (from Come Lucky April) to avoid castration. He doesn't really want to go - he just wants to fit in, and if that means losing his balls then so be it.
He ends up at another settlement, who palm him off onto a severe religious cult (Watchers) who live on the fringe of the community ("you're a weirdo, go live with these other weirdos"). They are a strict patriarchal society who use corporal punishment frequently and worship at their Shrine.
Women who have "sinned" leave the Watchers and are never spoken of again. Hal eventually learns what happens to them and is horrified and returns to his original community.
leaving and never being spoken of again, to Hal's abandonment and huge jumps between cultures, to the whole castration issue. I don't know if I'm too demanding and want spoon-feeding, but this was not a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
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