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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
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:
Complicated
This story is somewhat related to an earlier novel by this author, Yours For the Taking. It's set in the same world and features some of the same characters. I plan to read this novel but haven't read it before I jumped into this.
This is a complete story even without reading the other related novel. However, I think I would've understood more what was being offered in this novel if I had. Honestly, I think it only really mattered at the end. I think the conclusion probably hits harder if the reader has also read the first novel.
This story has 2 alternate timelines: 2041 and 2078. It's a kind of circular story about motherhood, climate change, and the challenge of creating meaningful but free communities.
Ultimately, it's a dystopian novel for our times, and it left me filled with peaces. This is both surprising and extremely well done. This focuses on LGBTQIA+ peoples and communities. It wasn't the focus of the story and mostly faded into the background. I particularly loved how the trans characters' concerns weren't over their identity. So, it was a story full of people who happened to be from marginalized genders.
I also liked the call out or call in about how anarchist communities can too often mirror the same power structures as our present society. And how that leads to the same oppression we are fighting. Of course, these communities weren't truly anarchist. They wore it as a costume. Still, that's far too present in our current society as well. This is a fine balance, and the novel never feels preachy.
The narrator of this novel is Gail Shalan. Her voice was perfect for this story. She didn't use different voices the characters. Instea, her narration mostly stays in the background, allowing the reader to immerse themselves wholly into the story. I loved the effect of this choice.
Thank you to Gabrielle Korn, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
This is a complete story even without reading the other related novel. However, I think I would've understood more what was being offered in this novel if I had. Honestly, I think it only really mattered at the end. I think the conclusion probably hits harder if the reader has also read the first novel.
This story has 2 alternate timelines: 2041 and 2078. It's a kind of circular story about motherhood, climate change, and the challenge of creating meaningful but free communities.
Ultimately, it's a dystopian novel for our times, and it left me filled with peaces. This is both surprising and extremely well done. This focuses on LGBTQIA+ peoples and communities. It wasn't the focus of the story and mostly faded into the background. I particularly loved how the trans characters' concerns weren't over their identity. So, it was a story full of people who happened to be from marginalized genders.
I also liked the call out or call in about how anarchist communities can too often mirror the same power structures as our present society. And how that leads to the same oppression we are fighting. Of course, these communities weren't truly anarchist. They wore it as a costume. Still, that's far too present in our current society as well. This is a fine balance, and the novel never feels preachy.
The narrator of this novel is Gail Shalan. Her voice was perfect for this story. She didn't use different voices the characters. Instea, her narration mostly stays in the background, allowing the reader to immerse themselves wholly into the story. I loved the effect of this choice.
Thank you to Gabrielle Korn, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Shutouts revisits the dystopian world of Korn’s debut novel, Yours For The Taking. Captivating and thought-provoking, both interconnected standalones follow characters on the fringe of society as a near-future America experiences climate collapse.
In The Shutouts, Korn delves further into the emotional aspects of her characters, and the story has a more muted tone compared with the thrill in Yours For The Taking. Korn weaves together multiple narratives across two timelines, adding perspective and depth to her dystopian setting.
A prescient piece of fiction— this dystopian novel focuses on themes of survival, corruption, queer identity, and climate crisis.
I highly recommend the audiobook! Gail Shalan adds melodrama with a powerful performance.
My rating: 3.75⭐️
Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies. Opinions are my own.
In The Shutouts, Korn delves further into the emotional aspects of her characters, and the story has a more muted tone compared with the thrill in Yours For The Taking. Korn weaves together multiple narratives across two timelines, adding perspective and depth to her dystopian setting.
A prescient piece of fiction— this dystopian novel focuses on themes of survival, corruption, queer identity, and climate crisis.
I highly recommend the audiobook! Gail Shalan adds melodrama with a powerful performance.
My rating: 3.75⭐️
Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies. Opinions are my own.
adventurous
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed the audio production and felt like our narrator was a fantastic choice for the diverse voices we were exposed to. I had a bit of a time keeping track with the dual timelines in the beginning but once the story got going I was set. Overall, I enjoyed the premise and the alternate-universe setting. Overall, I found myself more interested in the world than the actual characters. I love dystopian type stories— so for me, even if I wasn’t as invested in the characters I enjoyed the story.
emotional
hopeful
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
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
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
The Shutouts is the follow-up to the 2023 climate fiction novel Yours for the Taking.
This novel explores small groups of survivors living in a rapidly changing North America after global warming has rendered conditions nearly uninhabitable. Through different POVs, readers follow as these survivors attempt to reconnect with friends and family from whom they’ve been separated, establish camps, search for provisions, and seek safety. The book also delves into the origins of Orchid through letters her mother wrote in 2041.
Like its predecessor, The Shutouts highlights the devastating consequences of global warming and the dangers of allowing powerful corporations and corrupt politicians to exploit humanity’s near-destruction. Despite its bleak moments, the story carries a thread of hope, showing how humans can adapt and flourish by working together and building strong communities.
🎧 Audiobook Notes:
Yours for the Taking is narrated by Gail Shalan, who delivers an excellent performance, capturing the distinct perspectives of the various characters.
Disclosure: An advanced copy was provided by the publisher for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
While theoretically this could be read as a stand alone (the author does an amazing job of providing missing background information that was covered in the first book without it feeling repetitive if you've read the first book), I would as always recommend reading Yours for the Taking first. As it was, I started reading this book and then stopped because the characters and setting sounded so familiar. Well, yeah, because I'd read the first book! What a wonderful surprise for me! Similar to the first book in this not series, placing all the characters in time and relation to each other took some energy, even having read the first book. For having such an ambitious plot, this is a very character driven book. And of course, solid kudos for the LGBTQIA+ representation.....and that it was just a part of the book, nothing called out or special. Just is! Finally, I really enjoyed how the author was able to bring several different possible outcomes of humanities war on the planet/climate together in one book. There were a few spots that felt a bit contrived, but overall, a great read!
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
While there are a lot of important themes that The Shutouts is setting up, this is unfortunately a DNF at 18% for me. The Shutouts centers around climate crisis and corporate adaptations to the crisis, with an Inside and an Outside, where those inside have access to safety and security in a way those outside do not. The early stages of the book focused too much on personal traumas for me to enjoy the setup. It will be a good read for those who perhaps see themselves in young queer characters - but for me I need something other than young-20-somethings-against-the-world trauma. I suspect this will read well for Gen Z's and young Millennials passionate about climate change. For this jaded elder millennial, the framing of the story just didn't click.
Thank you to MacMillan audio for an ALC for review. The Shouts is out 12/3/24.
Thank you to MacMillan audio for an ALC for review. The Shouts is out 12/3/24.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
tl;dr note: You should get back together with your ex, because life is short and the world might basically end.
This is a post-climate catastrophe dystopian journey that swings between our present point of climate crisis to a future where civilization has dissolved and there’s now a return of tribal bands/communities. It’s shown through the perspective of several interconnected queer characters.
Honestly, this book was a surprise. Some climate dystopian novels really tread the line of being overly simplified or extremely over-explained. I think this slots close to the middle, where the science is vague enough, yet it doesn’t gloss over the nuances of what catastrophic climate disaster would entail, especially since it’s used as a plot device.
This was a fun story to unravel! I listened to the audiobook in one sitting at 2x speed without issues. Gail Shalan did great work to keep the narration engaging. It didn’t drag anywhere and after the characters were more clearly identified in the narrative, it was easy to follow. My only note the character development could have be stronger, especially for the found family dynamic in the end.
This is a post-climate catastrophe dystopian journey that swings between our present point of climate crisis to a future where civilization has dissolved and there’s now a return of tribal bands/communities. It’s shown through the perspective of several interconnected queer characters.
Honestly, this book was a surprise. Some climate dystopian novels really tread the line of being overly simplified or extremely over-explained. I think this slots close to the middle, where the science is vague enough, yet it doesn’t gloss over the nuances of what catastrophic climate disaster would entail, especially since it’s used as a plot device.
This was a fun story to unravel! I listened to the audiobook in one sitting at 2x speed without issues. Gail Shalan did great work to keep the narration engaging. It didn’t drag anywhere and after the characters were more clearly identified in the narrative, it was easy to follow. My only note the character development could have be stronger, especially for the found family dynamic in the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
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:
No
This audio kept me HOOKED!
The TWISTS! GASP out loud! Shook me. Loved the ending.
Excellent found family, leaving home, dystopian and queer.
At times the timeline confused me - and keeping with all the characters. I could have used a graph lol.
The TWISTS! GASP out loud! Shook me. Loved the ending.
Excellent found family, leaving home, dystopian and queer.
At times the timeline confused me - and keeping with all the characters. I could have used a graph lol.