You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I loved the concept for this book. It's very Handmaid's Tale-esque, and the idea of artificial children is so creepy and interesting. However, I think this book fell short of my expectations. I never felt connected to Frida, and I never felt like I should be rooting for her to get her daughter back. The ending was also super confusing and didn't have a resolution at all. I know that was probably a conscious choice, but I still would've liked more of a resolution for Tucker, Gust, Susanna, and the other characters.
The word I would use to describe this book is distressing. It was pretty fast paced in the beginning but my interest waned as the plot became more abysmal. I also wouldn’t recommend reading this at the same time as The Woman In Me because the lines of fiction and reality got a little too blurred for me. (i.e. Britney losing her kids and being hospitalized and the protagonist Frida losing her daughter and going to a dystopian type school for good mothers.) But! If you like sort of dystopian vibes with light thriller themes this might be the book for you.
The book does have the following TW: pregnancy loss, suicidal ideation, depression, and child abuse. (I’m sure there are others I am missing.)
The book does have the following TW: pregnancy loss, suicidal ideation, depression, and child abuse. (I’m sure there are others I am missing.)
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What the actual F. This book was absolutely devastating. It was cruel. I hated every moment I spent reading it.
This is one intense, horrific, gorgeously written book. I love it.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A good not great book. I liked what the author was trying to do, it was in a very accessible writing style, and I enjoyed all the Philadelphia references. (I'm semi-convinced most of the book takes place on the college campus where I lived for 15 years). But I also saw where it was going fairly early. And I didn't buy the robot children. The author presented the world outside the school as essentially the same as our world today, albeit with this ridiculously harsh children's protective services system. But if there was the technology for the robot children at the school, I'm pretty sure society off of the school grounds would be very different. The book is trying to be a dystopian Handmaid's Tale-style story, and it definitely is dystopian. But the Handmaid's Tale is a much better, and more internally consistent book.
heartbreaking and so realistic that i could picture every moment happening in real time. i was so frustrated for Frida and just wanted her to have a happy ending, which in a way, i guess she got.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finishing this book on Mother’s Day feels ironic…
When I would describe this book to people they would say “that sounds so depressing!!” And while they weren’t wrong, the main emotion I felt while reading this book was anger. This woman had no resources, she was abandoned by her husband, was being paid nothing in alimony, had no friends and no family in the area, had to get a job where she could work remote just so she could spend time with her child. And all she got was pity???? No one actually wanted to help. I didn’t feel bad for her I felt anger for her, for the way mothers are failed, for the ways they are pitted against each other, for the ways fathers have so much leeway. And don’t even get me started on the social worker. This is a dystopian set story but the ideals in it are something we see everyday. Also when she stole her baby I was like F**** yeah!!! The system failed you, you followed the rules and still lost so why continue to follow them? I lowkey wish she would have tried to take Emmanuelle too
I don’t think I’ll reread this book but I will recommend it to people, especially those in book clubs as I think it’s a great discussion book. The writing was okay but the overall themes and the curiosity of if she would graduate or not are what kept me going.
When I would describe this book to people they would say “that sounds so depressing!!” And while they weren’t wrong, the main emotion I felt while reading this book was anger. This woman had no resources, she was abandoned by her husband, was being paid nothing in alimony, had no friends and no family in the area, had to get a job where she could work remote just so she could spend time with her child. And all she got was pity???? No one actually wanted to help. I didn’t feel bad for her I felt anger for her, for the way mothers are failed, for the ways they are pitted against each other, for the ways fathers have so much leeway. And don’t even get me started on the social worker. This is a dystopian set story but the ideals in it are something we see everyday.
I don’t think I’ll reread this book but I will recommend it to people, especially those in book clubs as I think it’s a great discussion book. The writing was okay but the overall themes and the curiosity of if she would graduate or not are what kept me going.
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Pregnancy
I really enjoy the dystopian genre, and this one is a gem amongst those I've read - the continual and hefty discomfort at the prospect of a reality like the one Frida lives in kept me both wanting to stop reading and return to real life where I don't have to deal with the horrors of the School, and unable to put my e-reader down.
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes