charlieschifo's review against another edition
4.0
*I received a free copy of this book from the author via voracious readers only in exchange for an honest review*
A great dystopian novel that speaks of something that makes you uncomfortable purely because of how close it could be to being true someday soon. A country where children are taken away from their mothers at six months old and raised by professional parents with the vision of protecting every child in their early development, no abusive parents, no living in poverty.
But are these good intentions really all that’s going on? Read the book and find out! Overall I enjoyed the experience but the ending left me feeling a bit disappointed.
A great dystopian novel that speaks of something that makes you uncomfortable purely because of how close it could be to being true someday soon. A country where children are taken away from their mothers at six months old and raised by professional parents with the vision of protecting every child in their early development, no abusive parents, no living in poverty.
But are these good intentions really all that’s going on? Read the book and find out! Overall I enjoyed the experience but the ending left me feeling a bit disappointed.
deebert's review
3.0
This book caught my attention from the description. The premise was very interesting but I felt that it should have taken place much longer in the future. To think that an entire country could develop this birthing home concept, Mater and Pater system, take away free reproduction, AND understand enough about the epigenetics of emotions and personality in 20 years is a bit of a stretch.
I found myself getting caught up in the details:
- I'm a mom of 3, nursed all of my kids, and have been involved with normalizing breastfeeding through an international photography project, but even I found the descriptions of letdowns and engorgement unnecessary.
- Alice is made aware of her pregnancy at 11 weeks (or 2-3 weeks later, she suspects). The next day, she feels well timed butterflies, nudges, and wiggles, that coincide with her thoughts and conversations about her pregnancy, reminding her that there is a real baby in her uterus. She even pokes her belly and right on cue, the little one wiggles in response. Cue eye rolling.
- A 5 month old pushing up on hands and knees and getting ready to crawl - okay, so this COULD happen, but the average is 9 months and it's something that could be easily figured out with 5 minutes on Google. I just didn't buy it after all of the other nits I had to pick with this book.
- We are nowhere near a point of being able to edit genomes based on personality traits. Selecting for cancer and certain disease genes? Yes. Emotional regulation? Nope.
I think the biggest thing that ultimately irked me was the double standard between Alice and Monica. In one conversation, Monica barges in saying she can't give Oscar up to the system and Alice goes on an internal tangent about all the negative drawbacks that would come with Monica going outside societal norms, negative effects on the kid as he grows older, etc. This is as she's planning to keep her baby and potentially DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING.
So in conclusion, while the premise and setting was interesting, I could not get emotionally invested in this book because I kept getting tripped up by the things I mentioned above.
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
I found myself getting caught up in the details:
- I'm a mom of 3, nursed all of my kids, and have been involved with normalizing breastfeeding through an international photography project, but even I found the descriptions of letdowns and engorgement unnecessary.
- Alice is made aware of her pregnancy at 11 weeks (or 2-3 weeks later, she suspects). The next day, she feels well timed butterflies, nudges, and wiggles, that coincide with her thoughts and conversations about her pregnancy, reminding her that there is a real baby in her uterus. She even pokes her belly and right on cue, the little one wiggles in response. Cue eye rolling.
- A 5 month old pushing up on hands and knees and getting ready to crawl - okay, so this COULD happen, but the average is 9 months and it's something that could be easily figured out with 5 minutes on Google. I just didn't buy it after all of the other nits I had to pick with this book.
- We are nowhere near a point of being able to edit genomes based on personality traits. Selecting for cancer and certain disease genes? Yes. Emotional regulation? Nope.
I think the biggest thing that ultimately irked me was the double standard between Alice and Monica. In one conversation, Monica barges in saying she can't give Oscar up to the system and Alice goes on an internal tangent about all the negative drawbacks that would come with Monica going outside societal norms, negative effects on the kid as he grows older, etc. This is as she's planning to keep her baby and potentially DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING.
So in conclusion, while the premise and setting was interesting, I could not get emotionally invested in this book because I kept getting tripped up by the things I mentioned above.
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
nfuscaldo7's review against another edition
5.0
This book was shockingly great. I want to know so much more about everything in this version of the future. I really hope there is a second book! I finished this is a little under 24 hours, super fast read!
barbrokatrin's review against another edition
2.0
Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own
I did not like the story. Feels like they’re trying to hard to be compared with the Handmaids tale. The plot is very similar to that, would have like it more if they went more their own way
I did not like the story. Feels like they’re trying to hard to be compared with the Handmaids tale. The plot is very similar to that, would have like it more if they went more their own way
books_with_tutusandsons's review against another edition
3.0
This book is a mix of different styles with a general feeling of a Handmaid's Tale atmosphere.
20 years from now, Australia has new government and a new population / fertility policy. Every woman is obliged to have two children, take a maternal leave for that time, and then give to kids to artificial family, whose job is to raise children, so she can develop professionally. But what happens when a new mother gets a bit more attached then she should, and the politics have their own agenda?
I needed a bit more time to understand the world the author has created and some bits remained unclear for me till the end. But I could relate to a mothers bond to her child, a child she didn't think she needed, but afterwards couldn't imagine her life without it. And her fight to do what she thought is best for the two of them, not wanting to conform is what kept me reading till the end.
It is a good novel with and interesting premise. It can be a bit unclear at some chapters, but overall a great read for all dystopia fans out there.
*Thanks to NetGallery for providing me a free copy in return of an honest review.
20 years from now, Australia has new government and a new population / fertility policy. Every woman is obliged to have two children, take a maternal leave for that time, and then give to kids to artificial family, whose job is to raise children, so she can develop professionally. But what happens when a new mother gets a bit more attached then she should, and the politics have their own agenda?
I needed a bit more time to understand the world the author has created and some bits remained unclear for me till the end. But I could relate to a mothers bond to her child, a child she didn't think she needed, but afterwards couldn't imagine her life without it. And her fight to do what she thought is best for the two of them, not wanting to conform is what kept me reading till the end.
It is a good novel with and interesting premise. It can be a bit unclear at some chapters, but overall a great read for all dystopia fans out there.
*Thanks to NetGallery for providing me a free copy in return of an honest review.
jeanz's review against another edition
4.0
I felt immediately curious about a society that strongly discourages married/loving couple conceiving naturally an bringing up their baby together.
In this book we have two eras in time the past in 2020 when Alice and Oliver were in the Mandatory National Procreation Service and the present is 2040 when it is Monica, Alice’s daughter that is in the process of her Mandatory National Procreation Service. So to explain this Mandatory Procreation Service, all males and females around the age of 19 years old have to take part. For males it is a case of providing sperm donations, or working in some way for the service like Joe in the book in 2040 he works in a birthing home kitchen to fulfil his service. Females are expected to have two pregnancies as their duty. They are inseminated and live in a “Birthing Home” with others of the same age. They are constantly monitored, given the correct amount, of calories, with the vitamins, etc, deemed necessary for a successful pregnancy. Once the woman has had the baby she stays with that baby until he/she is 6 months old when she is expected to hand the baby over into the “Home System” a special home where other babies and children of a similar age are. In this “Home System” the children are cared for by one female who has chosen to become a “mater” and one male who has chosen to become a “pater”. Once the females have had their two pregnancies, they are free to go off to further education or training for whatever job they wish to do. The biological parents of the baby/child are allowed to visit on Sundays when the mater & pater get their day off.
In the 2020 year we meet Alice and Oliver who love each other, however when they enter the Mandatory National Procreation Service, Oliver’s sperm is not considered “good enough quality” so Alice is impregnated using the sperm of another male doing his service. The fact Alice is pregnant with another mans child, despite it being so by law, Oliver doesn’t cope well and they drift apart. It is only when Alice has finished her service and the baby who Alice names Monica has been handed over that the pair rekindle their relationship. Even when Alice takes her rights of visitation every Sunday Oliver does not go with her nor ask anything about Monica, its as if she doesn’t exist to her. Alice and Oliver marry and Alice works for the government in the Genetics and Reproduction Department.
The characters I loved in this book other than the main ones were Ellie and Margery.
Ellie because she was so bossy for a little 4 year old and she clearly love her mater Margery and her pater Oliver. Ellie really does have Oliver wrapped round her little finger! In fact, later in the book Oliver proves that he looks upon Ellie and the other children in his care as his own children despite them biologically not being his.
I thought Margery was a brilliant character especially when she talks to Alice, she encourages her to do what she truly wants and go for it with Monica if that is what her heart is telling her to.
As there are characters I like, love and adore in the book there are also those that I disliked, and hated on behalf of the characters they were awful to. I really got riled with Barbara Mathers, the way she just presumes that Alice’s pregnancy is a dreadful mistake and that Alice will of course be terminating the pregnancy at the first possible opportunity because in her opinion and in fact the opinion of the society within this book she is too old and having a child and keeping it would dramatically change her status and career!
I disliked Graham Smythe, he represented that man/woman at work who is snide and sucks up to the boss all the time. I am sure you know the type in real life!
I guess my next two characters are unique in that I both liked and disliked them. I will try to explain without revealing too much. Oliver is great at his job as a pater putting those children and their welfare and safety above everyone else in his life, including Alice and someone else who in my opinion should have come before his role of pater. I hated the fact Oliver was so selfish when it came to a biological child he had supposedly yearned for and expected Alice to do what he wanted what society demanded. In a way he attempts blackmail tactics with Alice to get things to be done the way he wants.
I became annoyed with Alice for the way she brushed away her biological daughter Monica when she confesses to be having serious doubts about handing over her son Oscar when the time comes. Alice’s decision at the end of the book had me puzzled and I found it quite thought provoking, pondering what I would have done faced with her choices. I honestly don’t think I would have done what she did. Maybe that makes me selfish, but I would always put my own flesh and blood ahead of others. I still found myself questioning Alice’s eventual decision.
Does she think she is some sort of hero that she can make a stand, that she alone can change things for the better, for the masses. Could Alice be part of the policy changes that need to be made or is she simply giving in to blackmail tactics of Oliver.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were that the book had been a really interesting read and I honestly didn’t see that ending happening. In fact, I was a bit disappointed with the character Oliver. I was rather disgusted and disheartened by his attitude towards his own biological child. I think Oliver’s actions throughout the book were selfish, he wanted everything his way, irrespective of anyone else’s position.
To finally sum up I felt I wanted more at the ending of the book. I wanted to know what the consequences of Alice’s actions would be, both on a personal level and for the future of the society too. Maybe there will be a second book/novella to revisit these characters either picking up where this book left off, or even a year or so down the timeline.
In this book we have two eras in time the past in 2020 when Alice and Oliver were in the Mandatory National Procreation Service and the present is 2040 when it is Monica, Alice’s daughter that is in the process of her Mandatory National Procreation Service. So to explain this Mandatory Procreation Service, all males and females around the age of 19 years old have to take part. For males it is a case of providing sperm donations, or working in some way for the service like Joe in the book in 2040 he works in a birthing home kitchen to fulfil his service. Females are expected to have two pregnancies as their duty. They are inseminated and live in a “Birthing Home” with others of the same age. They are constantly monitored, given the correct amount, of calories, with the vitamins, etc, deemed necessary for a successful pregnancy. Once the woman has had the baby she stays with that baby until he/she is 6 months old when she is expected to hand the baby over into the “Home System” a special home where other babies and children of a similar age are. In this “Home System” the children are cared for by one female who has chosen to become a “mater” and one male who has chosen to become a “pater”. Once the females have had their two pregnancies, they are free to go off to further education or training for whatever job they wish to do. The biological parents of the baby/child are allowed to visit on Sundays when the mater & pater get their day off.
In the 2020 year we meet Alice and Oliver who love each other, however when they enter the Mandatory National Procreation Service, Oliver’s sperm is not considered “good enough quality” so Alice is impregnated using the sperm of another male doing his service. The fact Alice is pregnant with another mans child, despite it being so by law, Oliver doesn’t cope well and they drift apart. It is only when Alice has finished her service and the baby who Alice names Monica has been handed over that the pair rekindle their relationship. Even when Alice takes her rights of visitation every Sunday Oliver does not go with her nor ask anything about Monica, its as if she doesn’t exist to her. Alice and Oliver marry and Alice works for the government in the Genetics and Reproduction Department.
The characters I loved in this book other than the main ones were Ellie and Margery.
Ellie because she was so bossy for a little 4 year old and she clearly love her mater Margery and her pater Oliver. Ellie really does have Oliver wrapped round her little finger! In fact, later in the book Oliver proves that he looks upon Ellie and the other children in his care as his own children despite them biologically not being his.
I thought Margery was a brilliant character especially when she talks to Alice, she encourages her to do what she truly wants and go for it with Monica if that is what her heart is telling her to.
As there are characters I like, love and adore in the book there are also those that I disliked, and hated on behalf of the characters they were awful to. I really got riled with Barbara Mathers, the way she just presumes that Alice’s pregnancy is a dreadful mistake and that Alice will of course be terminating the pregnancy at the first possible opportunity because in her opinion and in fact the opinion of the society within this book she is too old and having a child and keeping it would dramatically change her status and career!
I disliked Graham Smythe, he represented that man/woman at work who is snide and sucks up to the boss all the time. I am sure you know the type in real life!
I guess my next two characters are unique in that I both liked and disliked them. I will try to explain without revealing too much. Oliver is great at his job as a pater putting those children and their welfare and safety above everyone else in his life, including Alice and someone else who in my opinion should have come before his role of pater. I hated the fact Oliver was so selfish when it came to a biological child he had supposedly yearned for and expected Alice to do what he wanted what society demanded. In a way he attempts blackmail tactics with Alice to get things to be done the way he wants.
I became annoyed with Alice for the way she brushed away her biological daughter Monica when she confesses to be having serious doubts about handing over her son Oscar when the time comes. Alice’s decision at the end of the book had me puzzled and I found it quite thought provoking, pondering what I would have done faced with her choices. I honestly don’t think I would have done what she did. Maybe that makes me selfish, but I would always put my own flesh and blood ahead of others. I still found myself questioning Alice’s eventual decision.
Does she think she is some sort of hero that she can make a stand, that she alone can change things for the better, for the masses. Could Alice be part of the policy changes that need to be made or is she simply giving in to blackmail tactics of Oliver.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were that the book had been a really interesting read and I honestly didn’t see that ending happening. In fact, I was a bit disappointed with the character Oliver. I was rather disgusted and disheartened by his attitude towards his own biological child. I think Oliver’s actions throughout the book were selfish, he wanted everything his way, irrespective of anyone else’s position.
To finally sum up I felt I wanted more at the ending of the book. I wanted to know what the consequences of Alice’s actions would be, both on a personal level and for the future of the society too. Maybe there will be a second book/novella to revisit these characters either picking up where this book left off, or even a year or so down the timeline.
angryphoenix's review
3.0
The story takes place in a future Australia under a new political regime that is, in its own twisted way, striving to create a type of "equal" society. This is a feminist dystopia that centres around themes of motherhood, reproductive rights, and personal choice versus societal expectations. All young women are expected and forced to carry two pregnancies over three years under the National Procreation Service.
In this society, their Mater and Pater system is superior to "how things used to be". It's supposed to be better than the time when women were expected to cook, clean, work outside of the home, and raise children. It's supposed to be better than when children were ignored, beaten, or killed in their own homes by their own parents. It's a society that exercises complete control over a woman's right to have reproductive choice and agency over her body, and has normalized this control by highlighting how society has benefited because of this control.
I think this was a really well crafted story. It's very clear that Bowyer really considered the world that she wanted to bring you into - her world-building was very well done. I really enjoyed the story line, I loved the conflicts, I loved the character transformations, and I loved the twists that made the story even more complicated. Her characters became three-dimensional and interesting and realistic because of the conflict that she threw their way. I really enjoyed getting to know them. I honestly would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this topic, especially if they enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale and are looking for something else in this genre. So why only three stars? I couldn't stand the ending. It didn't feel like it fit with the rest of the story.
My complete review for this book is on my blog, https://thereflectingphoenix.blogspot.com/
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.
In this society, their Mater and Pater system is superior to "how things used to be". It's supposed to be better than the time when women were expected to cook, clean, work outside of the home, and raise children. It's supposed to be better than when children were ignored, beaten, or killed in their own homes by their own parents. It's a society that exercises complete control over a woman's right to have reproductive choice and agency over her body, and has normalized this control by highlighting how society has benefited because of this control.
I think this was a really well crafted story. It's very clear that Bowyer really considered the world that she wanted to bring you into - her world-building was very well done. I really enjoyed the story line, I loved the conflicts, I loved the character transformations, and I loved the twists that made the story even more complicated. Her characters became three-dimensional and interesting and realistic because of the conflict that she threw their way. I really enjoyed getting to know them. I honestly would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this topic, especially if they enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale and are looking for something else in this genre. So why only three stars? I couldn't stand the ending. It didn't feel like it fit with the rest of the story.
My complete review for this book is on my blog, https://thereflectingphoenix.blogspot.com/
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.
mibookobsession's review against another edition
3.0
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
In 2040 Australia, natural conception is against the law and every woman is required to conceive two babies genetically screened for diseases by the G.D.S. or Genetic Diversification System. After graduation the women move into group homes where their pregnancies are supervised, and are required to raise their babies for six months before handing them over to qualified child raisers.
Alice has been a believer in this new child raising system for the good of society...until her own daughter faces giving up her child. Monica never wanted children, but after being forced to birth Oscar, she now can't imagine giving him away. Giving advice to Monica makes Alice face her own past and she begins to question the system.
I thought this was similar to the Handmaid's Tale, but based more on a government regimented system. The women are still considered the children's mothers, but aren't trusted to raise them and only allowed visitation on Sundays. Using true stories of child abuse and neglect in other countries to support their need for a safe and regulated child raising system, the rights of the parents are taken away. I liked this book, it really made me think about how far we let the government control us for "the good of society". I like how much Alice changed from government robot in the beginning to the biggest advocate for change by the end.
In 2040 Australia, natural conception is against the law and every woman is required to conceive two babies genetically screened for diseases by the G.D.S. or Genetic Diversification System. After graduation the women move into group homes where their pregnancies are supervised, and are required to raise their babies for six months before handing them over to qualified child raisers.
Alice has been a believer in this new child raising system for the good of society...until her own daughter faces giving up her child. Monica never wanted children, but after being forced to birth Oscar, she now can't imagine giving him away. Giving advice to Monica makes Alice face her own past and she begins to question the system.
I thought this was similar to the Handmaid's Tale, but based more on a government regimented system. The women are still considered the children's mothers, but aren't trusted to raise them and only allowed visitation on Sundays. Using true stories of child abuse and neglect in other countries to support their need for a safe and regulated child raising system, the rights of the parents are taken away. I liked this book, it really made me think about how far we let the government control us for "the good of society". I like how much Alice changed from government robot in the beginning to the biggest advocate for change by the end.