Scan barcode
carojust's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Each chapter is dedicated to the POV of a different woman, all deeply affected by "the plague." By the middle, I was getting frustrated with figuring out who was who; everyone is written with the same personality and inner voice. To the author's credit, at least this format helped illustrate different motivations, tragedy and marriages. The character I appreciated the most was Helen, the only story that depicted a more realistic, pessimistic outcome of a scared, selfish husband leaving his family for freedom.
For the most part, the author was creative and thorough in imagining the aftermath of women-led nations, and the race to find a vaccine. It's heavily inspired by wartime, Rosie the Rivetor-era solutions. The problem of reproduction is an obvious focus, but executed kind of flippantly. I think more could have been explored about crime and sexism, societal infrastructures being more upturned than depicted in this book.
You'll like this if you're into dystopian-ish stories, lots of characters, explorations on grief and recovery.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
mionnechan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, and Medical trauma
brynalexa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Deportation
nanirump's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Sexism, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Pregnancy, and War
marshiereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I didn’t like most of the characters you saw a decent amount of (Lisa and Katherine in particular), but found other people much more fascinating yet they were talked about for only a moment (the Russian woman and Rosamie). Amanda and Dawn were probably my favorite perspectives, with the southern standford researcher being the most forgettable.
I think, if you’re going to do that large of a cast of characters, don’t make most of them from the UK or working in the UK, it’s literally most of them and they’re mostly sad and grieving which makes sense but doesn’t add to the overall narrative that a multi-perspective story generally does.
It’s worth a read but only just.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
leannanecdote's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, and Classism
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Trafficking, and Suicide attempt
brenna2themax's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Very exciting and fast paced. The characters felt real, but all very similar. Part of this is that we all see them in the same situation of sudden, world-wide devastation and unbearable grief and fear, and there's not a whole lot of character development or exploration beyond that. The story is told from the perspective of many different people throughout the plague, mostly in Scotland and England, but we also hear briefly from a woman in Canada and a Fillipino woman in Singapore and then the Philippines. They all have the same/very similar socioeconomic standing, and all but 2 are white.
Still, I very much enjoyed reading this. A good thriller without a villain.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, Transphobia, and Trafficking
placebogirl's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Infertility and Sexism
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Racism, and War
clauglezzz_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, and Grief
Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, and Medical content
Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder
jenny_wren's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is such a thought provoking book that packs more of a punch because of COVID - even though it was written pre COVID. Something like this is a possibility now in a way it wasn't thought even probable before. I had to laugh in places how there were still those people who didn't think the virus was real and men believing it was a conspiracy - writing off women as hysterical and not knowing what they're talking about!
This was amazing - it was a long book but I spent my whole Sunday reading it - just couldn't put it down!
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infertility, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Sexism and Suicide