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A review by maryjr
Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn
adventurous
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was a wild ride. Whatever the opposite of subtlety is, is what this book is. I have so many conflicting feelings about it because whilst I appreciate the huge ambition it takes to attempt to tackle the concepts in this book, it was also just such a bizarre reading experience. This is a dystopian story set on near future Earth when climate change has forced humanity to consider alternative ways for us as a species to continue inhabiting the planet. It follows the points of view of several young women (all LGBT) through the course of about 30 or so years as they live in North America during this apocalyptic time, under the corporate directorship of a billionaire extremist (self declared 'feminist') who has drastic plans for humanity's survival. The concepts explored are predominantly around gender and systems of power, although in a very non-nuanced way.
Firstly I should say that I am just so glad to have dystopian, end of the world stories where queer characters are at the forefront. This book has queer and trans characters as all of the main points of view, although the trans and non binary characters didn't have the most satisfying story arcs in comparison to the queer women. The writing style contained a lot of telling us what characters were thinking and feeling rather than showing us, which is not my preferred style of storytelling but once I accepted this, it bothered me less over the course of the book as the scope of time covered in the book perhaps forced this to be the case. Perhaps if this story was split into a duology or trilogy, it could have taken more time to allow us to have more natural and nuanced character and worldbuilding development.
The billionaire extreme 'feminist' character who is entirely responsible for the events of this story is a bit of a caricature of the evil villain, but in all honesty I can see the types of people in our real world that have been drawn from to inspire this character so perhaps she is realer than I give credit for. The main characters who's points of view we rotate between are mostly likeable and distinguishable as individuals, but to me, it also felt like they were fairly one-dimensional in their personalities and often did not react to situations in realistic ways. We are introduced to them at the beginning of the book as each being young, intelligent and ambitious, and yet over the course of 30 or so years, they didn't seem to develop beyond their initial youthful naivety. This may be the reason why this book felt more YA than I expected.
The worldbuilding had some good atmospheric elements but it also felt to me like it struggled to maintain underlying logic and a sense of reality considering the highly drastic nature of the plot. The climate change progression felt very plausible but some of the technological / scientific / medical advancements were less believable than others. There were also just so many times during reading when I wondered whether it would really be possible for so much power to land in the lap of one individual, or how so many intelligent characters could be swept into such drastic plot points with so little convincing.
Overall, whilst this was perhaps not the most satisfying dystopian sci fi story I've read in terms of convincing worldbuilding and character development, I can't deny that I was fully swept up in the snowballing events and absolute madness of the plot. The intrigue for how everything would play out kept me very invested in the story. I personally enjoyed the length of time that was covered and the scale of the plot. It also left me thinking about the concepts and possibilities of events like these when I wasn't reading, even after finishing the book. So all in all, I don't know if this is a particularly well executed sci fi story, but it definitely is engaging queer fiction that I would recommend to friends, if only so we could discuss the outlandishness of it all.
Firstly I should say that I am just so glad to have dystopian, end of the world stories where queer characters are at the forefront. This book has queer and trans characters as all of the main points of view, although the trans and non binary characters didn't have the most satisfying story arcs in comparison to the queer women. The writing style contained a lot of telling us what characters were thinking and feeling rather than showing us, which is not my preferred style of storytelling but once I accepted this, it bothered me less over the course of the book as the scope of time covered in the book perhaps forced this to be the case. Perhaps if this story was split into a duology or trilogy, it could have taken more time to allow us to have more natural and nuanced character and worldbuilding development.
The billionaire extreme 'feminist' character who is entirely responsible for the events of this story is a bit of a caricature of the evil villain, but in all honesty I can see the types of people in our real world that have been drawn from to inspire this character so perhaps she is realer than I give credit for. The main characters who's points of view we rotate between are mostly likeable and distinguishable as individuals, but to me, it also felt like they were fairly one-dimensional in their personalities and often did not react to situations in realistic ways. We are introduced to them at the beginning of the book as each being young, intelligent and ambitious, and yet over the course of 30 or so years, they didn't seem to develop beyond their initial youthful naivety. This may be the reason why this book felt more YA than I expected.
The worldbuilding had some good atmospheric elements but it also felt to me like it struggled to maintain underlying logic and a sense of reality considering the highly drastic nature of the plot. The climate change progression felt very plausible but some of the technological / scientific / medical advancements were less believable than others. There were also just so many times during reading when I wondered whether it would really be possible for so much power to land in the lap of one individual, or how so many intelligent characters could be swept into such drastic plot points with so little convincing.
Overall, whilst this was perhaps not the most satisfying dystopian sci fi story I've read in terms of convincing worldbuilding and character development, I can't deny that I was fully swept up in the snowballing events and absolute madness of the plot. The intrigue for how everything would play out kept me very invested in the story. I personally enjoyed the length of time that was covered and the scale of the plot. It also left me thinking about the concepts and possibilities of events like these when I wasn't reading, even after finishing the book. So all in all, I don't know if this is a particularly well executed sci fi story, but it definitely is engaging queer fiction that I would recommend to friends, if only so we could discuss the outlandishness of it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent