A review by swalk
The Chaperone by M Hendrix

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Stella is born into a wealthy family, in the area known as New America. Ruled by The Minutemen; the landscape is a patriarchal nightmare giving women little to no rights or autonomy even having a chaperone to watch over them from the instant they start their period. Only men allowed to learn science and maths, to wield a gun, or even to speak without being spoken to. Stella is one of the lucky ones, those who cannot afford private chaperones are sent to Government School, a strict boarding school for girls where they are brainwashed to accept this life as the norm. 
 
When Stella’s chaperone, Sister Helen who has been with her since 11 years old is murdered, she know’s something is amiss and believes there has been a cover up. After 5 days of grieving, a new government assigned chaperone will soon be allocated by the constables as a replacement and she could be much, much worse. Stella needs to understand what happened to Sister Helen and why, but to do so she will need to dig far deeper than she ever imagined and find out the truth about her world. 
 
A plausible dystopian contemporary tale, this book is a good introduction to further works of this ilk for teens, however I do feel it leans far too much on A Handmaid’s Tale for inspiration. That being said I really enjoyed the book and I think this would be a good though provoking read for perhaps those 14+.

The narrator was excellent and very believable as Stella. She really does a great job. 
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