Overall, this book had a good and important story that needed to be told. It's described as a queer Handmaid's Tale and it does live up to that moniker. It took me a while to get into the story. There is a LOT of description at the beginning with few lines of dialogue that took me a long time to get through. I didn't feel like I cared enough about the characters when going through these descriptions.
However, once I got to the meat of the story, it was easier to continue reading. When Elanor and her classmates discovered the secret of the Meadows, why they were all there, it was a punch to the gut. I felt like the matrons were villains but also may have been a creation of their circumstances as well. The hardest part for me to grasp was the back and forth jumps in time in the beginning. The chapters do not state if it's past or present which made it a little difficult for me to gather my bearings when starting a new chapter.
The book has an important message of acceptance and warning of what could happen should the government continue to get involved in people's personal lives. Not bad overall, I just believe it could have been shorter and just as effective.
However, once I got to the meat of the story, it was easier to continue reading. When Elanor and her classmates discovered the secret of the Meadows, why they were all there, it was a punch to the gut. I felt like the matrons were villains but also may have been a creation of their circumstances as well. The hardest part for me to grasp was the back and forth jumps in time in the beginning. The chapters do not state if it's past or present which made it a little difficult for me to gather my bearings when starting a new chapter.
The book has an important message of acceptance and warning of what could happen should the government continue to get involved in people's personal lives. Not bad overall, I just believe it could have been shorter and just as effective.