Do you ever come across a book that just calls after you despite already seemingly have an idea that this may just shatter your heart into pieces? No? Just me?
Thank you Simon and Schuster for my gifted ebook in exchange for my honest review.
Synopsis: Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. What’s worse is she can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with their angelic daughter Harriet does Frida finally feel she’s attained the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she’s just enough. Until Frida has a horrible day. The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida — ones who check their phones while their kids are on the playground; who let their children walk home alone; in other words, mothers who only have one lapse of judgement. Now, a host of government officials will determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that she can live up to the standards set for mothers — that she can learn to be good.
Of course, this story really will break your heart into a million pieces. While it’s advertised as a dystopian novel, I felt like it lacked descriptive elements of the world Frida lived in. We only hear and see her side of things which got to be repetitive throughout the novel. It was a slow-paced story-line that became really dark and twisted. Was it entertaining? I would say it was captivating and gripping! Did I really get immersed into the struggle of social injustice? Not really….While I wouldn’t read this again, I think it’s a great book club novel and a story that will be on my mind for quite some time.
3/5 Stars
Live, Read, And Prosper 