Vox by Christina Dalcher

Ladies, can you imagine only being able to say 100 words a day? Wait until you see what this book is about…

Thank you berkley publishing for allowing me to read Vox in exchange for my review.

Welcome to dystopian America, where woman are chained to a counter bracelet and defined by the few words they are allotted in 24 hours. Dr. Jean McClellan is an American linguistic scientist and mother of a daughter herself. Both of them are forced by this 100 word law where her husband and three other sons go about their daily business. Jean is suddenly approached by the President’s team and asked to come back to work to use her skills. Now that she has some power back, can she fight the system?

There’s something about this novel that I just can’t put my finger on. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. The politics in this novel were over my head. I couldn’t follow them because they were so outrageous. The possibility of how quickly the law came into effect was just not believable. On the other hand, the feminist inside of me wanted to keep on reading. I had to make sure women got their say in the end with all my anger built up inside. I normally really enjoy science jargon in literature being a scientist by trade, but this bored me. I enjoyed the family relationship between Jean, her husband, and her children. The emotions they experienced were the most real thing in this book. They were completely heartfelt. I mean, to not be able to read to your daughter each night or comfort her when she’s sad? That got me right in the feels. In the end, this wouldn’t be something I would most likely pick up again.

3.5/5 Stars

As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti

I spotted this book in Barnes and Noble a fw months ago and had been putting it off ever since. My to-be-read pile was just getting so big, I almost forgot about it until this past weekend.

What would you wish for if you had the chance to make one wish that affected the rest of your life? Eldon lives in Madison, a small town in the middle of nowhere, hiding a special secret. Once you turn 18 years old, you get the ability to make one wish. Everyone spends their whole childhood trying to figure out what to wish for. Problem is, Eldon has no idea what to wish for. His sister was unforuntaley hit by a car, so does he wish for her life back? Does he wish for all the money in the world to help her and his family? Does he wish for his girlfriend back? Does he make another personal wish? He spends most of the time in the book learning about other peoples wishes throughout the town to better help him decide which wish to make.

I was glued to this book the entire time I was reading it. I will admit though, I figured out his wish 25% of the way through. I didn’t cheat and read the ending, so I was still intrigued by the story and kept reading on. I LOVED the back stories about other people’s wishes and why they wished for what they did. That was probably my favorite part. Sedoti did such a beautiful job showing the emotion through each person as they made their wish. It’s a huge decision for each person and the book showed the effects of that wish on the person and on the town itself. I freaking loved this book regardless of the predicitablity and I never wanted it to end.

5/5 Stars