Happy Friday all!
What’s in a title? Sometimes it is confusing because the US title will be different from the UK title as in the case of this book. I have to say I believe the UK title of “Q” fits the book much better. In my humble opinion. 🤔
My Thoughts
Terrifying and thought-provoking. Christina Dalcher has once again written a disturbing and way too realistic tale. Imagine a world where a person’s worth is measured by a single score a quotient or Q. Your queue is determined by your intelligence, your families status, and your financial standing. Have a high Q, as a child you will attend an elite silver school and received the best education followed by the most desired career opportunities have a low Q, as a child you will be shipped off to a federal boarding school and what happens after that is anyone’s guess. Elena would have never thought this system of categorizing people by intelligence that she dreamed up with her boyfriend Malcolm in high school would ever be utilized by the entire country. It was all good when it meant that the popular cheerleader had to go to the end of the lunch line. But now that her younger daughter is being shipped off to a federal boarding school, Elena is not so sure. Determined to save her daughter Elena heads out on a journey of self discovery, hard decisions, and terrifying revelations.
This is one of those books that really makes you think, I think it would be great for book club. Could you leave one child behind to save the other? Or how your perception is often altered when things directly impact you or your family. Would Elena ever see this categorizing process as evil if it didn’t negatively affect her own daughter? There is also a strong theme of history repeating itself running through the story. While this was not the most entertaining book I’ve ever read and I don’t think I necessarily connected with any of the characters it sure held me captivated from first page to last.
This book in emojis 💻 🚌 🧬 ✏️ 👩🏫 🤔
*** Big thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
About the Book
From the critically-acclaimed author of the international best seller Vox comes a suspenseful new novel that examines a disturbing near future where harsh realities follow from unreachable standards.
It’s impossible to know what you will do….
Every child’s potential is regularly determined by a standardized measurement: their quotient (Q). Score high enough, and attend a top tier school with a golden future. Score too low, and it’s off to a federal boarding school with limited prospects afterwards. The purpose? An improved society where education costs drop, teachers focus on the more promising students, and parents are happy.
When your child is taken from you.
Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s elite schools. When her nine-year-old daughter bombs a monthly test and her Q score drops to a disastrously low level, she is immediately forced to leave her top school for a federal institution hundreds of miles away. As a teacher, Elena thought she understood the tiered educational system, but as a mother whose child is now gone, Elena’s perspective is changed forever. She just wants her daughter back.
And she will do the unthinkable to make it happen.
Have a lovely day! XOXO Berit
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