Imagine a world where, if you’re female, you are only allowed to speak one hundred words a day. When you utter word one hundred and one, your wristband will shock you. The more you exceed your quota, the greater the shock.

Not only that, you are no longer allowed to work. You’re no longer allowed to read. You’re not allowed to own a phone, computer or anything that connects to the internet.

Your child’s education is no longer educational; they will learn how to become a submissive housewife but that’s about it.

Welcome to Jean’s world. Run as fast as -

And that’s already one hundred words. Now you’re silenced for the rest of the day. Your wristband’s counter will reset to zero at midnight.

“I’ve become a woman of few words.”

In Jean’s world, the word count may be small but the indoctrination is big. People saw this coming. Some protested. Others sheltered behind denial, sure that something like this couldn’t actually happen. It did.

They didn’t think it could get any worse. It could.

““This would never happen. Ever. Women wouldn’t put up with it.”
“Easy to say now,” Jackie said.”

I was hooked for the first half of the book but the second half seemed to unravel. Some things were a bit too convenient. The ending was a bit too rushed and seemed to go against the message of the book up until that point. I didn’t connect with the characters.

Still, this book made me think about the things I consider to be rights and how easily they can be removed. It made me angry every time I thought about how easily this fiction, or something similar to it, could become fact.

Reading just a few reviews has made it obvious how divisive a read this book has been. It’s about as subtle as a sledgehammer but it made me think so it did its job.

“Think about what you need to do to stay free.”

Content warnings are included on my blog.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.