I've read several post apocalyptic "what if a virus wiped out the men" stories before, but this one definitely takes the trope to a new level. I love the choices the author made -- setting it 2 generations in, creating a system that sounds utopian to an extent, but has a more challenging day-to-day reality, and crafting characters with real and complex emotions. Really enjoyed it.

Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss. ( )

Could not get trough this book. Boring, and the main character kept refering to the boy as it. ( )

I don't understand why so many people had such a strong adverse reaction to this book.l Is the thought of a female-run society really that disturbing? This idea isn't any more far fetched than all of the books with male dominated societies absent of a female presence, for instance Animal Farm and more recently the first book in the The Maze Runner series.

I like the premise of this book and albeit these females have a totally skewed perception of the male species but isn't that would really happen if males or females were totally wiped out and the survivors and future generations had to rely upon the memories, ideals, and perceptions of only a few?

Sure the writing and the plot could stand a bit more development but I genuinely enjoyed this book and River's strength and heart. ( )

From the author of The Rain, comes a very clever book that I would love teenage girls to read and give me some feedback. Set in a future where men are a precious commodity ( they have been all but wiped out by a virus that kills anyone who has an XY chromosome make-up, the book is set 40 years after the men have disappeared ( and those few that that are left are put in breeding colonies where they are cut off from the rest of the world to protect them from getting infected when they are baby boys.)
This is a world where girls can do anything and be anything. Where there are no wars and everything is discussed equally and democratically with even the youngest female having a say in the running of the towns and indeed the country. It's a world where technology still exists at high a level, but it is alongside a rural lifestyle where naturally grown ( not GM) food is prized.
River is out riding her horse when she stumbles across the unthinkable - an escaped XY ( boy) called Mason who initially thinks she too is a boy, but then goes crazy with fear when he learns she is a girl. Overcome by the fever, Mason collapses and then River does the unthinkable - she brings him home to be cared for.
Fascinating look at a different world. Highly recommended for Years 9 -10. ( )

River is a girl who’s grown up in a generation without men—the few survivors of the gender specific plague live in protected enclaves. When she encounters a sick, violent XY, she has to challenge her assumptions, and a lot of the time she doesn’t want to, while the grandmothers who remember day to day interactions with men insist on getting justice for him. I don’t know how I feel about the story—YA could have more nuance than this, though there was interesting stuff going on in the background about how the men had been raised as stereotypes and accepted or fought it to varying extents. ( )