https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-new-mother-by-eugene-fischer-and-lizard-radi...

There are a lot of dystopian YA novels around, and frankly I’m beginning to find them a bit formulaic, but this is a different matter with a sparkling and nervous energy about it. Kivali, the genderqueer protagonist, is sent to a re-education camp in a dystopian near future, and must negotiate quasi-parental relationships, friends and potential lovers, and the ever-present threat of “vaping”, which in this case means physically spontaneously evaporating, rather than any recreational vapour consumption. The protagonist’s vocabulary is just abit off-kilter and that keeps you as a reader on your toes. I’m surprised that I hadn’t heard of this before, and well done to the Tiptree / Otherwise judges for picking it out of the field. ( )

What a strange, strange book. ( )

Received ARC.
Review on Metapsychology Online ( )

Fifteen-year-old Kivali is a young girl who has never fit in, having been treated as an outcast most of her life for being a bender (someone who doesn't neatly fit into either the male or female gender binary). She's survived her loneliness and fear of being sent to Blight by escaping into her mind and listening to "lizard radio," an internal broadcast that soothes her and makes her feel less alone. When she's sent to CropCamp in order to learn how to take her place in community, she discovers friendships and love beyond what she's known inside her own head.

Schmatz has created an interesting world in Lizard Radio, a world that can seem utopian if your considering it from the point of view of those who fit within the boundaries of its parameters, with it's emphasis on community. However, for those who don't fit in, benders, samers, and other outcasts, who are sent to live in Blight, the world would feel more dystopian. (Interestingly, being transgender is acceptable within this world, provided they fit neatly within either the female or male binary.) People can also vape in this world, a form of vanishing entirely, which could also be seen as good or bad depending on one's perspective.

I wouldn't really call this world realistic, but I don't expect that it's intended to be, at least not in the sense of being a world that could really exist. Rather, I think it's more designed as a way to examine the theme of ambiguity.

Nevertheless, the characters throughout the book are believable in how they think about and act in the world, and their relationships to each other provide a means of connecting to a story. I really enjoyed reading this. ( )

This is a really great story of how a young person learns to take control of her own life in the face of personal bigotry, an authoritarian "troubled teens" program, and a literal dystopian government. It's also interesting to see a setting (other than Iran) where binary trans youth are treated relatively well, but LGB and non-binary folks are on the wrong side of the law. There's a lot of setting-specific jargon in this book, but most of it is pretty easy to figure out. My only complaint is that I wish the ending had been a little less ambiguous. I want to see Lizard win, at least a little! But this may be intentional. ( )