I don’t think of myself as a feminist, but dang, this book got my blood boiling! In a future America where women have literally been silenced in multiple ways: They can’t have a job, vote, travel, use a computer or even read. And even more: They cannot speak more than 100 words a day. Females of all ages (even little children) have to wear a wristband that counts down how many words they utter. Once the counter reaches zero the women receive an electric shock and ff they continue to speak the shock becomes even stronger until… well we do actually see what happens in one case.

This America has The Pure Movement which is responsible for everything. Yes, this book has political and religious undertones to it. Many people think of The Handmaid’s Tale. Women are totally silent and men make all of the decisions everywhere, including the home. It’s not just women who are silenced: There are punishments for premarital sex and extramarital sex. But it is just the women who are punished. Homosexuality has also been deemed a choice and there are camps where the LGTBQ persons are housed. They are housed in rooms with one man and one woman and are expected to reverse their ‘decisions’ and become heterosexual again.

Our MC is Dr. Jean McClellan who has four children: Three boys and one young girl, so she is getting opinions from all sides. One of those sides comes from her own son who doesn’t seem to have any issue with The Pure Movement. He even tells Jean his plans with a girl. And Jean says, “what does she (the girl) have to say about that?!?” I’m sure not much since females can’t utter more than 100 words a day!

I also like that Jean is realistic but also far from perfect. We also see how her decisions affect how events occur.

This is a strong debut novel from Dalcher, though the second half was almost like a second weaker story for me. It was piggybacking off of the original story but going in its own way. There were also a lot of science terms used that might be confusing for some readers. I think listening to the book helped me versus if I had been reading it. I was still invested in it and found myself listening to the book whenever I was able to!

Dalcher seems to like to write about controversial subjects looking at some of the other books she has written: Master Class which deals with standardized testing in the school system and The Sentence which deals with prosecutors seeking the death penalty put their lives on the line if the guilty are later found innocent. Both of those books I plan on reading/ listening to!

Julia Whelan is the narrator for Vox, and I can’t say anything bad about her! I just love her and could listen to anything she narrates!

Vox by Christina Dalcher

The premise of Vox is intriguing. A new president has been elected, the government has issued a mandate that “females” may only speak 100 words a day and if they try to go over that, they wear a “fitbit” type of wristband that will shock them into submission. If females can’t speak they can no longer work, which means boys/men run the world. I find this chilling.

Vox has a strong start but at some point it fell flat as I feel the author did not develop the ideas enough so that they were believable. Execution was poor. I did not care about the characters and they weren’t memorable.

With that said, the story is thought provoking particularly with the push these days to ignore women who speak their “truth” and the way they are smeared by those with an agenda. This will make a great book club discussion as there are a lot of ideas put forth in the book worth discussing. One in particular that stands out is how differently men, women and children are treated.

If you like dystopian fiction, buy this book.

Rating 3
Linda C.

This book was an unexpected surprise. This story is about a woman who has to protect herself and her daughter and the limitless tests of courage and strength to show just what a woman will do. When women are silenced, no longer allowed to speak or read, what are they supposed to do?

The ending was a bit rushed, but overall, as Calchers debut book, it was well written. I would receommend this to people for sure.

Women being controlled, having no voice, finding a way to be heard. Will things change? Who will find their purpose and be heard.

I really wanted to enjoy the book but could only read about halfway through. For those who loved The Handmaid's Tale you might enjoy this book.

The permise of this book did sound really interesting to me which is why I originally requested it but it did become a book that lay unread for so long then when I did give it a shot it was not what I thought it was going to be so I did Dnf this one, so there for I will be giving it a middle of the road rating

Another book for Handmaid's Tale fans. I really enjoyed this story but I honestly don't see women putting up with the B.S. they are subjected to in this book. In addition to that, the ending seemed rushed and disappointing.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest review. This was not my typical read and I did have some trouble connecting with the story. The book was ok but the writing wasn't wonderful. It definitely makes you think twice about women's rights.

One day the government decides that women are no longer allowed to speak more than 100 words daily. Keep in mind that the average person speaks 16,000 words a day. This is the story of one woman's rebellion and what she's willing to do to protect herself and her daughter. The premise is crazy, but I love science fiction. It reminded me of Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. This is one that will stick with me for a while. Highly recommend!

Sadly, this one was not for me. I attempted to read it, but by chapter 6 I gave up. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

I wanted to love this book when I first saw it. I tried several times to get into it, but it just never gripped me like I expected. The further I read, the more uninterested I became in it and finally just quit reading it. I appreciate the opportunity to read it, but I won't be posting a review anywhere since I couldn't finish it.

This book is a wonderful companion to The Handmaid's Tale for a dystopian literature class. I loved the premise that women are only allowed a certain number of words - an interesting extension of the "mansplaining" phenomena.

Not too long into the future America is under totalitarian rule. Within that frame of government women are losing more and more rights and privileges, falling to near subservient status. In fact, women can no longer speak more than a hundred words daily without a physical repercussion. Young girls are no longer taught to read or write which is unacceptable to Dr. Jean McClennan - wife, mother, and scientist. The defining moment is when Dr. McClennan loses her job as a scientist on a key project. Dr. McClennan then decides that she is going to fight the system. That is when the story goes from a purely dystopian novel to a suspenseful thriller. Will Dr. McClellan find the key to break the system? What about the research she was conducting? Can it be used for unethical and dangerous purposes? Dr. McClennan does not have much time nor many allies.

Dalcher's novel certainly starts out as fan fiction for Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." The dystopian worlds are very similar or headed in that direction. Dalcher is able to pull off the switch to a much different tack when Dr. McClennan takes things into her own hands. It make the story very compelling and a page turner.

This book is what happens when you don't agree with the results of an election.

The main character - made me MAD. Yes, the book basically asks the reader to be angry (it actually does in a letter at the front of the advance copy) but I was not “mad” for the right reasons. Reading Vox was like listening to complaints about the aftermath of an election from the point of view of a person who either refrained from voting or voted third party to avoid having to choose between “the lesser of two evils.” This describes who the main character is in a nutshell. Drop in the additional annoyances of a weak narrative voice, mediocre writing, an annoying main character (aside from the reason that made me angry above) and redundant details... This was one major disappointment. The book could have been so good in its timeliness. Alas.

In a world where woman have to count their words daily. This dystopian world really hits home as we still have to fight for the equality we deserve.

The writing wasn't much to my liking, I didn't connect much to the characters and the pacing, but the plot really has some ideas that i think are great!

This is one of the most intense, heart wrenching, dystopian novels Ive read. The scariest part of it was the fact that it was just plausible enough for me to see it happening in the future. The concept of this book was insane, but also too possible with the state of the American government. This was an excellent, thought provoking read.

As a neuroscientist, I found the science very unbelievable and distracting from the story. It was poorly researched and simplistic.

This was a DNF for me; I personally did not enjoy it. But I think that is to the author’s credit. I found it difficult to read because of the intensely realistic subject matter, not because it was uninteresting or poorly written. Hence my 4-star review, even though I did not personally enjoy it!

Dr. Jean McClellan has been thrust into a world where women may speak 100 words daily. Punishment for those who speak more are handed out. Jean sees the physical, emotional, physiological, and spiritual damage this requirement on her daughter and sets up a plan to create a world where women will once again find their voice.

Unfortunately, this book was just not at all my cup of tea! It went SO far into the weeds for me. Dalcher just made it so extreme that it was incredibly unbelievable - like a soap opera almost. I just really didn't get why people have loved this one.

What a time to read this novel. This dystopian novel has women limited to only 100 words a day, in present time. A part of America decided that women belonged at home, quiet and abiding by their husbands, while the men work. Some of the similarities with the conservative thinking in the US gave me chills, and it didn't seem that far from reality.

The "Pure" religious movement takes over and it is terrifying. Women are fitted with a counter that sends violent electric pulses for any words spoken over 100. Despite all the signs, everyone assumed 'this could never happen to us', which again feels similar to the state of the world today.

I found this book to be thrilling and couldn't put it down. It was an easy read in terms of getting through the book, but it was difficult to read what can happen we stand as quiet bystanders when the world is changing.

I received a copy of this book, free of charge, from #netgalley and Berkley Publishing as a host of a chapter of the Girly Book Club.