"Blue Ticket" by Sophie Mackintosh presents a dystopian narrative that explores themes of freedom, choice, and societal control through the lens of a society where women's fates are determined by the draw of a ticket. While the premise is intriguing and promises a thought-provoking exploration of gender roles and autonomy, the execution falls short in delivering a cohesive and compelling story. The novel's pacing is uneven, and the plot often meanders, leaving readers craving more depth and clarity in both the world-building and character development. Mackintosh's prose is lyrical and has moments of beauty, but these are overshadowed by the overall lack of engagement and emotional connection with the protagonist. Ultimately, "Blue Ticket" struggles to fulfill its potential, leaving readers with an experience that feels unresolved and unsatisfying.

2 stars

Definitely gives off a more muted Handmaid’s Tale vibe. There is more leniency in Calla’s journey once she veers off of her normal “blue-ticket” life, but I do feel like Calla’s dark emotions and internal battle is what made this book bearable to read.
The ending was slightly different than I expected but I do feel like the cliffhanger was just very deadpan and matter-of-fact.

1 star. I was going to rate this 2 stars, but the more I think about it the more I hated. I hated the reading experience and everything about the book. Nothing worked for me. Review to come.

Due to being a high school teacher, I often do not have time to review and fall behind on reviewing. Here are my initial thoughts.

Like others have said, the premise of this one was really interesting, but the delivery was off. It seemed like it was consistently *so close* to getting to where it needed to go and then it just...didn't.

Sophie Mackintosh has cleverly written a dystopian tale centered around the question of what it means to have free will and the freedom to choose motherhood for yourself. She begins the story with Calla, who is given a ticket when she comes of age that will determine whether or not she will become a mother. She gets a blue ticket, which means a childless future. After a few years pass, Calla starts to wonder if maybe she would like to be a mother and why a ticket/government has the power to make that choice for her. She plans a way to get pregnant and ends up on the run, being chased by the authorities.
Mackintosh has created a dystopian society that centers around Calla and the people she meets on her journey . There isn’t a lot of world building and you don’t really know why society has become this way (nor are there a lot of details). It reminded me of Atwood’s Handmaids Tale in the most simplistic of ways but Blue Ticket really holds its own when it comes to Calla and her escape from the choices made for her.
I thought Calla’s character was well developed as she worked through the small number of choices allotted to her at any given time and pushed back against a world trying to take away her free will. I’d recommend this story if you’re looking for something a little bit different and enjoy dystopian fiction.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2021 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2021/02/2021-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately I could not get into it. I do not think this was the one for me. The premise was super interesting, but towards the end to me it just fell apart.

Thank you to Doubleday Books for the opportunity to read and review this title.
I was so excited to get my hands on this book. But after multiple attempts to read it I continue to struggle. Just didn't live up to my expectations.
Just not the right fit for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC digital copy. I have not been compensated for my opinion and this is an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this ARC digital copy before it was archived. The book is no longer on my Goodreads "want to read" list, but I will update my review to reflect an updated opinion if I decide to finish at a later date.

Huge let down. This was an anticipated read that just fell flat. I am not sure where it was trying to go but it didn’t get there unfortunately.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. The dystopia was super interesting, but I wished the author leaned into that aspect more. I also felt like the worldbuilding to set up the dystopia was lacking in the beginning, and I was confused about what exactly was happening for a while.

What if your life choice is made for you?

Calla is given a blue ticket via lottery, which means career and freedom and yet, she wishes for a different life.

The idea of this novel is so intriguing and yet the premise v the delivery fell flat. I love dystopian novels and had such high hopes yet the writing here felt choppy and the characterizations left much to be desired. If only this idea had been presented better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the arc.

This started out difficult for me and I almost gave up. About of 1/3 of the way in I had adapted to the writing style and became more interested in the characters. What if your reproductive life was determined by a lottery / randomly at the time of your first period. While an interesting dystopian premise, this fell flat for me.

I was excited to read this book after reading "The Water Cure." While this was a quick read, I felt myself wanting more out of the characters. While I liked the dystopian premise, I felt like there was a lot of build up and in the end no real reward. There was no explanation of why women were given the tickets, why they wore them in lockets, and why girls were left to fend for themselves. The twist at the ending also fell a little flat for me. While overall I wanted to keep reading, at the end I felt let down by the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and DoubleDay Books for the advance copy. I enjoy reading dystopian novels such as Handmaid's Tale and The Hunger Games. The basic premise of this book sounded very interesting, do you get to have a child or not, based on a lottery? The main character, Calla, rebels against her blue ticket, where she is deemed to not have a child. I like the premise of the book yet I found myself not getting attached to the characters, which I felt were not very complex, which, sadly also described the style of writing. I found myself wanting to get through this book as opposed to savoring a book you don't want to end.

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

The writing, good. The story, interesting. But kind I of like The Water Cure, I want more details!! More world building, as it were. I don’t mind being dropped into a new world but somewhere I want to find out how it all went down.

What if your life was determined by a ticket? Blue or white. If you get a white ticket you become a wife and mother, if you get blue you get a job and singleness. Either way, the choice is made for you. “Blue Ticket” by Sophie Mackintosh follows Calla as she struggles against her own ticket. Does the lottery know better than she does?

I love the idea of this book! It has a very utopian/dystopian vibe. The idea of having your choices taken away to give you more freedom brings up so many questions. Does a lottery make better choices for you? Or is freedom the best option? Is freedom too overwhelming and more likely to cause mistakes?

This story felt choppy. The thoughts were broken apart as single sentence paragraphs was hard. It left me feeling distracting and kept me from connecting to the storyline well. I think this story would have benefited from more backstory. Why is the country run this way? What are the perks?

I also didn’t like Calla in general. Nothing made me emotionally attached to her. There was no redemption story, no drive to her character, nothing that made me want to cheer for her.

I gave this book 2 stars. It was a brilliant plot, but it fell flat for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I so wanted to like this book. I usually like dystopian books, but this one just left me confused and bored.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

About a year ago, I read Mackintosh's debut, The Water Cure, and was impressed enough with her storytelling and writing to grab this one up as soon as it became available.

As with that debut, Mackintosh drops readers straight into a dystopian world where women are once again the target of manipulation while being made to believe that what's being done is for their benefit. Once again, Mackintosh raises a lot of questions - why was the lottery instituted, why are the blue ticket girls sent off to make their own way to the city with almost no assistance and no transportation, how does the machine determine who should get white tickets and who should get blue, and, if this is such a great plan, why do the blue ticket women require regular visits with a doctor?

As with The Water Cure, Mackintosh left a lot of my questions unanswered; but this time, knowing that she had done that in her previous book, I was surprised by it and it didn't bother me so much. I did get enough answers to make the story feel whole and to understand the choices that Calla made and why she spent so much of the book feeling so angry and questioning her own motives.


There were some plot pieces I felt might have been left out, although they certainly underscored the risk that Calla was taking and the fear underlying her choice. A lot of time is spent in Calla's head which is often filled with quite violent thoughts. That might have been toned down but as the book developed I did begin to understand why she might feel that way.

There is certainly an strong sense of The Handmaid's Tale here but Mackintosh takes that and makes it her own. It's a short book and a fast read, thanks it part to it's somewhat unique style and because Calla's journey is so compelling. Mackintosh has certainly found her niche and I look forward to reading more of her work.