I liked this book. It’s not a genre that I would usually choose, but it kept my interest. I liked the author’s writing style and the characters were interesting enough to care about finding out what happens.

This ended up being not for me, unfortunately, but it might be for someone else!

It takes 26 chapters for the plot to really get going, and her refusal to actually commit to the sci-fi nature of the plot ends up showing up here as well. There are nine girls in this book, we only really get to know four of them, and the other five blur together heavily in my mind. One of the characters comments at one point that she wishes that there was more literature out there that focused on their mothers instead of the man who supposedly helped bring these parthenogenesis girls into the world, in a very keen bit of unwitting meta commentary, and then the plot goes right back to focusing on the men, even though the book is ostensibly supposed to focus on the daughters.

This was frustrating enough, but when I realized that almost every catalyst moment for the girls’ powers increasing was bought about by imminent danger of rape, I pretty much checked out hard.

Secondary to this was the way that Ms. Flannery Murphy seems to regard lesbians as mildly exotic and a way to introduce sex into the plot, rather than an actual legitimate lens through which the parthenogenesis thread could have been an actual interest. We have two examples of lesbian couples - one serves as a mildly exotic oooo sexy times thread through the book, and the other is a broken up couple, one of whom is bitter, obsessive, and killed off screen, and the other for whom this is never really dug into because she’s the protagonist’s mother. Also, a very binary/pregnancy focused view of gender and sexuality that was a further turn off.

But hey, if you want a road trip book with vague lesbian tension, a plot that cares more about its men than it does about the women who front it, and a barely there sci fi element that culminates in a creepy cult standoff, this is definitely for you.

Her writing has definitely improved since her last novel, but this could have used further editing, I feel like. This just ended up overall being not for me.

Like most the synopsis was so eye catching! I had really high hopes for this story but it unfortunately fell flat to me. I felt the story really dragged through the halfway point and I wish there would have been more of a backstory in the beginning. I loved the premise of the story it just didn't have excitement to keep me engaged.

I really enjoyed this one. A page-turner that has enough character development to make you care. It was well- paced and well-written. I'm very impressed by Sara Flannery Murphy and will definitely be keeping an eye out for future books!

This book's description had me at "Orphan Black meets Margaret Atwood." It's an apt comparison and I absolutely loved the idea behind the story of nine women who were conceived via pathenogenesis meeting and working together to learn more about their shared history, specifically the scientist that brought them into being. Such a fascinating premise.

Unfortunately, I felt the execution could've been stronger. I kept mixing up Girls Four through Nine; I wish there had been more of an introduction to them early on as they did seem to have fleshed out personalities / dynamics with their mothers, but most were introduced only as they appeared. I also found the romantic subplot to be extraneous and unnecessary and wished some of the characters' "powers" had been better explained (especially since early parts of the book and the main character's perspective are so rooted in science). Some of the twists in the story had me gasping out loud though, and I was rooting for all the characters by the end of the novel.

All in all, a twisty and unique sci-fi thriller! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nine women, nine virgin births. All baby girls. The exact replica of their mothers. Science has come this far that a woman can conceive and have a child without a man. Excellent! Some animals have been doing this for years and years. Now the man responsible is dead. The house burned down all the information lost. Girl one is determined to try and discover his research. She has set out to find her sisters and her mother who has disappeared.
This journey will be the road to discovery. Especially about herself.
I was given this book to read and review by the publisher.
I enjoyed this book immensely. I will be going on my collection shelf.
This is a great story. A story of hope, redemption, love, betrayal and hope.
Phenomenal read!

Thank you netgalley for sharing with me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Let me just start with - I loved it!

"All the stories about vampires. Witches. Werewolves, monsters. They had to come from somewhere."

This was an excellently written and plotted book. Although there's really only one major similarity to Orphan Black, it's hard not to feel like that both properties share the same "feel." I felt immediately drawn to Josephine's story as she sets off on an unexpected journey with Tom, a journalist, trying to find her missing mother. Josephine is Girl One, the first girl born from parthenogenesis - meaning, no father. She is literally a clone of her mother. And there are 8 other girls after her, all born together on the Homestead. Their creator, their father in a way, was Joseph Ballenger, who died many years ago in a fire.

But all is not as it seems. Very slowly, little by little we get to unravel what we thought was just one mystery - where is Josephine's mother - that becomes something very different. I appreciated how each reveal was handled. There was nothing added just to be flashy or exciting. Each plot point felt natural, even though very little in this book is in any way natural. There is a great sci-fi element to this that I don't want to spoil, but suffice it to say it was very exciting.

The reason I'm docking a star is I feel like the weakest part of the book was the last 2-3 chapters. It was 5 stars until that point.

Thank you, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux , and NetGalley for providing the arc of Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy in exchange for my honest review.

Girl One follows Josephine “Josie” Morrow, a miracle baby conceived without male DNA, as she races to find her missing mother. We learn that Josie and 8 other girls were born to 8 different women and raised on a commune that was called the Homestead. All 8 women gave birth to baby girls and none of them had any male DNA. When Josie is a child there is a fire at the Homestead that kills two people, the mother and daughter teams scatter to various parts of the country to start over. Years go by and Josie is now at the University of Chicago trying to recreate the science that created her when she finds out that her mother, Margaret, has gone missing and there was a fire. Josie returns home and discovers a secret. That secret leads Josie on a hunt for her mom, for the truth of what really happened that night on the Homestead and about her past.

I had a really hard time getting into this story. I thought the premise was fascinating. I was super excited to get a chance to read it, but I’ll admit, I almost quit at about 20% of the way in.
For me, I found Murphy’s writing to be wordy. I could skip entire paragraphs and still know what was going on. That made it difficult for me to stay engaged. That said, I’m so glad I pushed through because I reached a point, maybe 45-50% of the way through and I couldn’t put the book down. I was hooked. I needed to see things through.

Josie is a full-blown character with a strong voice that you can’t mistake with anyone else. I found her incredibly frustrating at times, but looking back I think it was the way she was so sure she knew everything when it was obvious, she had a lot to figure out. I thought the romance was handled wonderfully. I really enjoyed the tension and development of it. I would say once you reach the halfway point things start to unravel a little faster and that’s when all the things you’ve been thinking start to come together.

I don’t want to give anything away, so I’m not going to go deeper, but I will say, I found all the girls very intriguing and enjoyed the growth of their sisterhood. It touches on everything from feminism, science versus religion, gender roles, sexuality, conception, and the power of a strong female bond. If you enjoy science fiction, a lot of plot, and wordy descriptions, this book is for you. Overall I would recommend Girl One to anyone who enjoyed Orphan Black or enjoys science fiction mysteries. but I think it ended how it needed to.

This sci-fi thriller immediately caught my attention, and I ended up reading it in one setting. It has a lot of charm - the way the plot unfolded was good, there's lot of action, and the characters were interesting.

The Power by Naomi Alderman is mentioned as a similar book, and unfortunately my criticism of that book also applies to this book. When a book deals with sex and/or gender in this type of sci-fi way, my mind always goes to - how does the book address trans and nonbinary people? The Power kind of fumbled this issue, and ultimately made me like it a great deal less than I originally had. In this case, these issues weren't mentioned at all, which I think was to it's detriment, because it left me with questions.

Beyond that, I did enjoy this novel.

Girl One was a five star read for me. A different type of thriller than a lot of the previous ones I've been reading. The original content kept me very intrigued throughout. There were some twists I never saw coming, which is always a plus for me in thrillers. I loved the camaraderie between the girls and the love they found for each other. Overall, a fun, twisty, original book that I'd highly recommend to others.

I'll admit it: a clickbait-y description caught my attention and that's why I requested this galley. The enticing line was "Orphan Black meets Margaret Atwood in this twisty supernatural thriller about female power and the bonds of sisterhood."

I'd like to read more from whoever wrote that marketing blurb, but probably not more by Sara Flannery Murphy.

Murphy's novel has a promising premise that centers on a group of women, a quest for parthenogenesis, and a rogue doctor who was kicked out of the medical establishment. Unfortunately, the writing doesn't live up to the plot possibilities. The novel rambled on and on without enough direction and could have used some heavy editing. We met most of the 9 mother-daughter pairs during this ramble, but they all bleed together. Murphy gives them a few differences rooted in setting (this one lives in the country and has a lush garden, these live in an urban gated mansion) but none in voice. The women blended together because their voices were all exactly the same. And the novel plodded on at a pace I cannot associate with the assigned genre of "thriller."

There were some high points. One of them is when Cate (Girl 3) says "You know when I'd like to see? A book that discusses the way the Homestead affected women's lives. You writer types love to obsess over the lost science, or Bellanger's grandstanding, or the dead bodies. But what about the way it impacted women? Like, maybe it wasn't strange for a single woman to raise a baby along. Maybe it was a miracle instead" (ch 17). With that in mind, I was much more interested in Margaret and Patricia's back story (we got only the barest outlines of it) than in Josie's doomed quest. In a way, Murphy fell into the same trap as the journalists in the novel.

In the end, there was too little "female power" and too much multi-generational and societal misogyny. Don't even get me started on "Junior" and his lost cause to "restore" his father's (non)work, or Josie's relationship with her graduate advisor. And I would never put a work like this in the company of Atwood's literary masterpieces.

Perhaps I was the wrong audience for this book. But the Atwood tag was the wrong description for it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing e-galley access to this title.

Girl One is a bit of a slog. The concept of human parthenogenesis was fascinating and there is a fair amount of action. Plot background and relatable characters with some depth are what is missing. The author also missed the chance to explore in some detail the societal what-ifs that parthenogenesis would present. Somehow, in spite of decent writing, I just couldn’t get into it.

The book was okay. I found it dragged through the first half. The premise was good and there were some really interesting scenes. I think it was more that this isn’t a genre of book I read and had trouble keeping interested in it. The writer is a master at the written word it just wasn’t the book for me. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sarah Flannery Murphy takes us on a wild adventure.as she explores the world of parthenogenesis. Nine women decide to try having children without being impregnated. This virgin birth (parthenogenesis) theory has been explored but attempting it is amazing. Over a period of years, nine girls are born identical to their mothers. Society isn't accepting of the women or their children. After a fire at their compound, they scatter to the wind. The first girl born - Girl One dedicates herself to continuing the work of the doctor responsible for this experiment. Girl One, Josie Morrow, is drawn into the deep secrets surrounding her birth when her mother disappears. How do you locate someone who has disappeared without a trace?

This is a mesmerizing book. Thriller, Sci-Fi, and Mystery don't even begin to describe the story. These women attempt to teach society that it could adapt to the absence of men. Intriguing and thought provoking, this is a wonderful read for people who love surprises.

I am awed, inspired, and ravaged at this end of this book. Each chapter and page was so brilliant and captivating that my mind and soul craved more. The idea behind this novel is unique and was executed so flawlessly I felt I lived it. Everything about Girl One was original and marvelous.

Girl One has a fascinating concept: women become pregnant without sperm. What does that mean for their daughters? What does it mean for the world of science? How is it done? Is it ethical? It it right? What happens to those daughters as they age and become women themselves?

This book dances around some of the questions and flat-out ignores some of the others. Girl A is Josephine, the first girl born of a mother without sperm. An adult, she finds out her mother is missing and their home has burned down. Josephine goes on a quest--ostensibly to find out where her mother is and what happened to her but it becomes a journey to find herself. She meets up with other Girls and the book flashes between present and past. It's an intriguing idea, and I lovey odyssey books, but this one seemed to leave a lot of threads untied.

Sara Flannery Murphy (SFM) touches on a lot of the interesting concepts, but never really dives into the content. I realize that the science would be imaginary and the doctor in charge was notoriously tight-lipped about the how, but it would have been interesting to hear the theoretical ideas behind the woman-only birth. Were the girls clones? It's alluded to, but isn't really said outright. I would have loved to read more about that.

SFM also has Josephine visit nearly every Girl, which takes a while and some of the passages seem meandering and could have benefited from additional editing. There's also a love story embedded within which didn't really seem necessary--almost as though SFM was trying to add more into an already convoluted plot.

Girl One is a fun ride, but could have been so much better. Thanks to netgalley for providing me with a free copy in return for my honest review.

Loved everything about this book! This intriguing sci-fi mystery was amazing.
The story did star a little slow for me..... But quickly picked up.
The characters were great and interesting also fun to follow along. I enjoyed the story.... This was a wild one.
Amazingly paced, this book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Fascinating and original story about group of girls born via parthenogenesis. Lots of history around the fears the group incited at their birth, leading to great chase and mystery about what’s happening now. Girl One, the first born, is trying to find her mother who has disappeared, Along this journey she deals with a reporter and finds out why their births caused such fear and rage when first reported. And the story isn’t over- are they really witches, whose origins are often shrouded in hysterical theories. And are they just theories. It’s a wonderful story about mother/daughter relationships, a hint of the occult with a scientific gloss, and the classic mystery elements.

I found this to be an ok read. A bit plodding but interesting to power through. Will probably try it again soon. Thanks for the ARC!

Pretty good, ... one of those 3-star books that I can enjoy but with a couple problems that were "just enough" to keep it from being a 4-star. And both problems might be less significant to other readers.

I loved the complexity of the main character. She was growing and discovering, even when it was not really where she might want to go.

My biggest trouble was in trying to keep the 9 mothers and their daughters from becoming tangled up with one another. A second issue was that I felt like we were never allowed an ending to Tom's story.