This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Girl One was one of my most anticipated reads for the first half of the year and I'm sure it wil remain in the top five most memorable ones. Any good science fiction novel has to be a blend of several elements: an interesting scientific concept, a 'what if...?' which is plausible and fascinating to discuss, an interesting plot or unusual characters, and a strong message related to our society. Girl One has all of these and definitely deserves your attention.

This is a story of a young woman, Josephine Morrow, looking for her estranged mother Margaret, who disappeared (was kidnapped?) from their home. The search turns into a journey of self-discovery that breaks and re-makes every idea Josie had of her past and present. Josie is number One of the nine babies, miraculously conceived by parthenogenesis (self-conception, 'virgin birth') in the Homestead, a commune of like-minded, progressively thinking women and a scientist who helped the project to take off. The commune was destroyed by a ravaging fire, in which two people died- Fiona, the youngest of the nine girls and Dr Bellanger himself. The remaining mothers and their daughters conceived without male DNA scattered all across the country and went on with their lives. Josie finds her mother's enigmatic notes, hidden in what remains after a similar fire consumed their ordinary flat, and sets outs to find the rest of the girls.

This is a well-written thriller with a tight plot and multiple twists and turns as there are a lot of things Josie has to discover about her past, the Homestead Project, and the only family she has ever had. Since there were 9 original girls, it does take some time , and some characters contribute less than the others to the development of the story. Then again, there are also some sinister, horror-like scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The writing is really vivid and you can easily see the book turned into a TV show in future.

Josie is a very likeable character. She is strong, she is caring, she is flawed, and this is what makes her so interesting. She discovers and re-discovers the strength and selflessness of her mother-daughter bond and a powerful connection to her 'sisters'. She grows during this trip, takes responsibility for her own actions and her road companions and works through some complex feelings. The events are told from her point of view and I wonder what kind of effect having multiple POVs would have had on the book.

The thriller side of the book is quite strong, but this gripping journey also comes with thought-provoking social messages- the way the girls come into their own powers, test and learn their ethical boundaries is a perfect metaphor for the relationship our society has with its scientific discoveries and technological progress. There is also something else - we are all different, but there is no need to be afraid of our diversity. We can be free and independent, and enhance each other.

“I know it’s a publicity stunt: a pretty girl, trying her hand at being Dr. Frankenstein instead of the monster.”

Girl One is set in the distant past - April of 1994 - and opens with our protagonist Josephine Morrow discovering that her estranged-ish mother's house has been torched and she's subsequently vanished. Although this alone is enough of an intriguing scenario to start a book with, Murphy throws in the fact that Josephine is known as Girl One - the first of nine "Miracle Babies" born in a commune known as The Homestead in the early to mid '70s without any pesky male DNA via the scientist Dr. Joseph Bellanger. Although Josephine hasn't seen any of the other mother-daughter pairs since the Homestead was burned down in 1977 and subsequently disbanded, she finds clues in her mother's house indicating these women may hold the key to where she's residing in 1994. With local reporter Tom Abbott in tow, she goes on a quest across the US to find the other mother-daughter pairs to see if they know anything about the whereabouts of her mother - and she winds up discovering that everything she thought she knew about her past may not be true after all.

I found Girl One to be a really fun read. Murphy is able to successfully write a book that is science fiction and mystery and thriller. In addition, Murphy tackles topics of family dynamics, societal perceptions/reactions to the idea of men no longer being required for conception, and a smidge of romance. The reader has a front and center view of Josephine's character development with every new aha moment she has as she learns more and more about what really went down on the Homestead. And let me tell you, the last half of this book is full of tons of twists and turns that I did not see coming.

One thing I struggled with was the sheer quantity of characters. With nine different mother-daughter pairs plus a fair number of additional side characters, it was tough to keep everybody straight. Plus, while I blew through the last half of this book in about a day, it took me a while to get into it. The first half was a touch on the slow side. With that being said, I did find this book to be a pleasure and have already recommended it to fellow sci fi fans.

I'm not sure whether this book should be called a suspense/ thriller or something else entirely but this is the wildest book I've ever read. Brilliantly written with amazing characters Murphy has taken on an atrocity in writing and turned it into something out of this world. Once you open this book you will not put it down until you reach the very last page!

I received an ebook ARC from Netgalley and this is my voluntary, honest review.

Nine babies are created in the 1970s without using men at all. The first baby born is called Girl One. This is her story.

Girl One discovers her mother is missing and her parent’s home partially burned down. She decides to investigate with a reporter. To find answers, they visit the remaining girls and their mothers. While there, Girl One discovers alarming truths about her past—and her future.

Despite throwing every twist possible at the wall to see what sticks, the book still did not enthrall me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, so I didn’t care what happened to them. Plus, some of the decisions made by the girls were just plain stupid. While the premise was great, Girl One just didn’t live up to its promise. 3 stars.

Thanks to MCD; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The story was slow paced and it took me awhile to finish it. But I did enjoy the characters, especially Josephine, girl one. She was the first of nine girls conceived without male DNA. Josie’s mom goes missing and Josie sets out to find her, connecting with other girls and their mothers that were also a part of the experiment. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this novel.

Get ready for the woman-authored, woman-led sci-fi thriller of the summer! Biologically, Josephine Morrow has no father. She was the first of nine girls conceived solely by their own mothers with no paternal DNA. Years after the death by arson of the man whose scientific discovery made this mode of asexual reproduction amongst these nine women possible, Josephine is in college and studying to pick up where he left off, ensuring the continuation of his research and the future possibilities of more "Miracle Babies" for more mothers. When Josephine's mother disappears, she sets out on a journey to find her, and finds the truth about the difficult past of these nine girls, their mothers, and their commune along the way. There are some great unexpected twists throughout "Girl One," and fans of women-focused sci-fi will find a great summer read in Sara Flannery Murphy's second novel.

I can say with great certainty, this has been, if not the best, one of the best books I read in 2021. It has all the necessary, a great story, great writing style and open-mouthed plot twists.

Girl One is the second book by Sara Flannery Murphy, and it tells the story of Josephine Morrow and the other eight miracle babies conceived only with their mothers' genes. Their story is full of people who have approved or not of the experiments which generated them. One of them, Ricky Peters, a religious fanatic is accused and found guilty of starting a fire that destroyed the compound where the girls have been birthed, and of killing Dr. Joseph Bellanger, the scientist responsible for the experiments.

The story begins with Josephine getting back home, at the last weeks of her first year as a medical student, because her mother, Margaret Morrow, is missing. At their house, that has been apparently accidentally burned, she discovers evidence that leads her to believe Margaret's disappearance is connected to their past and that someone who has anything against them has kidnapped her. She then finds a telephone number of a reporter between her mother's archives and decides to get in touch with him.

Thomas Abbott, a reporter from the Kansas City Telegraph, is contacted by Josie, who's asking about her mother and wanting to know why she was in contact with him. He then explains that she wanted some story to be published, but never got around to telling it. They agree to meet and talk, and that's how she earns her first ally in her quest to find her mother.

Through finding and visiting the other mothers and girls, what Josie thinks would be just a few days after her own mother, turns into a series of pivotal moments that makes her question how much she knows of her life and the few people in it. The story's also a great tale of self-discovery, loyalty, loss and the consequences of misogyny in our society.

Murphy has such a way with words, describing the scenarios with great details while not letting it get boring. I truly felt like I was watching a movie and could materialise everything she described in my head.

My only negative opinion would be about the chapters' length, but that's surely not something that spoils the story in itself. In spite of this, the book has a good flow and each twist makes the reader want to know what's to come next.

In the ‘70s, 9 women conceived baby girls with no male DNA. Those girls are all grown up now, and Josephine is trying to find her mother. Her quest will bring her to some of the other girls that were part of the Homestead. Josephine might finally learn the secrets of the past her mother tried so hard to keep buried.

When I hear the word thriller, I picture an edge of your seat, race to the finish, to get to the bottom of things. I didn’t get that feeling reading this, but it didn’t detract from the fact Girl One is well-written. If there was anything I didn’t love, it was Josie’s blind devotion to Dr. Bellanger, which borders on obsessive. I liked the sci-fi element of altered DNA and the varying mystery elements in the story. Overall, this is an enjoyable read. Thank you, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, for sending this along.

My Thoughts


This book is about a girl named Josephine Morrow, Girl One of Nine miracle births in the 70’s that are about using science without male DNA in the mix.

The story itself is one of searching for answers, answers to questions that had long plagued Josie her entire life.

Unfortunately the answers themselves opened up a series of events that Josie finds both eye opening as well as revealing more than she was looking for.

As her past collides with her present Josie also finds a family she had long lost and did not expect to ever reconnect with again.

A volatile mixture of sci-Fi, mystery, romance and more.

I feel this is also one of the strangest, verging on weirdest, tales have thus far read.

By the books end I was satisfied in many ways yet also unsatisfied at the same time as still more questions were raised with the finale of this story for me.

[EArc from Netgalley]


On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

I did not finish this book because I lost interest at around chapter 24. I didn’t find the story to be progressing at all, and I was got bored.

"From where I stand, a lot of good things in this world are destroyed by simple men."

Totally not in my wheelhouse but I'm glad I took a chance. Part sci-fi, social commentary, feminist agenda and all of it great!

Girl One follows Josephine Morrow as she searches for her Mother and more about her start in life. Josephine was "Girl One", conceived without male DNA, an exact copy of her mother. Along with 8 other mother/daughter pairs, they were the culmination of Dr. Joseph Bellingers quest for notoriety. With time and circumstance the pairs scattered and lost touch. Margaret Morrow's sudden disappearance not only propels Josephine to search for her mother but also leads her on a cross country search for her "sisters" and answers to their shared beginnings. Their journey is filled with peril, intrigue, and ultimately survival.

Okay I do not know how I am going to do a proper review without giving anything away- and trust me, I have no plans to give anything away! The most fun part of Girl One was uncovering all the secrets and twists, so I'd not want to rob anyone of that!

I will say, the story takes a different path than I'd expected. I suppose I thought it would be more of a sci-fi focus, and it does have those elements, but at its core it's very much a mystery/thriller. And it certainly delivered! The concept, from the start, is awesome. This dude... created babies from only female DNA? Is it cloning? Is it something else? It's undoubtedly intriguing, and no surprise that the girls and their mothers have remained of high interest to the general public as the years have gone by.

Josie wants to replicate the doctor's accomplishments, but her trajectory takes a turn when her mother goes missing. Not only does Josie suspect foul play, but her mother leaves some very cryptic clues that Josie can't quite make sense of. Thus begins the adventure of uncovering all the secrets, both past and present, of the Girls and their creation.

I absolutely loved how the mystery unfurled, how the author would give us some information, followed by all new questions to answer. It kept me guessing the entire way, and I was so excited to keep reading to figure out what happened. I loved Josie's journey, and felt that she grew a lot as a character. I also really enjoyed the relationships she forged along the way.

Bottom Line: I found the mystery and the twists to be captivating, the characters to be well developed and sympathetic, and the story behind their creation to be wholly fascinating.

Girl One, Josie, was the first of nine Miracle Babies born on The Homestead without any male DNA for conception. Dr. Bellanger, the babies, and the mothers became instant sensations for this incredible advancement (or sinful act, depending on who you ask). 20 years later, Josie’s mother goes missing. On her mission to find her mother, Josie puts herself in danger while learning about herself, her sisters, and the dark secrets of her past.

This is the perfect recipe of ingredients I love: mother-daughter relationships, mystery, magic, and easy to attach to characters. The suspense starts from page one, so I was hooked cover to cover as the story unraveled. Plus it’s a genre-bender, a literary thriller with splashes of fantasy and romance. What else could you want?!

So many important themes stand out as I think more and more about the book. It’s about self-empowerment, the role of women and their bodies, the power of narrative and legacy.

This is a wonderful novel all-around and I definitely recommend it to you all!

Not what I usually read, but the concept was very intriguing. Needless to say, I am so glad I did. Part mystery, part family drama, part sci-fi, I really enjoyed this story. Not going to give anything away, just read it for yourself!

Josephine "Josie" Morrow is Girl One - as the first girl conceived through parthenogenesis, she is a genetic replica of her mother with no father except for the scientist who enabled her birth, Joseph Bellanger. Nine girls were born this way before their Homestead burned, killing Bellanger and scattering the mothers and daughters. Years later, Josie is working to bring back parthogenesis technology when her mother Margaret goes missing, sending her on a desperate chase to find her mother and the truth.

The blurb compares this book to Orphan Black and The Handmaid's Tale, and both comparisons are spot on. Despite the women giving birth without the need for male genetic material, they are still dominated by the larger-than-life Bellanger, and the book explores how each woman fights against that power differently. As Josie searches for her mother, she meets up with the other girls and their mothers, reuniting a unique sisterhood.
I loved the science-y feel of this book as well as the philosophical and feminist elements. The mystery really got going in the second half of the book, and I loved seeing the investigation unfold to a satisfying conclusion. Given the slow burn of this novel, it's not going to be a good fit for every reader, BUT if you want a book that will really make you think, this is a great one to pick up.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Didn’t get to review this before the archive date. I read a few chapters but wasn’t engrossed and felt it would be slow. The summary sounded enjoyable, but I couldn’t get “into” it.

Girl One is an imaginative speculative fiction novel set in a world in which women can conceive without men. It follows a young woman, Josephine ”Josie” Morrow who’s the first human being born in the 1970s via parthenogenesis (virgin birth) hence the name Girl One. She was born on the Homestead, a commune for women and has no genetic father, but she’s grown up with an adoration of the researcher who helmed her conception through science: Dr Joseph Bellanger. It's April 1994 and Josie is busy studying for medical exams in Chicago taking place in a few weeks but has just learned that her mother, Margaret, is missing. Not only that but the house in Coeur du Lac, Illinois in which she lived and in which Josie spent her formative years has burned to the ground, however, the source of the fire is still unknown. She's been gone a day when Josie finds out and although they haven't spoken for over a year, she sets off to her adopted hometown immediately. As she begins to search for Margaret, Josie, who believes her father to be dead, must seek out the other mothers who gave birth on the Homestead, a place where not only Josie was birthed but eight other girls too.

Journalist Tom Abbott, who knew Margaret, offers his help and using clues from her mother’s newly-discovered notebook, she follows a trail across the United States, finding the mothers and reconnecting with their daughters; some even join her on her quest to discover the truth about both her mother’s vanishing act and her past as part of the biggest reproductive advancement in history. Some of those who perhaps see her as a step-sibling despite not sharing any biological parentage join her on the journey and as the young women become acquainted with one another, they discover they each have supernatural abilities. From telekinesis to mind control and even the power to heal, they'll need all the help they can muster with Margaret having done everything in her power to bury the secrets of the past from being rediscovered. Has her whole life been a lie? Girl One is a compulsive and compelling supernatural coming-of-age thriller with a dual timeline moving between the 1970s and 1990s in an alternate past.

Everything Josie thought she knew – about her body, her mother, her origin story, reproduction in general – is being tossed in the air and landing in new patterns. Centring on asexual reproduction giving it a strong feminist slant, this first-person narrative told from Josie’s perspective has many genre-bending elements making it difficult to categorise; each of the sisters having a different superpower gives the book a bit of a superhero feel yet the stalking aspect is more akin to a thriller and the rest alternate history and sci-fi. It begins very slowly to the point where I was wondering whether to continue and admittedly there are some considerable plot holes, but I stuck it out and I'm glad I did as when the pace picked up so did the undercurrent of tension and the sense of impending doom that lingered throughout began to build suspensefully. This inventive novel explores some very deep themes, mostly around the often fraught relationship between mothers and daughters and the men who feel they have rights to women’s bodies. It will leave you pondering the power of choice and the importance of family bonds, the communities we build and the power of truth to set us free.

I had to read no further than "Orphan Black meets Margaret Atwood" to send out a request for a review copy of this novel. I always want to read feminist speculative fiction revolving around reproduction and this story was so layered in science and psychology--I loved it!

In the 1970s a group of nine women gathered at a commune called The Homestead, and each give birth via parthenogenesis, an asexual form of reproduction which does not require male sperm. The outside world is both fascinated and enraged. News outlets can't get enough, the scientific community is skeptical, and "prophets" predict the end of men. After a devastating fire occurs at The Homestead, the Girls and Mothers scatter and lose touch.

Flash forward to the early 1990s, Girl One, Josephine "Josie" Morrow returns to her mother's home to find there has been a fire and her mother is missing. On a mission to find her mother, Josie sets out to find all the other Girls and Mothers, uncovering a lot of secrets about The Homestead, the doctor who assisted the Mothers, the lives of each of the Mother/Girl pairs, and each Girl's unique otherworldly powers. This medical thriller was full of great twists and turns that kept me guessing and inspired lots of deep thinking. I selfishly want more, more, MORE and am hoping this becomes a series (although there is no indication of that being the case at this time.)

Overall, I felt kinda meh about this book. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly memorable either. Giving it 2.5/5 Stars.