I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Did this book remind me of Handmaids Tale? 100%
Did it have mystery to it? 100%
Did I love it? Weeeeellll I wouldn't call it love.

Yes, this is almost like a retelling of Handmaids Tale for teens, but not really. I don't want to take away from the orginality of the book, because yes, there are some awesome plot lines here.

However, I was missing something. I don't know what exactly it is. I think its because the book lost its steam halfway through for me.

I want to thank #Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of The Chaperone by M Hendrix in exchange for my honest review and opinion. This is not my normal genre of books and I can honestly say I struggled with this one. I didn't love it and felt like it was a little too bizarre for my liking. Thank you for the chance to read it, I do appreciate it.

This book reminded me so much of the handmaids tale and I loved it so much for that aspect and could not put it down

M. Hendrix's The Chaperone is a YA dystopian novel of middling quality, and unless you are the intended audience and fresh to the genre, you will have read this story countless times before. It follows an oppressive society - New America - where women and especially young girls are suppressed and basically only kept around for breeding. Girls live a diminished life, while the boys get to have all of the fun. Additionally, in this society, girls of means are assigned a chaperone designed to protect them (but really they are just there to keep them in line.)

When protagonist Stella's chaperone winds up dead, she finds herself assigned a new one - Sister Laura - who pushes the boundaries in ways Stella's previous chaperone never did. Stella finds a whole new world being opened up to her, thanks to Sister Laura. As Stella gains more exposure to new ideas, people, and places, she begins to question everything she has been taught about life in New America.

Although The Chaperone closely resembles other novels I have read before, I found it entertaining enough to keep me turning the pages. However, as the book progressed, I found some of Stella's actions to be completely outlandish and out of character for a girl raised in a society like New America. SPOILERS AHEAD ... for example, Stella sneaks out & attends a party, where she immediately starts rounding the bases with a guy that she doesn't even know. To prep for this party, her own chaperone sat her down and taught her how to drink, while Stella promptly starts doing once she enters the party. None of these actions rang true to me and just felt like a way for Hendrix to spice up her novel for teen readers. Furthermore, as the book progresses, it becomes more and more overtly preachy and agenda-driven.

Upon finishing The Chaperone, my takeaway is that the story feels shoddily melded together and races from one plot point to the next without sufficient development.

An interesting and timely entry into the YA dystopian field. Fans of the genre will enjoy this YA take on a Handmaid's Tale-esque world featuring an American divided along the lines of subjugating women. Starts somewhat slow and picks up speed as the novel finishes, with clear room for a sequel.

If the striking cover doesn't draw you in, the stort definitely will. This is perfect for fans of the Handmaids Tale and other stories in that vein.

This one caught my attention with the cover and synposis of having a 'New America'. I'm always drawn into dystopia stories and find I can fly through them with the time. The main concept for this New America is pretty much for women to just float through life without any opinions or thoughts of their own. Girls are taught from a young age to not attract attention, dress a type of way, and obey all authoritative figures. Stella follows these rules without any explanations or arguments, until her chaperone dies... leaving her to have a new one that turns out different than the rest. Girls are provided a chaperone around a certain age until they marry, with mothers not being as present in their lives. Could you imagine living with your mother, but not being able to speak with them about any concerns... Only one POV the entire book from a teenage girl (Stella).

Pacing of this book was fairly good, started off with a death in the first chapter leading up to the background of this world. I did find myself wanting it to speed up around the middle/ beginning of end. It dragged on and I wanted more action, more suspense....

Overall, if you're looking for a young adult dystopian book this should be up your alley! A young adult version of The Handmaid's Tale in a way. Would I recommend this? ehhh only if you like dystopia type of books and a teenage main character. It was a good book, but not the most unique of concepts.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Chaperone by M Hendrix.

It was definitely fun to get back into the world of dystopian books, and this one was pretty good. It took me a little bit to get into the book because the writing wasn't my favorite, but overall I did enjoy the story.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Chaperone by M Hendrix.

The first vibes I got from this book were Victorian old timey vibes, every woman needing a chaperone in order to court a suitor. Then I got serious Handmaid Tale vibes, granted I've never actually read it, but I definitely get the gist, women are as good as their ability to reproduce etc etc. Then I got The Giver vibes, a dystopian civilization that has broken off from the modern world. And that should honestly tell you most of what you need to know about the book.

It has a lot of the right ingredients, but they weren't quite mixed or baked enough. I can see what the author was trying to do, and I appreciate it, but I feel like she tried straddling too many lanes, and it made the story sloppy. I'm sure that there are other books out there similar to this that may have landed better.

It has been a while since I had delved into the world of Dystopian fiction a few years ago it was all the rage with The Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, and then a few of my favourites which were lesser known titles like The Eve Trilogy, Chemical Garden Trilogy, and The Selection. This one caught my attention with the cool cover and then sounded like it would be a good read I enjoyed it as it reminded me a little of The Handmaid's Tale ( book not the TV series) and The Grace Year by Kim Liggett. In The Chaperone, we are living in a world called New America. After the BLM movement and riots, a New America was created and run by the Minutemen. In this new world, men and boys are in charge and females are their submissives. The girls once they hit puberty, are given Chaperones to make sure they don't step out of line and are ready for motherhood and what comes next. The book starts with Stella's Chaperone Sister Helen dying and then it being shoved under the mat as Stella knows she was murdered. Her last words to Stella were Angel. During the rest of the book, Stella gets a new Chaperone Sister Laura, who looks like she is picking up where Sister Helen couldn't and is on the sly introducing Stella to what the old America was like and giving her options and a new way of life. When Stella escapes, she learns really where the "kidnapped" go and what life can be like on the outside. When the opportunity arises and she learns who her father is, will Stella become a sleeper chaperone and head to help save other young girls from her father's and many other plans? Find out in this great Dystopian read The Chaperone by M. Hendrix.

I just realized that I haven't post my review of this and my review has been sitting in the draft for too long so here's the review!

Thank you to SourceBooks and NetGalley for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Chaperone is a dystopian YA that took place in New America where every young woman who's unmarried have to obey the rules and respect their chaperone.

The premise is what intrigued me to read it. The book set in the future but the society goes back in time. It's truly a unique story for a book. However, the execution of it is not well done.

Let's talk about the characters first. The main character here is Stella and she's kind of the big deal since his dad is involved in something (that I already forgot about). She has always been the perfect daughter and young woman, but then her chaperone Sister Helen died suddenly leaving her a warning. Stella began to question everything in her life. It's really great to see her character development but it all happen so fast.
The book was like okay time for a character development time, oh sike you want to see the progress? Not gonna happen buddy so here's Stella 5 months later with a whole new personality and mission.
I feel like it would be better if the first 50% of the book is not too long and then we get to see her real character development. I don't mind seeing her struggle first trying to learn new things while she's out there.

The writing style kinda bother me too. Listen I love short chapters in books and I live for short chapters. But not like this. Some chapters could easily fit in the previous chapter. 115 chapters is too much.

Also I feel like there are a lot of plot holes in this book (which idk if it's intentional or maybe the author forget to put it in). Like how can some girls go to the college and some can't? Why do they need chaperone at all times? How the hell the girls have a lot of money?

It's truly an amazing concept and I've been dying to read more dystopian, sadly this book isn't for me. The ending confuses me and I don't think I would even read the sequel. I'm amazed with myself that I can even finish this book since I've thought about DNFing this one like 20 times when I read it.

Will her plan implode?
Stella is a 17yo teenager living in New America with her mother, father, sister Shea, and 60 year old Sister Helen, the family chaperone. When Sister Helen collapses and dies, after giving Stella a pendant and saying the word Angel, Stella is distraught. Stella knows that she needs to stay pure so she’ll be eligible to marry soon, since girls don’t have many options besides becoming a wife and having children. She searches for reasons to continue to live at home but doesn’t find much that keeps her happy. When Stella discovers a way to get out of her situation, can she trust it or will her plan implode and make her life worse?
Likes/dislikes: The author repeats the concept of having to be pure for marriage as though readers won’t understand the first few times it’s mentioned. Dystopian novel that didn’t really pull my interest. Violates Utah HB374 legislation.
Language: R for 50 swears and 4 f-words.
Mature Content: PG-13 for underage drinking, implied gang rape, drug use, implied rape/assault, violation of Utah Legislation HB-374: touching genitalia.
Violence: PG-13 for homemade bomb description, missing girls, death by poisoning.
Ethnicity: Bonita is Black, Mateo is Latino and Stella is white.

The Chaperone is a Young Adult of the popular feminist dystopian novels, like A Handmaid's Tale. The protagonist is relatable and real, though secondary characters feel less developed. For being a supposed standalone novel, the story ends abruptly, making readers wonder if this is the first book in a series. Regardless, the story is eerie and a great read for anyone interested in women's rights.

** spoiler alert ** This book is The Handmaid's Tale if it was a ya novel and was told from one of the young daughter's who have been raised in this dystopian society. (I haven't read The Handmaid's Tale, but I've seen the entire show.) The Chaperone is about Stella, the daughter of one of the wealthy and powerful men in New America. Like the other girls her age, she is being raised and taught to be a housewife and mother, subservient to the men around her. Her father can't even hug her because touching her as an unmarried, teenage girl, even though she is his daughter, is against the rules and is seen as giving into "temptation." Stella and the other girls are not permitted to go anywhere or be alone and must be accompanied by a Chaperone, government assigned women who are meant to teach Stella and other girls to be "respectful women."

Stella's life changes when her Chaperone Sister Helen dies suddenly in their home, and a new Chaperone, Sister Laura arrives and starts opening up Stella's eyes about New America. Reading Stella's evolution as she realizes she's trapped in the female gender role her father and New America places on her was great to read. Her journey of escaping to actual America was intense and such a powerful moment when she makes it. Stella is the June Osborne of this YA dystopian and I really hope their is a follow up book so we can see Stella's plan of becoming a Chaperone (and hopefully bringing down New America).

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review. These are my own opinions.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Fire and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well, right off the bat I felt like I was in a YA version of The Handmaids tale with a blend of Matched by Ally Condie. This book was about a community of people in New America, who decided they didn't want to be a part of Old America's ways. The women are taught to be obedient, respectful and to listen to their chaperones. Women seem to be a lower class and expected to do what is told of them. Not so much imprisoned but more brainwashed. This was an interesting dystopian style book with twists and turns when realization comes to light in our MC's life. A quick read with some depth to it, two thumbs up for me.

A terrifying dystopian future, if you're female. In New America, girls must be protected at all costs. It's just too dangerous for them to be alone, right? That's why chaperones exist. Chaperones are government appointed guardians who shadow their girls, keeping them safe and preparing them for womanhood. Protagonist Stella is one of the lucky girls who actually forms a real connection with her chaperone, Sister Helen. When Sister Helen passes away, Stella refuses to believe it was due to natural causes. Then her new chaperone arrives, Sister Laura, who helps to lift the wool from Stella's eyes. There are so many restrictions for girls in New America, and it's finally clear that those men in power don't have your best interests at heart. Stella begins to fight back, but where will her choices take her? To freedom, or to her ruin?

New America is horrifying to picture. I can't imagine living in a society where girls are given absolutely no chance to succeed. Come on, we're just as strong as boys are! I liked the idea of this novel, but in some ways it fell a bit flat. The characters were mostly one dimensional. I have no idea why Stella had a sister at all, since she pretty much never figured into the plot. All of the men, with just a few exceptions, were completely horrible, with no redeeming qualities. I did enjoy Stella's growth. Of course she's scared when things start changing, but she soon realizes that freedom is worth it. The second half of the novel felt extremely rushed. This feels like it should have been split into two different novels. Then we could have gotten so much more out of Stella's time in "Old America". I would have really enjoyed seeing her get to grow there and plan to fight for the future she, and other girls deserve, rather than just getting a brief mention of time passing and being told her plans. This is definitely a timely story, and I enjoyed reading, though I'm not sure it will stick with me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This one was not for me. It was very much like The Handmaids Tale, which I already didn't appreciate much. I like the premise of both, but I wished that this one would have a different execution of it, but I found myself just seeing the same trope again with similar story and movement.

I didn't finish reading it as I very quickly got bored with it.

However, if you enjoyed The Handmaids tale, then this would probably be something you'd enjoy too. So for anyone liking that one I do recommend this, as well as anyone interested in the dystopian genre with a cultish touch to it.

The Chaperone is a dystopian YA domestic suspense novel. It felt like a YA version of The Handmaid's Tale. The main character is Stella, a teenage girl in "New America." It seems that "Old America" was overthrown and there's now a new government being run by The Minutemen. I wish there would have been more background into how exactly this came to be. Teenage girls are issued a "chaperone" (if their family can afford to have one) and are rarely unsupervised. They are basically then just groomed to become wives and mothers. Stella has always thought there was something off about this way of living but has been raised to not ask questions. That is until her chaperone is suddenly found dead under mysterious circumstances. After her new chaperone encourages Stella to start questioning things, she starts to realize New America may not be all it seems.

I really enjoyed this one and how suspenseful it was at times. I liked how strong and independent Stella became but it was a little far-fetched for me. It almost seemed like her whole personality changed overnight. I wish we could have seen a slower progression. I liked the complicated relationship of Stella and her mother. Overall, a good book that I enjoyed. Please check trigger warnings if they are an issue for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me access to an ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I just reviewed The Chaperone by M Hendrix. #NetGalley
If you are fascinated by the Handmaids Series on tv, you will be enthralled by this young adult thriller about a New America, a teenage girl and her chaperone. I found it hard to put down, and while it was set in a near-future, it has elements of our society as well. I highly recommend it!