Yours for the Taking is a dystopian look on climate change, feminism, gender equality, class equity, and it’s like holding humanity up to a magnifying glass. Does that seem like a lot of topics to tackle? That’s because it absolutely is - almost too much to cover!

I was SO drawn in by the synopsis, and I truly appreciate what the author is setting out to do. Korn is addressing many serious, prominent questions that are relevant to today: how scarily bad climate change is getting, how there are still undeniable inequities between sexes and genders, the polarizing racist views of a certain population of people, and the disparities of poor people that ultimately benefit the mega rich. But unfortunately when so much ambition is put into a book, there will ultimately be other aspects of it lacking - in this case, the character development is what suffers.

You feel nothing towards these characters because of how large scale the plot is. All the characters’ feelings, although intense, end up coming off as very superficial because of how little is done to get to know them and see them as real genuine people. And usually I LOVE a story that spans across decades, however, you see almost little to no character growth or progress overtime, which is the whole point of using such a vast amount of time. BUT since we’re playing with the concept of the Inside and how this alternate reality doesn’t give people the opportunity to grow or mature or have stakes in life or risk anything and be actual adults LIKE I GET IT BUT ITS SO… The premise seemed so on the nose with real issues but then the story took off and I feel like we got really out of touch with all these people introduced. The dialogue was okay, the character dynamics were okay, the pacing was okay (a bit slow because the chapters felt a bit long for my taste) but I will definitely be looking out for Korn’s next work because the ambition and the love (for people, for writing, for humans) is most absolutely there.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the electronic arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

A dystopian, sapphic, thought-provoking story that I am still thinking about. Deep discussions of climate change, feminism, queerness, gender structure, politics, corporate greed, patriarchy, etc covered through multiple POVs. A great societal reflective piece for anyone who loves dystopian stories and a provocative future forward-thinking story.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Yours for the Taking is a dystopian, apocalyptic novel that centers around the idea of an all-female, or non-cis-man, society. Though this book started out a little slow for me, by the time we got to the introduction of the Inside, I was hooked. Climate disaster is something that is, unfortunately, on the horizon (and already happening) and I think this one does a good job of capitalizing on that very real fear.

I liked that this story incorporated nuance into its understanding of gender and other disparities. We see nonbinary representation through Ira, and Olympia provides insight and takes a stance against JM's white-washed version of feminism. All in all, I thought Yours for the Taking had solid writing, a great story, and stayed interesting throughout. I gave this one a five-star rating because I enjoyed it, would recommend it to a friend, and would read it again.

This story offers a captivating examination of empowerment and self-discovery in a dystopian setting. Korn offers a novel viewpoint on negotiating life's intricacies by fusing together personal tales and perceptive remarks. The book is a must-read because of its captivating tale and honest tone.

I am a fan of dystopian novels, and when I saw the description of this one I thought it was right up my alley. I have to say, the beginning was a little slow for me. Maybe it was essential groundwork to understand the characters in their outside lives before Inside was started, but it wasn't super compelling for me. I almost wished there was more background on what the earth was like and what their lives were like? They talked about the heat, storms, etc, but I think what was missing was how we went from present day to 2050.

Once the people moved Inside, the book became a lot more compelling for me. From the halfway mark I couldn't put it down. There's some great themes surrounding power, feminism (what makes a woman anyway?), struggle being essential to self growth, and more. For me, I did not resonate as much with the discussions around feminism and sexuality, but for anyone interested in those themes, and LGBTQ+ writing in general, there's a lot woven into the book. I found the short chapters with Orchid and the people outside were perhaps not necessary? They did give me Station Eleven vibes though.

The end was a bit of a let down for me. I turned the page thinking there was more....but that was it. There was a lot left unanswered, but I guess the book needs to end somewhere?

Overall I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes futuristic and dystopian literature.

I am teaching a class on feminist speculative fiction this year, and I’ve been lucky enough to be immersed in a lot of fictional utopias and dystopias. Yours For the Taking is one such novel, and I can see myself teaching it in another iteration of the course. In the vein of other feminist speculative work, it interrogates our current systems and asks what kind of future we would like to live in…and what kind of future we might be building right now. I found it a compelling and propulsive read, and highly recommend it to my fellow lovers of the genre.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

The early reviews of this book insisted it was best to go in blind, so I did. Coming out, I still feel pretty blind. At its base, it's an interesting, well-written dystopia about a all-female dystopian/utopian community engineered by a sort megalomaniacal Gwyneth Paltrow. On that alone, I enjoyed reading the book and had plenty of good laughs at some of the polite, well-spoken feminist disagreements. Despite an accelerated timeline and rather distant tone, the characters still contain enough depth to be interesting and dimensional-ish. It's not a total disaster.

That said, the Korn doesn't stick the landing or the feminism. There's a moment, a couple parts in when the characters have just entered the Inside, that really strikes a strong chord and develops true horror based in following flimsy feminist rhetoric to the extreme. I was so excited to see this horror develop and deepen... but it all sort of petered off into bland virtues of smooth, peaceful revolutions based on love and instinctive motherhood.

Instead of examining weak principles and non-inclusive politics, the novel becomes about Evil Gwyneth Paltrow and how permanent, solitary incarceration of one evil woman is the appropriate response for a generation of eugenics. Yours for the Taking offers entertainment, but no depth of thought and an ultimately bland and forgettable dystopian experience.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Gabrielle Korn for an ARC of this book!**

Ava and Orchid believe their love is strong enough to transcend anything: space, time...and even a rapidly eroding climate. But in 2050, the third factor in this list has started to overtake all else, as their homebase of Brooklyn has passed dangerous and is quickly becoming uninhabitable. Billionaire and self-proclaimed visionary Jacqueline Millender has the possible answer to their problems: The Inside Project. In it, women (and only women, we soon come to find out) will live under a dome of sorts, protected from the unsafe air and the ugly ramifications of a world decimated by men...but just how HONORABLE are Jacqueline's intentions?

Shelby can hardly believe when Jacqueline reaches 0ut to HER to be her personal assistant, and jumps at the chance to be second in command to one of the world's most powerful and influential women. Olympia works on the medical side of the house, and she too is honored to work for Jacqueline at first...until Jacqueline's visions for her own personal progeny come to light, and Olympia begins to wonder exactly WHAT she has signed up for...and if it's too late to escape. As the three perspectives converge, all of the women in Jacqueline's 'orbit' come to one terrifying conclusion...but with the world literally crumbling around them, can they band together to work against the climate crisis? Is their little slice of paradise on the "Inside" really a paradise? Or are they simply cogs in a devastating machine, with wheels TOO far in motion to be stopped now?

This book is marketed as queer and dystopian, and in many respects, these descriptors are accurate. The MCs are entrenched in a lesbian relationship from the very beginning, but the book quickly becomes less of a true love story and more of a semi-thesis on the pros and cons of a man-free society, with a disjointed and at times eye-roll worthy plot that tried to tread a LOT of ground...and ended up simply dancing around ideas instead. We bounce from the climate issues, to the pros and cons of 'traditional' feminism, queer relationships, men and the patriarchy and more...but Korn never gives ANY of these ideas full credence and room to breathe...and subsequently, the book suffers because of it.

This is also supposedly adult fiction...but it reads INCREDIBLY YA to the point where I actually stopped and looked it up at one point to confirm that this wasn't the case. The "women" in the book read more like teenage girls, with bubbling insecurities, wanton lust, and a lack of focus and determination you'd expect from much younger people. This became especially difficult when some of the characters had children of their own...and once said women hit their teens/twenties, it became even harder to tell them apart from their parents, who were theoretically FAR older (at least, I hope so).

Which brings me to another one of the book's issues...a timeline that never seemed to end. By the end of the book, some of the characters are literally OLD WOMEN and they certainly did not start off with their AARP cards in hand. With characters who gave me such minimal emotional investment, especially, I did not need to see their lives progress over such a LONG period of time, and it made a plot that already felt slow become interminable. I also am not a fan of timeline jumps in general unless they a) make sense and b) are easy to follow, and in this case? I'm sad to say BOTH boxes were marked.

To cap it off, one of the most distracting and odd things about this book was the dialogue. It felt cheesy, unnatural, and often felt like an info dump about different characters and their motivations. Over and over again we were told WHAT to think about characters rather than being inspired to feel something about them and form a unique opinion as a reader having an individual reading experience. One character in particular is SO one dimensional that by the end, I started to roll my eyes each time they popped up in the narrative: in the words of Radiohead, there were No Surprises here.

Basically, there are some interesting concepts and theses buried under a subpar plot and overshadowed by lackluster characters here. If you want to go down the rabbit hole of your own thoughts and speculation about the dystopian picture Korn paints here, and the pitfalls of a women-only society...this is your book. For me, however, the only thing that felt like it was MINE for the taking was a generous helping of disappointment.

3 stars, rounded up from 2.5

If there’s one topic that simultaneously scares me to death and enrages me, it’s eugenics. Combine eugenics with the additional evils of capitalism, and I’ll get sick with anxiety. So, mix eugenics, capitalism, and the type of feminism practiced by the likes of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (you know, the kind where only cisgendered, rich, smart, childbearing, white women are the ones truly deserving of equality) up together in a part and that’s what terrifies me about Yours for the Taking.

This book is largely a conspiracy thriller set in a dystopian future that deals mainly with LGBTQ and women’s issues within a psychological context. That’s more or less the construct we’ve got going on here. You can read about the plot of the book in the blurb, but know that the blurb isn’t quite as clear as it seems. The narrative structure for the book is from multiple POV’s played out in third person: Ava, Jacqueline, Shelby, Olympia, and more all have chapters told from their perspective. It is a linear timeline structure, which is very nice because between the plot and the multiple narrators it would definitely feel unnecessarily complicated to manipulate the timeline.

While the book is very well-written, I did feel at times that the book did veer from its seeming mission to aim for scathing social commentary on non-intersectional feminism, transphobia, and queer erasure into the territory of being almost satirical or too on the nose. If you’re going to write satire then you need to lean all the way into it for the whole book. However, the terrors of eugenics were portrayed all too well, as were the horrors of mind control.

My most common complaint that resounded in my mind again and again as I read this book came from my geography degree: The premise that anyone would build a shelter to house the chosen ones of North America for the unforeseeable future–possibly forever–on the island of Manhattan in a world after global climate change has melted the ice caps makes absolutely no sense. The island of Manhattan is unstable. It’s mostly made up of infill dirt. It’s largely an artificial island. It was a swamp before it was colonized. If a shelter like the one in the book were to be built, it would have been built on the mainland, not on Manhattan Island.

Other than that, it’s an excellent book that asks great questions about nature versus nurture, the patriarchy, feminism, parenthood, sisterhood, and where will humans go when the tide finally rises.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without compensation. Thank you.

File Under: Conspiracy Thriller/Dystopian Fiction/LGBTQ Fiction/Psychological Fiction/Women’s Fiction

Unfortunately, I am not going to finish this book. I got 22% through it before putting it down for good. It was very hard-hitting on the societal issue of gender, and, as someone who already subscribes to the belief that gender is a construct, it got redundant and annoying rather quickly. Almost every character is either a POC or queer (sometimes both) and the only white cis woman is the one trying to force her ideals onto others, and the POC and queer characters must educate her about her misguided ideals, which I think perpetuates the concept that white cis women are not responsible for their own education, which is definitely not the case. It's possible I'll pick this book up again in the future, as I feel like I was just getting to the action of the plot, but honestly it's not likely.

In so many ways, 2050 feels so far away and yet doesn’t. Author Gabrielle Korn brings us to the not so distant dystopian future where climate change is rapidly affecting the world and guaranteed survival is not a guarantee.
This book is about gender dynamics and about reclaiming female power. Though set in a dystopian landscape and in the future, it is not such a stretch to feel this narrative personally whether you feel you fall somewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum or not.
Overall, this book will suck you in with good pacing and character development. Most of the characters are also feminine and focused on surviving in a world that’s been destroyed by the ravages of wars and climate decimation. I didn’t expect to enjoy this sort of sci-fi dystopian book so much. Usually there feels to be an aspect lacking, but I feel Author Korn developed a fascinating premise and world to dive into and to contemplate on.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publishing company for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book for review and reading. My honest review is that I hope this book finds a strong audience upon its release and makes its voice heard.

I really wanted to enjoy this title. And for the most part I did. I love the premise. I am enamored with setting. And it has a rich character development. Unfortunately I struggled with connecting to the characters. It almost felt like social issues were tied to a character for its inclusion. But it wasn’t woven in with the characters beyond development. Great language and well written, but just couldn’t buy in with that one thing.

Yours for the Taking
Gabrielle Korn
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dystopian, Queer
What I loved most - ended with hope.
Realistic dystopian examination of gender selection - women, intelligence, purposefully selected. A very biased selection by one woman with a massive agenda. Told over decades to allow for plot building and experiencing life in the dome. No outside windows - totally cutoff from the outside world.
Smart. Terrifying. Very creative. Great read!

Yours For The Taking is a futuristic climate fiction novel about a billionaire’s plan to rebuild society in a weather protected structure of mainly women.

In 2050 the earth is suffering from the dramatic effects of climate change and a billionaire oil heiress and feminist author (Jacqueline Millender) uses her wealth to become the New York director of a giant weather proof sealed community called “The Inside Project”. Only a small percentage of applicants are accepted and Jacqueline uses this new utopia to push her own narrative of wealth, privilege and feminist ideals. She tinkers with the residents personal freedoms, bodies and minds while the storms rage outside and earth slowly becomes inhospitable. But a group of women including a doctor and Jacqueline’s own daughter begin to realize that the Inside is becoming just as messed up as the world they were trying to escape.

In this science fiction novel Gabrielle Korn explores the idea of how a narrow idea of what’s “best” for people could leave them with no rights and no voice. In this planned world every job, outfit and apartment is chosen by one woman in advance and the occupants blindly follow because the air is pumped full of mind altering substances. The first generation born into The Inside will struggle with mental health issues because they have never faced any of the obstacles and disappointments one encounters when they achieve and fail on their own.

I enjoyed the characters and the “what if” plot of Yours For The Taking. It makes some interesting points and still manages to keep up a nice pace and entertain.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read "Yours for the Taking" by Gabrielle Korn on NetGalley. The story takes place in the future, unfortunately not too many years in the future, when climate change has wrecked havoc on the Earth. Some people have been chosen to live in The Inside Project, then inside being weather-safe structures. Some of the wealthy have been living off Earth in space shuttles. Others are trying to survive on their own. This is the story of some of those people. I really liked reading this story and will watch for others from Gabrielle Korn.

Yours For The Taking by Gabrielle Korn is a dystopian sci-fi that has hints of The Hand Maiden mixed with 1984.

Set in the year 2050, where the climate has changed, humans are finding it more difficult to live, and multimillionaires are building complexes that give humans to live. And space travel to stay for years inside a shuttle is very much possible. Jacqueline Millender is a powerful figure in this world. She wants a world without men in it. She wants to play God. She wants to create a world of women empowerment. She gets into her world three important women who can make her dream possible. They are Ava, Shelby, and Olympia.

The concept of this book is very interesting and very plausible in today's world. It's scary and the same time an eye opener. There's so much in this book. Marginalization, consent, cyber crimes, and the effects of technology are important topics that form a framework for this book. I liked the plot, though the characters are morally gray, and maybe that's what they are supposed to be.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press for this book.

CW: A major part of this book deals with consent, privilege, marginalization, and gender.

This novel was incredibly interesting and I definitely enjoyed the topics it explored. I liked the way it took to explore the psychology of the characters and the choices the author made in progressing the plot. While personally I would have been ok with double the size of the book for more in depth exploration of everything, I definitely do think that it makes the genre really accessible for someone less acquainted with sci-fi.

Yours For The Taking is an exquisite debut novel. An exploration of feminism, queerness, climate change, and striving for equality.

Jacqueline Millender has a plan of what the future can be like, and she has the means to make it a reality. Only select applicants are accepted into the Inside Project, leaving many to perish alone on earth.

I loved the friendships made by the women inside the project. And the tenderness and compassion shown to each other. The plot was intriguing, and I was compelled to read as quickly as my crazy life would allow. This novel is thought-provoking and a critical reminder of what happens when we advocate for change within social justice movements and exclude or diminish a portion of the population we should be advocating for.

I was pleased to find out there there is a sequel planned, and I'm really looking forward to how the story progresses.

This was a different type of book that I normally read,
The story begins in the year 2050. Earth has started to become inhabitable due to severe climate change. Ava and her girlfriend live in what's left of Brooklyn, and though they love each other, it's hard to find happiness knowing that soon they won’t even be able to go outside. The only people guaranteed survival are the ones whose applications are accepted to The Inside Project, a series of weather-safe, city-sized structures around the world.
Jacqueline Millender is a reclusive billionaire/women’s rights advocate, and thanks to a generous donation, she’s just become the director and she's built her whole brand rethinking the very concept of empowerment.
Shelby, a business major from a working-class family, is drawn to Jacqueline’s promises of power and impact. When she lands her dream job as Jacqueline’s personal assistant, Olympia, who is finishing up medical school when Jacqueline recruits her to run the health department Inside. The more Olympia learns about the project, though, the more she realizes there's something much larger at play.
As Ava, Olympia, and Shelby start to notice the cracks in Jacqueline's system, Jacqueline tightens her grip, becoming increasingly unhinged and dangerous in what she is willing to do—and who she is willing to sacrifice—to keep her dream alive.

I loved this book. It scratched an itch in my brain that I’ve been needing. I have always loved dystopian, sci-fi books, and the author did an incredible job of this. I loved all of the POVs that allowed the reader to fully grasp the depth and severity of every situation. It was a truly atmospheric experience.

I would love to give this book the recognition it deserves by sharing my reviews elsewhere, but I will not be doing so besides on NetGalley until SMP and WB address their employee’s racist and islamophobic remarks on social media.