The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes is a captivating tale that delves into themes of pain, injustice, love, resistance, and hope. This remarkable literary work will not only resonate with you, but also evoke a myriad of emotions, leaving an indelible mark on your soul.

This book starts out slooowwww. I almost gave up on it but I am glad that I stuck it out. It gets a lot better.

I went into this not knowing what to expect, and I am SO pleasantly surprised. The first few chapters were a bit difficult for me to get into (but I can also blame being a mood reader for that). I really got sucked in at about 20% of the way through the book.
Firstly, this is not a book recommendation I would just give to anyone. This is a fairly heavy read, and I believe you have to be in the correct mindset to dive into it. The anti-queer rhetoric in this is a plot theme, so it can definitely cause some anger to readers. The same way The Handmaid’s Tale fills your heart with rage- this book will do it, too. This is similar to the dystopian world of The Handmaid’s Tale, but queer and surrounding conversion therapy.
Not only is it upsetting, but it’s downright terrifying and Stephanie Oakes has a brilliant author’s note at the end of the book explaining that conversion therapy is still happening in our current world.
This book was so thoughtfully constructed. While there are moments of hopelessness, The Meadows does not fail to highlight queer perseverance- letting such a world of conformity know that the queer community is not going anywhere.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

3.5 stars

The premise of a dystopian, queer, Handmaid's Tale type story immediately landed this book on my TBR list. In its execution, I found the book to have some strong aspects and some weak aspects.

What I Liked
-The multiple layers to the story
-Reveals toward the end

What I Didn't Liked
-Past and present perspectives not clearly indicated
-It felt a bit long at times
-Would have liked more context about life "before" and what caused society to change

s: Overall I enjoyed the journey of reading this book. I thought that is was a unique take on a dystopian society and that it was mostly well done. I do wish the author would have described a bit more background either at the beginning to set the stage more or have revealed it throughout. I wanted to know more of the how and why behind all of the details that led to this society and the way it is. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, and I thought it was nicely done how you are able to see how different people coped and reacted to similar circumstances. Definitely led to some emotional moments! There is a ‘then’ and ‘now’ format to the book which at first I didn’t care for, but I enjoyed more as I read on. The connection between the two helped to add to the overall story and character development. It could be just the ARC, but I didn’t love that it wasn’t indicated in the chapter heading whether we were in the past or present. Didn’t take long to figure it out, but just a little per peeve of mine for that kind of writing. Overall, a solid dystopian!

The Meadows
By Stephanie Oakes
September 12, 2023

I loved this book, everything about it was very very good. The Meadows is a LGBQ dystopian. The characters were fun and engaging. I liked the world. This book was beautiful. The descriptions were so vivid.

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the early review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for allowing me an ARC!
3.5/5
“The ocean could sneak up on a person there, surging unexpectedly through blowholes in the pocked surface. You had to listen. You had to be always on guard.”
I have to admit, this has to be my least favorite read so far. I was very excited to read more new dystopians. I did like the LGBT romance and how the dystopian took inspiration from the 1940s era were women were meant to be seen and not heard. The only reason why I felt disappointed was because I had read a book similar to this one, and I was hoping for there to be a more broader area in this genre. Even though I say this having read books like Hunger Games and Divergent, as well as The Maze Runner.

Imagine that But I'm a Cheerleader takes place in the world of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, and you'll have a good idea what you're in for with The Meadows. This is a light spoiler, admittedly—the protagonist, Eleanor, doesn't understand why she's been selected for The Meadows until halfway through the novel—but attentive readers will catch onto the school's purpose within the first few chapters: to reform queer young women into "proper" wives and mothers. This skewering of societal anxiety around gender and sexuality isn't new, especially in dystopian literature, but Oakes' novel benefits from solid world-building and genuinely excellent characterization and seems well-positioned to bring these ideas to a new generation.

In the world of The Meadows, devastating climate change has led to upheaval in the social order and a rejection of difference of any kind: racial, gendered, or sexual. Women have been forced out of positions of power and are expected to find satisfaction in heterosexual marriage and motherhood, and everyone is subject to the kind of oppressive surveillance that would make Big Brother envious. The horrors of our world are turned up to eleven in The Meadows, but Eleanor's adolescent angst feels familiar: she's crushing on her best friend, unsure of where she belongs, and desperate for the acceptance that seems within reach if only she can change everything about herself that matters. Sometimes dystopian novels prioritize ideas to the detriment of character, but Oakes' portrayal of the young people growing up in this world is rich and complex. Eleanor is a compelling main character, and she has not one but two crushable love interests(!). I really loved the beginning of the novel, which centers on the social dynamics of The Meadows and the slow unveiling of its secrets. The end, which takes place once Eleanor reenters the world, felt somewhat less focused in comparison. Even so, I flew through this book in two days and am excited to put it on my school shelves this fall. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC!

I feel like the author played off the handmaid‘s tale very well because I could see the similarities but Stephanie did a good job in making the story her own and I feel like a lot of the parts in this book can be related to society today, so overall it was a solid book

The books premise is given to us as handmaids tale but make it gay. This premise works of course but felt forced and contradictory in the world building since it was made as a dystopian.

We begin in a facility where the best of girls are sent. Early on we find out it’s all the girls found to even have a hint at being gay that are sent here to be reformed as refined housewives and then forced to marry or have a job snitching on others, which is the job our main character has.

My main complaint is that I wish the past and present were specified at the start of each chapter. I had to reorient myself every time and read ahead to see which POV I was reading before actually diving in. Especially since it wouldn’t be an exact back and forth every chapter.

Now on to my world building complaint. This dystopian world just felt so forced to me. For example: this world got rid of discrimination based on race but then went on to suggest a character be more “black” to get the job? How is that not job discrimination? And yet in a world where religion is no longer a thing (good luck getting rid of Christianity unless they were the ones who died out) they are forced to suffer under the gender binary in yet another patriarchal society.

I found the main character to be quite plain and not likeable. The Meadows was probably the worst reform house Ive ever seen because they just suck at their job. It’s conversion therapy disguised as a private school. Every girl is supposedly sent to this place because they like girls but they are never even told that this is a bad thing! Multiple times girls are caught kissing and yeah they will split the couples up but then they just ignore it. Hell one of the matrons offers Eleanor to randomly come live with her?? Why?? Who the heck knows! Everyone needs to be fired and this whole world just needs redone again

The ending was good as well! This is not a kill your gays book thank god and I did love the ending turn I guess bc I didn’t like [REDACTED] LOL! We love a gay happy ending for once!

Altogether if you’re a dystopian fan then this is definitely the book for you but if the premise is what enticed you, I would say take it with a grain of salt. Be sure to check out other reviews as well as I am just one lonely reviewer in a sea of many!

* Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

“Angry girls. The only ones I’ve ever loved. Brimming with a fire they could barely contain. Hurt flying from their mouths, screaming at the sky.”

The Meadows hurt. This book is so sad and so beautiful and so utterly painful. I loved every second of it.

Eleanor goes to The Meadows as one of the best and brightest, but quickly learns that the Meadows and it’s matrons are there to refine her and the others. Not just refine them, but change them.

This is a queer dystopian novel set in a scary but not so surprising world, and it hurt but it was so good. Please read it and cry with me.

For once, I actually agree with a title comparison! The Meadows combines Never Let Me Go's creeping-horror of a sci-fi school story with Handmaid's Tale near-future gender and culture dystopia, quashing individuality and anything that could threaten the Quorum's hold to highlight all of the various subtle ways that those in power can use to turn people against themselves and each other.

There are a number of things it does well - Oakes' writing fits the setting perfectly, with a slightly chilling, removed tone that keeps the horrors of what is truly happening at the Meadows from being felt until later. With the varied cast of characters, the books also highlights how the same trauma affects people in different ways and how broad a spectrum of "abnormal" is. It also does a painfully good job of digging into that ache of want for love, especially after living thinking that you weren't enough, that if you were just "better", the ways we twist ourselves to attempt to grasp that, and how ground down people can become after being isolated and told they're "wrong" for so long.

It doesn't quite hit all of its notes, though. In trying to keep memories of the time Before alive, the timeline feels off - if Eleanor's and Sheila's parents remember and know of it, everything about the Quorum and its systems feel too established for only having been in place for a couple decades, for the rebellions to be so small, for people to already be thinking of it in terms of empires falling. It also doesn't quite fit with the very 50's housewife/Stepford finishing school vibe, with hollandaise sauce and aspic dishes. The discordance feels both intentionally jarring but too accepted at the same time.

In the end though, it does pull off its haunting air and the horrors of what a near-future we could be careening to, trying to erase differences and cultures instead of respecting them and letting them enrich us.

I love a good dystopian and this is shades of The Handmaid’s Tale and a dash of Scored (Lauren McLaughlin) with an LGBTQIA focus. Set in the future after some cataclysmic event, children are chosen to attend facilities under the guise of being the best and the brightest, but they are actually conversion camps in disguise. We follow Eleanor’s journey in the present and through flashbacks during her time at The Meadows. It’s an interesting story and I wish there was more information about how the society got to this point. It’s heartbreaking to watch the girls learn to hide an essential part of themselves and to live in fear. It’s also heartbreaking to realize that this book won’t make it to the shelves of so many libraries which makes this read more poignant and important right now.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

Wow.

I almost have no words for how much I loved this book.

I've been waiting for a resurgence in YA Dystopian for a long time, and The Meadows is a brilliant example of what I want in a 2023 dystopian novel. The Meadows jumps back and forth between the present day story where Eleanor, the MC, is an adjudicator, checking on the allegedly reformed former residents of schools such as the one she attended, and her time as a student at one of them.

So much of this book is an achingly quiet heartbreak -- watching Eleanor and the fellow girls at her school arrive with such hope for their futures, and watching the ways in which they are guided to change, sacrifice, & hide parts of themselves is sometimes hard to witness. But it also makes each moment of rebellion, quiet, or otherwise, so much more beautiful.

Something that Stephanie Oakes does incredibly well is create multiple fully realized characters, whose stories are just as compelling as Eleanor's. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time, and Stephanie Oakes is now a must read author.

What worked: YA meets Handmaid's Tale set in a futuristic world where teens are sent to camps to 'better' themselves. Only in these camps, there is an ugly truth. A truth the matrons try to suppress by using gentle coaching methods to force out any differences.

While reading this novel I instantly thought of the horrific practice of conversion-places that try to force GLBTQ teens/YA to not be themselves. These places unfortunately still are around but like the author mentions at the back of this novel, are given different titles. The harm they cause are the same though.

Eleanor wants so much to belong and to be loved. She shares a forbidden kiss and then is summoned to the Meadows. She's excited thinking this will lead to wonderful things. The dystopian backdrop with hints of The Handmaid's Tale is chilling. But more so is how the matrons who run the place come off as caring and gentle. Though in a way it's almost passive-aggressive in how they interact with the girls with the subtle and not-so-subtle comments if one of them doesn't follow their directions.

The characters are multi-complex and there are surprises that turn up throughout this engaging story. The truth about Eleanor's parents and Matron Maureen shows the complexity of this world. Nothing is what it appears. Secrets and truths aren't as hidden as one might believe.

I love a good dystopia novel and this one didn't disappoint. The world-building is intriguing with the 'new' world and how far the caretakers go to have their so-called perfect society. A society that is more traditional and frowns on anyone who questions them.

Queer dystopian where any difference is suppressed by 'gentle' but horrific ramifications and the girl who fights to find her way back to the girl she left behind.

The Meadows follows the main character in a dystopian future (reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale) where a traditional nuclear family is the only option for all members of society and all other deviants and subversives are exiled unless they can be reformed in seemingly utopian facilities with dark secrets. The catch? The residents of the facilities with names like The Glades and The Meadows don’t know that they’re there to be reshaped into model members of polite society.

I love books like this, but they also scare me because it really seems like politicians are using materials like this as literal playbooks to directly script our own dystopian future.

As a parent of an LGBTQ+ child this book hit hard. While this is a dystopian novel it does highlight many fears I have for my own child. The constant monitoring of what is being done and said and using that to try to make everyone fit into this "box". I think this book tackles really great topics in a way that is easy for YA to understand. It also puts real names and people to these harmful practices. I think this book was spot on!

I enjoyed reading this! The story was fast-paced and entertaining, the characters were likable, and the dystopian genre was refreshing to read. The writing was nothing special, but it didn’t take away from the story. Also, that cover is so pretty! Though I enjoyed the book, it didn’t stand out to me as anything memorable.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the complimentary ebook in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes is a breathtaking work of speculative fiction. She draws the reader into a world created after massive environmental catastrophes. A world where a shadowy cabal of leaders determined that the only way to appease nature is to reestablish a “natural” order. With that goal in mind, young people are selected by an algorithm to go to decidedly unnatural facilities to teach them how to live out the “natural” roles expected of them.

The story that unfolds is a queer love story, a story of quiet revolution, and a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks queerness can (or should) be changed. Eleanor attends the Meadows thinking it will model her into “the best and brightest” only to find that is simply wants to to force her into a mold. She and her classmates each struggle to be who they truly are in a world that wants them to be anything but that.

This book contains difficult subjects such as conversion therapy, suicide, prejudice against LGBTQ+ people, and animal deaths.

The Meadows is a fantastic YA book about a dystopian society that wants everyone to abide by what they consider normal. The main character Eleanor gets accepted to the Meadows and comes to find out that things are not what they seem. I really enjoyed the plot and found it disturbing and thrilling. It really comes close to how awful people are currently in our society and that really hit a nerve with me. I kept thinking is this where we are headed? The writing is top notch and the story flows easily back and forth between present and past. The characters were very well written, they all were strong individuals that had a lot of dimensions. I loved Eleanor, Rose, and June. This is such a great story! I look forward to reading more by this author.