Since I first finished reading Sarah Langan’s A Better World I've struggled to put this book's brilliance into words. So if I'm unable to, at least let me tell you that I still get chills thinking about the events that occur on it's pages.

In the near future, while the whole world is falling apart, Linda and Russell Farmer-Bowen, and their children Hip and Josie, have the wonderful and rare opportunity to move to Plymouth Valley (PV), a company town that promises a better life to those that live behind it's walls. In PV everything is free, the air is clean and the schools are top notch - if you can get in - only the best and most important people do. But it's only after they're safely behind PV's walls that the Farmer-Bowens learn that there's a price to pay for living in perfection.

With shades of Shirley Jackson, A Better World is a wholly original satirical horror/thriller novel with an environmental spin. It's a strange, unnerving trip, with an element of foreboding right from very start. I was on the edge of my seat the whole book, waiting to see what would happen. It's one of those books that are so good you want to devour it in one sitting, yet at the same time read it slowly and savor each word.

A Better World is well-written with fantastic worldbuilding. The characters are real, flawed, and human. The book manages to be an unnerving, thought-provoking examination of relationships, wealth, class, and power, all the while keeping the reader thoroughly invested.

It's so rare for a book to be as good as I hope it might be. I had an idea in mind of what this book might be like after reading the blurb and it surpassed it on every level. I've already ordered a copy for my library. Do yourself a favor and read it. A Better World is definitely in my top ten books for the year and right now it's number one.

Thank you to Atria Books, Sarah Langan, and Netgalley for an advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and given voluntarily.

5 Bright Shining Stars

Recommended for fans of:
Horror, Thrillers, Suspense, Speculative Fiction, Sci-fi, Dystopian, General Fiction, Action, Adventure, Mysteries, Shirley Jackson (The Lottery), The Stepford Wives (1975)

Hold on to your hat! This one takes place in the not-too-far future and Sarah Langan makes this future completely plausible. I was on the edge of my seat.

This is a dystopian novel revolving around the Farmer-Bowden family who are invited, amidst the turmoil surrounding them, to live in the company town of Plymouth Valley, that touts itself as the safest of cities. Who would reject the prospect during fraught times? But once you buy-in, it doesn’t mean it’s your home forever. Each family gets an annual review leaving those in charge to decide everyone’s fate. Much like I’d imagine rushing a fraternity would be, the Farmer-Bowden’s are put to the test by their new neighbors. There can’t be enough space for everyone to move here, so everyone is playing their own game of chess to oust the weak. This is a perfect read for fans of cult-themed novels or dystopian literature. This haunting book stuck with me long after its last page. Thank you to Atria Books and to NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria & Sarah Langan for a digital galley of A Better World in exchange for an honest review.

I've previously enjoyed this authors work so was very excited to have the opportunity to review A Better World in advance of publication. The synopsis was intriguing & the cover was beautiful.

Basically, the world is going to crap. Jobs are scarce, the air is dirty and people are struggling to survive. Except those who live in a coveted company town. The Farmer-Bowens receive an invitation to join Plymouth Valley at just the right time & as their circumstances have become dire. It's perfect. Linda & Russel can both work, the children can go to school & they don't have to worry about money. Everything is free - their lavish home, self-driving cars, restaurants, grocery stores - everything. There is no need for money at all. Perfect, right? Not quite. Linda begins to feel that there is something the town is hiding & begins to dig, but digging into a secret that the community wants to keep at all costs is not very safe. It is not long before Linda realizes that moving to PV was a huge mistake & now she'll do anything to get her family out.

When I finished, I said "What the hell did I just read?" That's not necessarily bad. This book was just super eerie.

This story was very cult-like, but even more eerie. The Caladrius (genetically engineered chicken-like birds) were creepy AF - for me, those were the creepiest things in the entire book. It was very atmospheric & moved at a quick pace. I enjoyed the story up until the end. There was so much buildup to this Winter Festival, but when it actually arrived, it was a huge letdown. The showdown with the "Bad Guy" was not really a showdown at all - he/she was defeated rather easily & within seconds. All of the horrors I was expecting from this Winter Festival didn't happen. With a better, more in depth end, this could have been a really great book.

I'm rating it 4/5 Stars

To me, it was a cross between Vivarium (2019) & Midsommar (2019).

This had everything I want a dystopian novel to have - a smart doctor, a seemingly perfect world here to solve all their problems, a gaggle of high society women, and weird birds ??

The novel ended up being a slow drag of Linda fighting for someone to believe her. This aspect was true and felt authentic, but there were even points were I didn't believe Linda. Surely there had to be some twist or caveat here that flipped it on its head?

But in the end, it didn't satisfy me like I wanted it to. It was very sad and bleak for Linda and there wasn't really any twist or shock value.

Sarah Langan’s A BETTER WORLD read like a crazy Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and it was entertaining to say the least.

When Linda Farmer- Bowen and her husband, Russell moved to company town, Plymouth Valley, they are taken with the utopian society, where all their needs can be met. But fitting in is hard. Their 15-year-old twins, Hip and Josie feel left out among their peers at first and each of them faces criticisms and anxieties. Linda volunteers at the medical clinic in town in an attempt to imbed themselves in the community, while Russell crunches the numbers for the prospective Omnium which is due to go public and prospected to be the newest miracle. But weird things are happening in town both above and below ground. Children are being diagnosed with cancer at an alarming rate. But no one is talking about it. Those who do speak out, or eventually pushed out of the community.

This town also has tunnels beneath where many of the town’s mandatory gatherings eventually end. There are rumors of alter offerings? And a weird, chicken like family pet called a caladrius that all families must own. The goal of working and living in Plymouth Valley is to receive a golden ticket after 25 years that allows them to live there forever. As Linda begins to put the association between Omnium and the cancers together, Russell is also finding miscalculations and misdirection in the numbers. They want to get out, however, leaving would mean they have nothing as everything was provided by Plymouth Valley when they moved into the town. What can they do? And where will it all lead?

This is not my usual genre however, it kept me entertained. Sarah Langan has the ability to make you feel as if you are swimming in the river or creeping through the underground tunnels. Her writing style is clear and concise which leads to an enjoyable read.

Thank you too, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own, and given voluntarily.

I may be in the minority of readers, but this wasn't my favorite. It started off really strong but just kind of tapered off about a third of the way through. It was more of a dystopian fiction book than cult thriller as listed. Ultimately, i wasn't the biggest fan.

Thank you, NetGalley, Sarah Langan, and Atria Books for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Set in a chaotic near future where the world is going to hell, the Farmer-Bowens jump at the opportunity to move to Plymouth Valley. The walled-off company town offers clean air, blue-ribbon schools, furnished mansions, stocked pantries, and a culture like no other. After they arrive, the Farmer-Bowens realize the townspeople aren’t as accepting as they were led to believe and nothing comes without a price.

I loved this dystopian, satirical thriller so much! The world in this doesn’t feel so far off; one ravaged by illness, climate change, nuclear war, and a crumbling infrastructure. The story is fast-paced and contains a sinister and ominous atmosphere. I was racing through the pages to see what would happen next. Suspenseful and timely, Langan’s novel is a compelling and inventive exploration of wealth, privilege, power, and relationships. I’d love to see this adapted into a movie. Highly recommend.

Ms. Langan’s dark dystopian thriller engaged me from the beginning. The reader enters a world that is both familiar and unsettling. The story is sinister yet heartfelt. with moments of genuine emotion.
Many thanks to Atria and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was not quite a 4, but I'm rounding up. This was a wild, messy, confusing ride that felt a bit like The Stepford Wives meets The Road. Langan doesn't hold our hand through her world building, piecing together information in tidbits, which can leave you feeling a bit lost and confused, but the plot she gives us is so good that you just need to stick along for the ride. In the end, some of the character interactions and behavior felt so weird and stiff and unexplained that it took me out of the story a bit, but maybe that was Langan's point - this new world she built is an easily-imagined future, but is still a little murky. And, maybe it's a bit of a cautionary tale - there's still time for us to change and not let things get this bad.

Wow what a wild ride this one was. First I would like to thank netgalley for an e-arc and also the publisher, Atria Books for a physical arc. I sought this book out as I am very much A Sarah Langan fan, I have read other books by Langan and her stories tend to take familiar plots and surprise readers with her own unique flair.

A Better World is a dystopian thriller that follows the Farmer family who are afforded a rare invitation to live and work in Plymouth, a utopian community shielded from the ravaging reality of a fallen world. In this future America the environment is rapidly declining, clean air is a luxury, and scarce resources are forcing families to live under strenuous conditions. The opportunity for the struggling family appears to be an opportunity of lifetime or at minimum a reprieve from their current living conditions. The family struggles to acclimate to their new life; the residents of Plymouth Valley aren’t welcoming and the community is riddled with rules, regulations, and strange customs. Linda the matriarch of the Farmer family, and our MC, manages to impress members of an elite committee within Plymouth and soon after the Farmer family appear to be in the good graces with Plymouth Valley. Now having a “seat at the table” Linda begins to learn more and more about the town and its secrets and things start to take a sinister turn.

What I enjoyed about this novel is the worldbuilding. The world that was crafted was vivid and well detailed which provided an immersive reading experience. I was also a fan of our main character, Linda was smart and witty. Unraveling the secrets of Plymouth Valley through Linda’s narrative was at times funny and isolating. I really felt Linda’s frustration and the feelings of isolation that she felt from the town and her own family at times. Another highlight was how the only perspective we get in this novel is Linda’s, but the structure of the prose provides room for us to see the journey/arcs of the other family members.

All that aside I did find that the pacing was a bit slow, which I could understand is necessary for the worldbuilding, but at the same time it started to get a bit repetitive and their was a slow progression that made portions of the story harder to get through and took away from the suspense. The ending was shocking, but a bit predictable. Everything throughout the book suggested what the “finale” would be and I thought for sure that it would be a less obvious ending, but in the end it didn’t deviate from what we assumed would happen. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but personally it was a bit underwhelming.

Overall, I think this is a fine book, especially for fans of dystopian stories. I would even suggest this book for thriller readers who are looking for something unique that offers something a bit different from what is already out there.

A Better World by Sarah Langan
“A cunning, outside-the-box satirical thriller about a family’s odyssey into an exclusive enclave for the wealthy that might not be as ideal as it seems.

You’ll be safe here. That’s what the tour guide tells the Farmer-Bowens when they visit Plymouth Valley, a walled-off company town with clean air, pantries that never go empty, and blue-ribbon schools. On a very trial basis, the company offers to hire Linda Farmer’s hus­band, Russell, a numbers genius, and relocate her whole family to this bucolic paradise for the .0001 percent. Though Linda will have to sacrifice her medical career back home, the family jumps at the opportunity. They’d be crazy not to take it. With the outside world falling apart, this might be the Farmer-Bowens’ last chance.

But fitting in takes work. The pampered locals distrust outsiders, snubbing Linda, Russell, and their teen twins. And the residents fervently adhere to a group of customs and beliefs called Hollow...but what exactly is Hollow?”

THOUGHTS: This is a gripping story with compelling characters that feel dimensional, layered, and true, considering the wild circumstances they find themselves in. Just when I thought I had an idea of what was going on, things changed. The sense of dread builds right of way. Reminded me of what that proverbial frog in a frying pan must have felt like if it figured out what was happening … a little too late.

A Better World feels like a continuation of an exploration into the dark underside of suburbia and quite possibly in the same universe (although later on the timeline!) as Sarah Langan’s last book, Good Neighbors. There’s definitely some larger themes, especially if you look at some of her previous novels, too, such as Audrey’s Door. But that’s where any comparisons stop.

Linda Farmer’s husband Russell accepts a job at A Better World and his family is majorly impacted. The company makes an alternate degradable material to plastic, which should change the world. The move is welcome, as the world as we know it has fallen into a dystopia. So, they move to the town of Plymouth Valley in South Dakota. It’s an idyllic town, recalling classic white picket fence Americana. But isn’t there always a catch and a price? As Russell wants it to work out, it seems he puts his head down. Meanwhile, Linda goes Dana Scully and starts uncovering frightening truths, which are what make A Better World frightening. It feels like it’s only a few years away and very possible. When reading, I felt disquieted during what seemed to be ‘normal’ scenes while the world outside their bubble was likely falling more and more apart. I was left thinking about the ideas and their implications and thought about my own choices and their repercussions. And isn’t that what great stories do?

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Atria Books for gifting me both a physical and digital ARC of the latest novel by Sarah Langan - 5 stars!

The world is tumbling into chaos and the Farmer-Bown family doesn't know how they will survive after Russell loses his job at the EPA. But then they are offered a unique opportunity - a chance to live in a company town where the air and water are clean and the streets are safe. So Linda and Russell, along with their twin teenagers, Hip and Josie, move to Plymouth Valley. But from the start, the family doesn't seem to fit in and they are getting hazed by the other town residents. Once Linda is invited to join a group run by powerful women, everything changes. Suddenly, they are fitting in and feel confident that they will get the golden ticket, allowing them to stay in the community. Until Linda realizes that something is very, very wrong.

I was a huge fan of Langan's previous novel, Good Neighbors. and this one is similar in that it takes real world issues and extrapolates them into a dystopian future that will scare you in its reality! The writing kept me glued to the pages - you could feel the tension from all sides and you just knew things weren't going to end well. Those rituals and festivals were so creepy! The family was trying to do what was best, but at what cost? Plus, this book really explored the relationships between the family members - Linda and Russell were set in their marital patterns, building resentments but not solving anything. While Josie flourished back in the real world and Hip didn't fit in, the tables turned in Plymouth Valley. Sticking to your belief systems in a world that promotes strict rules to get by is a tough road indeed. This author is a must read for me!

Synopsis: In a dystopian future where the world is nearing environmental collapse, the safest place to live is in “company towns” - havens for the rich with clean air, schools, jobs, and everything you’ll ever need. The Farmer-Bowen family is invited to live in such a town, Plymouth Valley, on a trial basis. The idyllic town may not be all it seems with strange customs and rituals that the Farmer-Bowen’s can’t quite figure out. They just know they need to find answers before the mysterious Winter Festival if they want to survive.

Read this if you like:
🏘️ dystopian thrillers
🏘️ cult vibes
🏘️ Stepford Wives
🏘️ Midsommar
🏘️ horror elements

What a creepy, disturbing story! I just wish a little more time had been spent describing the outside world and the family’s life before coming to Plymouth Valley, in order to better understand why they would want to move to a place so obviously “off.” But overall, I was hooked in to the story, and was interested to see how it would all play out. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There was some strong world building here in Plymouth Valley. Most times, this is where I get lost in dystopian/sci fi anything when I have to remember too many world facts. I enjoyed the cut outs and flyers at the end of chapters and the creation of the caladrius.
It was very Stepford Wives, with an intense suburban fiel, although through a significantly more capitalist lens. Here, we follow the Farmer-Bowens when the father, Russell, is given a job and the whole family is whisked away to the idealistic town of Plymouth Valley. Instead of paying their employees, this company sets them up in a resort like environment where everything within the boarder is free. If they are worthy enough, the might even get a "Golden Ticket", which would work similarly to Charlie in the Chocolate Factory and set them up in town for life.
Plymouth Valley has its darksides, through all the friendly smiles and helpful advice. The mother, Linda, becomes suspicious and gets the family in some hot water.
There are some solid mysteries here, but a lot of a good mystery is a satisfying ending. I'm not fully sure it delivered, but the book had some great bones and was an overall enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC copy.

What do you do when the world is falling apart, but to keep your family safe you have to basically sell your soul to some creepy town? If you're the Farmer-Bowens family, you feel like you at least have to give it a go. Things have kind of continued on our current trajectory in this near-future novel. Climate change is wreaking havoc, and the poor are becoming poorer while the rich are becoming richer. The effects of climate change are making people sick on the regular, and when Linda's husband loses his job and an opportunity to join a self-contained community, there is little question that they have to try for their kids' sake, and they leave their lives (and Linda's job as a pediatrician) behind.

But when they get to this community... yikes. Linda and her family are treated like outsiders at best, pariahs at worst. The community folks have their own bizarre "religion", complete with all kinds of festivals that scream "cult!" to anyone with basic reasoning skills. This includes Linda- she and her family aren't burying their heads in the sand, they just simply don't know what other choice they have. Because of this, it seems so realistic that they want to fit in. Obviously, in any other circumstance, they'd pack their bags and run, but when trying to keep your kids housed and healthy... well, options are fewer.

Things get more and more messy as the Farmer-Bowens get more acclimated to the town. What will they do? How will they cope? Is this the life they want for their kids? Is there truly any other choice? Well friends, you're going to have to read for yourselves to find those answers- and I highly suggest you do!

Bottom Line: Incredibly thought-provoking, definitely creepy, and more than a little relevant, A Better World kept me hooked throughout.

When I read Sarah Langan's previous novel Good Neighbors, I drew a comparison between her and Shirley Jackson (not for nothing was Langan a founding board member of the Shirley Jackson Awards); A Better World owes an even stronger debt to Jackson, specifically to "The Lottery." This book feels as if we took the town where "The Lottery" takes place, and chose to focus on people newly moved to that town. We follow a family that has landed a coveted place inside a "company town", a corporate-controlled oasis in a crapsack decaying United States (or, here, "United Colonies" - one of the various interesting alt-reality notes Langan plays in the background), where naturally the ideal society has something sinister going on under the surface.

It leads one to wonder how open the town in "The Lottery" is to outsiders; certainly, here, whatever sinister thing is going on is left vague and unspoken (the best kind of sinister, obviously), and don't take my repeated references to that story to be spoilers that the same exact kind of twist is at play. A Better World is more openly science fictional than anything Shirley Jackson ever wrote, and there are as many elements of Soylent Green or any other "super-corporation covering up shady dealings" kind of story here. It's a good time, though it doesn't quite reach the same excellent heights that Good Neighbors did.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Sarah Langan, and Atria Books for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This book wasn't for me; although it wasn't very long, it felt like it took me forever to get through. None of the characters were likeable, especially not Linda, and they became very grating and repetitive. The premise was intriguing at first, with a near-future commune utopia setting, but there were just so many weird elements to the story that were never fully explained or didn't become clear until the last 5%. The book felt like it had a bunch of repetitive filler it could do without, and I had such a hard time getting into it. The idea was good, but the execution of plot, characters, and story was not.

This one sneaks up on you even though you know, just know things aren't going to go well for the Farmer-Bowen family when they move to the closed community of Plymouth Valley. The world has so many problems and the chance to live in an area with clean air, clean water, and safe streets is compelling. Russell, Linda, Josie, and Hip discover that things aren't as they seem, especially since they are frozen out by everyone when they arrive, leaving them fearing that they won't get the golden ticket that will allow them to stay. But then Linda is invited into an inner sanctum of four powerful women but that comes with an issue-she meets a woman whose children are sick and who is being forced to leave. Linda is a troublemaker in many eyes but what about Russell? And Hip, who has come out of his shell even as his twin Josie is retreating. No spoilers from me. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Good worldbuilding, vivid characters, and great storytelling make for a page turning read.