My review:

The Shutouts is a continuation of some character stories from Yours for the Taking, so I won't go too into too much detail with the plot in an effort to avoid spoilers.

This novel follows several characters along various timelines who are facing a world ravaged by the effects of climate change, and a government who does not seem to care for more than those who are most wealthy. Sounds familiar… Anyway, these characters are all searching in their own ways for companionship and survival in what feels like it may be the end of the world.

I listened to the audiobook of Yours for the Taking earlier this year and really enjoyed it. I was pleased to find out there would be another installment in the series, and loved listening to the audiobook of The Shutouts. I thought this was a great continuation of some of the character stories I became familiar with in the first book, and I found the additional stories added depth to the world, and very loveable characters who I felt just as invested in as the original ones. The climate and political factors of this dystopian world feel very plausible, making the story feel tangible and easy to immerse yourself in. Sometimes I find dystopian concepts so outlandish that it's hard to immerse myself in the world, but this series is not one of those stories. The way the different storylines overlapped and intertwined was exciting and kept me looking forward to finding out how characters would continue to be connected and how their journeys would resolve.

As always, Gabrielle Korn does a beautiful job weaving diversity into their stories without making it feel performative or forced. I love the natural feeling of the inclusion of characters with various identities, and always appreciate seeing this represented in my reads. These characters have diverse identities, but that is not their whole identity, and I hope to see that be represented more in the publishing industry.

I re-read this book via eBook, and found it much easier to follow than the audio version.

I look forward to reading future works by this author if they are to publish more in this series or otherwise.

This book was a solid four stars for me.

4.5 stars - thanks to NetGalley, St.Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy.

My first book of 2024 was Yours for the Taking and I knew it was going to be a good reading year! Then, I learned this book was coming out and was really excited for a companion novel to one I already loved and this lived up to my expectations and then some! Both novels fall into a perfect niche for me with a well built, captivating dystopian landscape and so many interesting characters - many of whom are queer.

Korn does such a wonderful job of crafting an engaging story that I didn't want to put down (finished in less than 24 hours) while weaving in strong social commentary in a way that feels real, raw and honest, without filling myself as a reader, with a sense of dread.

While I believe this can function as a stand alone novel, I heavily recommend first picking up Yours for the Taking so that you have even richer background knowledge about the world this story takes place in, and more appreciation and excitement for the connections our characters have between each other (within both novels and across them)!

Already craving more queer dystopian reads (as per usual)!!

The Shut Outs by Gabrielle Korn, once again I read the Kindle and listen to the audio narrated by Gail Shallen and I must admit I preferred the Kindle version much better but overall really didn’t like the book. I always start with the audio and in the beginning it was Max and Sterrett it was in this very first chapter that I started thinking OMG this is part of the series because what the hell is B3K throughout the book it takes many different forms from food to cloth to wild weeds, that cannot be contained but I digress it’s a minor point just something that irritated me. Then it’s Kelly‘s turn writing to her youngest daughter about things I would never share with any of my children then we also get a POV from a ragtag group of political vigilantes then a POV from Ava and Brooke and I think headed been a story about Ava and Brooke an orchid I would’ve enjoyed it much better the things that were said or said with such intensity is if I too should be feeling this Grand momentum that this moment belies. Sometimes you read a second book in a series and you can easily catch on catch up and enjoy but I don’t feel that is the case with this book. Throughout the book they talk about things is it I should already be in the know and I wasn’t, maybe had I read the first book I would’ve enjoyed it much much better but I DK. I also want to say I found it so hard to keep track of who is talking to who. When there’s two non-binary people conversating with each other I just recently got my brain to recognize that they is not more than one person and so to throw two N-B’s people together having a conversation and constantly referring to them as them and they almost made my head explode. Maybe I am just too old for this content lol! #NetGalley, #McMillanAudio,#GailShallen, #GabrielleKorn, #TheShutOuts,

I loved The Shutouts, possibly even more than Korn's first novel, Yours For the Taking!!! (reviewed at http://readingwhilefat.com/2023/12/05/yours-for-the-taking/)

I loved that there were several timelines and locations, and that we got to see what happened that led to the Inside project from the first book. I loved that we had more time with the characters, and that Orchid and Camilla, minor characters in the first book, were a primary focus of this one.

I loved how Korn connected everything and left nothing uncertain at the end, and left us with hope that humanity, with science and feminism, will prevail, despite screwing up the world.

I loved that Kelly's chapters from 2041 were in letter format, and they served as the bridge from a world we recognize as today to the one set about 25 years later when Ava and Brook leave Inside.

I loved the nonbinary representation and that most all of the characters were queer. I loved that although there was not any description of fat characters, there was no anti-fat bias as well, so it was weight-neutral. I cannot wait to read whatever Gabrielle Korn can dream up!

THE SHUTOUTS is an interesting and dark dystopian featuring a diaspora of queer characters. I've heard this is the second book in the series, and maybe that explains some of the disconnect I felt from it, even though ultimately THE SHUTOUTS is a book about missed connections themselves. Would I have liked this more if I realized it were connected to another book? Perhaps. 3 star territory for now.

No where did it say this is a sequel and I was so confused about what was happening. I couldn't get into this and felt lied to.

Did not realize this was a second book in a series. I wish the description would have stated, so that I could have read the first book first and not have been so confused. Excellent writing structure though. Good rep of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Another book where I can’t give a first paragraph synopsis because it took about a third of the book for it to come together for me and I just can’t break that down into a quick paragraph (chuckle).

I find sometimes the problem with books with large casts is that when the foundation is getting laid out, the reader can get lost in the names and trying to make the connections instead of just giving in and hoping it all makes sense in the end. I think for those of us who like mysteries, we think everything is important and so we try to catalog everything and you just get bombarded. This is how I felt for about a third of The Shutouts. This is on me though. I have a tendency to read one book after another without a brain break and I had just finished a book with a lot of characters and some Matrix level complexities. I recommend starting this book with a brain break. Make sure you come in fresh.

When I finally decided to just give in and hope that in the end it would all make sense, I ended up lucky and Gabrielle Korn knows how to tie it all together. I still had to pause and think when I got to a character and do a quick run down on age and how they connect to the story before moving on. I have to say that my favorite character is the one from the past. Kelly’s story is the one that stands out the most. Probably because it is the most consistent and it stands out in the way it is told. Never mind that it’s painful and in-depth compared to the others.

The other members of the cast are diverse and we get their stories, but other than Max, I didn’t feel like we knew them. It was just a glimpse into people we are supposed to care about how they ended up. I love Max. My favorite stories in The Shutouts are Kelly, and Max and Carmilla. Everyone else just seemed to be white noise.

I’m fascinated with the science behind The Shutouts. I’m a geek and green energy has been my jam for awhile now. I actually know people, who definitely aren’t as extreme as Vero, but who live an off-grid life. I applaud them and wish I could do it.

I meandered a lot in this review, but I guess that’s kind of how The Shutouts felt to me. It’s organized well, don't get me wrong, but I just didn’t connect to anyone but Max and Kelly. Maybe that’s how these types of books work…just like a television show. There are characters that you pay attention to more than others because you like them more (shrug).

The Shutouts is an interesting spin on the latest in climate fiction with a diverse cast.

The Shutouts is the follow-up to the 2023 climate fiction novel Yours for the Taking.

This novel explores small groups of survivors living in a rapidly changing North America after global warming has rendered conditions nearly uninhabitable. Through different POVs, readers follow as these survivors attempt to reconnect with friends and family from whom they’ve been separated, establish camps, search for provisions, and seek safety. The book also delves into the origins of Orchid through letters her mother wrote in 2041.

Like its predecessor, The Shutouts highlights the devastating consequences of global warming and the dangers of allowing powerful corporations and corrupt politicians to exploit humanity’s near-destruction. Despite its bleak moments, the story carries a thread of hope, showing how humans can adapt and flourish by working together and building strong communities.

With Yours for the Taking being one of my favorite novels of last year, I was eager to jump back into this eco-dystopian world. As much as I was happy to reunite with the characters from Yours for the Taking, I was satisfied enough with where there story ended that as a reader I didn’t feel like I gained much from seeing their stories through. The Winter Liberation Army was to me the most compelling aspect introduced in the novel. I loved exploring how the climate crisis would create extremist cult-like groups with the collapse of society as we know it. I would have enjoyed exploring another POV or part of the country/globe because I find the world so interesting but I understand how it would’ve detracted from the story’s scope. Maybe a third novel in a different part of the globe exploring how the climate crisis was survived? I would recommend this for readers who enjoyed the first novel and want some resolution for the characters introduced prior.

While theoretically this could be read as a stand alone (the author does an amazing job of providing missing background information that was covered in the first book without it feeling repetitive if you've read the first book), I would as always recommend reading Yours for the Taking first. As it was, I started reading this book and then stopped because the characters and setting sounded so familiar. Well, yeah, because I'd read the first book! What a wonderful surprise for me! Similar to the first book in this not series, placing all the characters in time and relation to each other took some energy, even having read the first book. For having such an ambitious plot, this is a very character driven book. And of course, solid kudos for the LGBTQIA+ representation.....and that it was just a part of the book, nothing called out or special. Just is! Finally, I really enjoyed how the author was able to bring several different possible outcomes of humanities war on the planet/climate together in one book. There were a few spots that felt a bit contrived, but overall, a great read!

You know that feeling of contentment when you return home after a long trip? That’s how I felt being back in the world of Yours For The Taking. If you missed my review of that book, I gave it 5⭐️ and it’s one of my favorite reads of the year. Even my husband read and loved it!

But I’m here to talk about The Shutouts. It’s a wonderful gift from Gabrielle Korn that expands the story of Yours For The Taking. With two timelines, it functions a bit like a prequel and a sequel. Korn weaves a ton of political discourse into the narrative; the world building is so strong that it feels completely natural. It's a dystopian, speculative fiction that doesn't feel so speculative. It tackles climate change, power + greed, LGBTQ+ rights, misogyny, bodily autonomy, the list goes on.

This was a captivating read. If you love books about the future of our planet and about our individual rights, this book is for you. But I strongly suggest you read Yours For The Taking before jumping into The Shutouts. Much of my enjoyment of the book derived from the way it built upon Yours For The Taking.

I found the overall tone of the The Shutouts to be a slower build and more quiet than Yours For The Taking. It is less suspenseful, it is more of an exploration of characters and their interpersonal relationships. It's about how they face extreme circumstances and make impossible decisions, how it changes them. This is all good stuff and great storytelling, but I think it is the first book that will actually hook readers' buy-in to this story and make them care about these characters. For me personally, I wish The Shutouts had covered less ground and instead delved deeper into some of the more central characters.

I was so excited when I saw Gabrielle Korn had a new book coming out! Yours for the Taking was a great dystopian read and I was pumped to get more of that story. The Shutouts blew away my expectations. It was even better than the first book. I loved digging deeper into what became of the world and how JM Inc even came to be. I loved seeing the work that people did on the backend to try to stop the climate change and fight the government. I think I love these books mostly because this reality doesn’t feel too far out of the realm of possibility so the books sucked me into a world that as terrifying as it is, feels borderline realistic too. If you’re into dystopian reads, this one is a can’t miss!

Tender-hearted, with an under-current of terror, this novel is a wonderfully inquisitive exploration of how relationships are what carry us through difficulty.

This novel is set in the world of the author’s previous novel, Yours for the Taking, but it stands on its own. I have not read that novel and didn’t even read the jacket copy for that novel until I was more than halfway through this one. I imagine if you have read that novel this one may be even better, but I didn’t feel like anything was missing reading this as a standalone. And that is saying something, because this novel doesn’t really have a whole lot of plot to speak of. This novel is more concerned with the characters and their relationships, and uses a post-climate apocalypse as the background to exacerbate the power of those relationships.

The writing itself is incredibly compelling. There are two narratives, that somehow tell the story of three time periods. The first narrative is an epistolary story, a series of letters written by a woman who is crossing the country to return to her young daughter, who she hasn’t seen for a number of years. In the letters she is telling her daughter her own life story, or at least a part of it, and so these letters tell the story of the woman crossing the country in 2041 but also of her life from when she was a teenager in the late 2020s. These letters are intimate, first-person narratives that are filled with heartbreak and regret but also inspiration and pride, with a low-simmering frantic nature infecting them all as she is afraid of being tracked or monitored and that leaks into her letters. This is paired, in alternating chapters, with a handful of different POV characters telling a story in 2078, characters that seem disconnected at first but whose connections are made clear, as is the connection between their stories and the 2041 story, as the novel progresses. These close third-person POV chapters still give us intimate portraits of the struggles and joys of a number of characters. The writing is straightforward, not overly florid or sentimental, but the character portraits are so vivid, told through their actions as much as in description, that I was always disappointed when leaving any character’s chapter. The epistolary chapters are much more emotional feeling, and this balance between the two writing styles and across the multiple timelines is really smart. It really makes the story feel like it has continual forward momentum, even though there is not a whole lot of plot pulling you through the story.

I mention the story is a little terrifying, and that is because the world-building is really stellar and also bleak. We see a climate apocalypse as it unfurls across the six or so decades that these stories span, and it feels way too real and kind of devastating. We don’t just see the weather and its consequences on human life or habitation, but we see the human decisions that lead to the changing climate, we see when and how greed is prioritized over people. This is not a political thriller; I think some of those elements were heavier in her previous novel in this world. Our characters are in play to make any government-level decisions, they are just the folk who are living with the consequences. The world-building is done across these three timelines and through our characters’ experiences, and it is a robust world that feels genuine and complete. There are countless details of the world we don’t know, it is wide open enough for another half dozen stories in this world, and yet it never feels lacking. The big picture is really clear, and it is through our characters’ actions and traumas that we understand how the world is, which is a smart way to build it.

Which brings me to the characters. The characters are the heart of this novel, and they are wonderful. They are diverse and personal and everything about them feels both very specific and entirely relatable. I was rooting for every character we got to spend time with. All of them are the same, insofar as they are trying to survive this world and maybe eke out a little joy while they’re at it, yet their lives are so different that just what that means takes a different shape in each. There isn’t necessarily a lot of character growth, because we see their potential right from the beginning. Instead, this story is a chance for them to unfurl, a chance for the characters to show us who they really feel they are. The queer representation in this story is great, especially seeing how queer identities are discussed in the different timelines. But more important than any individual character or identity are the relationships they create. Because this novel is all about relationships. The way to survive an apocalypse, Korn is telling us, is through other people. It is through community and connection. Sometimes that can go awry, sometimes expectations aren’t equal, and that community or relationship can become harmful, true. But that is why we need to invest in a complex emotional maturity that centers others’ needs. The relationships here are beautiful and tragic and rocky and tender and spicy and complicated and sometimes painfully simple. We depend on others, and they us, and if we have any hope of anything resembling salvation it is in relationships that we will find it, we will build it, together.
(Rounded up from 4.5)

I want to thank the author, the publisher St Martins Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I continue to be very impressed with this author’s ability to create a dystopian world that feels maybe a little too realistic while also centering extremely interesting characters. I enjoyed the multi-POV focusing on Ava and Brook from the first book and a new character, Kelly. Kelly’s letters were definitely a highlight.

This hit a little close to home in light of the current political news and happenings, but that may have made it all the more captivating for me. Plus, I am a sucker for climate fiction and this checks a lot of boxes for me.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While I’ve seen some say this is a standalone novel, I would have to disagree. This is very much a sequel and without reading Yours for the Taking, you will be missing a lot of nuances and shared history between the characters. It adds depth and emotional connection to the story, so I highly recommend reading it first.

The world building in this novel and its predecessor is starting to hit close to home with climate change ramping up right before our eyes. The government and billionaires not doing anything to curb the change, women’s rights, trans rights, etc. It’s all very relevant and thought provoking to the world we live in. I think the events here are slightly exaggerated to add more tension and dread to the whole experience. It’s nicely done overall, but I found a few nitty gritty things that probably wouldn’t work in real life.

With that said, I quite enjoyed this book. Even more so as the stakes are much higher and I really grew to like these characters, even though they sometimes annoyed and frustrated me to bits! All the different POVs really came together and I started looking forward to Kelly’s letters or how Ava and Brook’s journey to find July progressed. This was more emotional and poignant because of the time jumps and how the story unfolded. All the details about the survivalist cult really made my blood boil. The government’s/rich people’s selfishness and that whole subplot really was a mind trip. I thought the ending wrapped up a bit abruptly, a bit sad but still hopeful for the characters surviving and adapting to their new world.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the review copy.

I was not the hugest fan of Yours for the Taking, but figured I'd give this one a shot regardless. YftT felt so surface level in its commentary and critique, and I think The Shutouts suffers from the same problem. Maybe if you do not spend much time in activist spaces, this will seem wildly new and groundbreaking to you. If so, that's GREAT (genuinely), but keep going bc I promise there's more out there with actual depth that will push those boundaries for you in a way that doesn't come from a place of Cis White privilege (like maybe adrienne maree brown and Margaret Killjoy).

A good starting place, but ultimately lacking.

So I picked the absolute worst (or best?!) week to read Korn’s newest queer dystopian novel following fringe groups of people attempting to survive a world destroyed due to climate change. The best way to describe the fantastic prose across dual timelines (2041 and 2078) is claustrophobic with an undercurrent of horror. The government’s refusal to slow down climate change in tandem with corporations who stand to benefit from societal collapse was just way too relevant to today, as was the rise of extremist ideologies threatening queer people and women’s rights. Korn does a great job creating characters that included a wide span of ages, genders, and sexualities. I particularly enjoyed the way Korn highlighted how the climate crisis defined and changed relationships; parenthood, friendships, neighbors, and lovers. Part of the novel was epistolary, revealing flashbacks and establishing mystery that propelled the plot forward. There is danger, action, character growth, and hope. I didn’t realize this was a second stand alone book to follow up Korn’s Yours For the Taking, and now I plan to go back and read that one as well!

Thank you to MacMillan audio for my complimentary audiobook; narrator, Gail Shalan, did a wonderful job capturing the diverse characters as well as the intense sense of danger. The audiobook had my heart racing and my attention complete captivated.

Not realizing this was the second book of a series, I did find myself somewhat confused with everything going on. However, I rated it 5 stars because the writing is phenomenal, the premise is interesting and timely (a dystopian future dealing with climate change), and I appreciated the queer representation. I plan on reading the first book, which comes out on November 12th. I’m looking forward to it, and suggest those interested in this book wait for that first one to come out.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read and for introducing me to this author!

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. This is SUCH a great sci-fi story, and I really had fun a fun time reading it. I loved the characters; the dystopian world was complex and interesting to figure out. This was a great companion to Yours for the Taking, and it was really interesting watching the two MC's meet. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads for release.