Korn revisits the queer dystopian world of “Yours for the Taking” in this tense tale. There are themes of climate collapse, survival, and conspiracies. If you haven't read YFtT then you should start there before jumping into this novel so you are familiar with the characters, but you could try this one as a standalone if you can't get the other book. The reader makes the pacing perfect to build the tension of this world. There's representation for nonbinary and LGBTQIA+, which is always a win in my book but may be jarring for some readers who are not used to they/them pronoun use. There is intergenerational relationships. Be ready for micro community conflict. The middle section might feel a little slow, but the characters grow through out this novel. This book concludes the duology.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Gabrielle Korn for an advance copy for honest review.

I really did not enjoy this book. I did not enjoy the plot, I did not connect with the characters. I hope others enjoy it more than me.

The Shutouts offers a thought-provoking reflection on potential future realities for humanity. This queer pre and post apocalyptic novel reminded me of Octavia Butler's 'Parable of the Sower.' While reading, I noticed many parallels to contemporary developments, which almost seem like a warning of what may lie ahead. The book held my attention throughout; I appreciated the diverse perspectives and the varying timeframes between characters. Although initially somewhat complex, understanding each character's background and goals made their individual voices clearer. I believe this is an important work that warrants consideration for inclusion in relevant reading lists.

I didn't realize until after I finished the book that it was the sequel to Yours for the Taking. So I feel like my rating may be a bit unfair. However, it is, of course, my personal experience with the book.

I wanted to like this more. I liked the concept of a world that has been destroyed by climate change and the effects of that. I found it to be a bit of a slow paced story and I tend to find myself enjoying more fast paced and action packed storylines.

Reading this book felt like I started the story part way through and then never finished it. Maybe that's because it's supposed to be a sequel or you're supposed to know the characters from Korn's previous novel. There were multiple groups of people during different timelines and I found myself having to go back to figure out what decade I was in.

Overall, I liked the concept of the story.

*Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC*

The Shutouts picks up in the wake of Yours for the Taking, plunging us back into a dystopian future unraveling under the weight of climate catastrophe, government betrayal, and identity politics. Though billed as “set in the same world,” make no mistake, this is a true sequel imo, and you’ll be lost without reading book one first.

The novel alternates between multiple timelines and a wide cast of characters, all trying to navigate the fractured world left behind after the fall of The Inside Project. Civil society has collapsed. Climate change has taken its toll. And now, groups (some communal, others cult-like) fight for survival in scattered, makeshift tribes. While there are interesting dynamics at play (especially with Ava and Brook), many of the secondary characters blurred together for me, and the emotional stakes didn’t land as deeply as in book one.

The book explores the existential dread of a post-climate-crisis world, as well as identity, resistance, and the messy complications of building a new future. There’s also strong representation for nonbinary and LGBTQ characters, which adds important depth and inclusivity to the speculative fiction landscape.

The narration was excellent and easy to listen to, but the constant timeline shifts and ensemble cast made it harder to follow, it probably would be easier to follow by reading it. I often found myself zoning out or rewinding just to stay anchored in the narrative.

This felt more like a bridge book. There’s not a ton of action, and the emotional beats never quite hit as hard as they could’ve. It was thoughtful, yes but I never felt truly immersed.

This wasn’t a bad book by any means, it just didn’t quite live up to its potential. The narration was strong, but it lacked the momentum that Yours for the Taking had. This truly felt like a gap to a third book in the area and definitely don't recommend if you haven't read Yours for the Taking.

Recommended for fans of climate fiction, slow-burn speculative dystopias, and inclusive, identity-forward storytelling.

The Shutouts is out now. Huge thank you to MacMillan Audio for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
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Didn't love this one as much as I fully expected to from the synopsis and the vibes of the cover. It was just okay for me and not something I think I'd recommend. Also did not realize that this was kind of part of a series? Not sure.

Beautiful. Dystopian. Romantic. Unnerving. All valid descriptions of this story. In a world where women’s rights and climate change are challenged to the detriment of society, we find a cast of characters simply trying to navigate love and existence. I often get distracted by the overly political stance, but know how important it is to have these voices in our literary world.

The audiobook narrated by Gail Shalan encompasses the voices of a strong cast. They are also easily understood at faster speeds.

Thank you NetGalley, St Martins Press, Macmillan Audio, and author Gabrielle Korn for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.75 stars. A dystopian book set in the not so distant future, with ideas that could be realities. This was a really interesting book. Took a bit to figure out who was who and how they were connected with the different POVs. The way it unfolded lended itself to the overall story and connections among humans. Great representation of LGBTQ+. Really makes you think about how we are affecting the climate and global warming. Thanks @MacAudio for the copy!

My copy of the audio ALC seemed to be missing chapters, so i unfortunately didn’t get to fully read the book.

I really struggled to get into this book; the fact that the audiobook was missing chapters that appeared in my ARC was very off-putting and left me confused. Ultimately, I might have liked this if the characters seemed like real people cause there was some interesting concepts floated. This is probably best suited to those who enjoyed Korn's first book because the world-building was unclear. The audio narration was adequate but did not improve on the print version.

I received a print ARC and also accessed the audiobook via NetGalley.

"The Shutouts" by Gabrielle Korn is book 2 in a duology of queer dystopian speculative fiction novels. The first one, "Yours for the Taking" was a 5 star fantastic novel that I highly recommend! If you've read that, I highly recommend this one. If you have not, I don't think this one will make much sense.

This story is set in 2041 and 2080, mostly in Northern Canada. The situation they are in is a result of severe climate change that includes extreme storms of all kinds.

From the first book, Ava and her young adult daughter, Brook, are in this, as well as Orchid. We also see Shelby's family of Camilla and her father. There are new characters of Kelly and Vero and Max and a few others.

The first book was mostly about the people living on the Inside. This book is about those living outside, the Shutouts.

Gail Shalan is the narrator for this audiobook.

Characters - 5/5
Writing - 4/5
Plot - 3/5
Pacing - 3/5
Unputdownability - 3/5
Enjoyment - 4/5
Narration - 4/5
Cover - 4/5
Overall - 30/8 = 3 6/8 rounded up to 4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, MacMillan Audio, and Gabrielle Korn for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting followup to Yours For the Taking. I liked that we got to experience more of what the world was like outside of the climate-controlled bubbles from the first book and learn a bit of what happened afterwards. We get to learn more about some characters from book 1 as well as meet some new ones. Somehow it felt quite different from the first book (mostly in the pacing) yet familiar in voice at the same time. It worked for me, but I would advise to go into it expecting a little bit slower of a slower pace compared to book one. I found this to be a satisfying follow-up that readers of the series will enjoy. Recommend for fans of climate sci-fi, survival, and dystopian journeys.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. The writing was great and the characters were well developed. I hope to read more from this author in the future.

A brilliant queer dystopian novel from the author of Yours for the Taking, following a cast of characters on the margins of a strange and exclusive new society.

I discovered @gabriellekorn last year and fell in love with her writing style, I had high hopes for this one and it didn’t disappoint.
There’s something about dystopian books that can be a hit or miss for me, and The Shutouts was brilliant; gripping, propulsive and hopeful.

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for this complimentary audiobook.

The Shutouts is nothing short of a queer dystopian page-turner.
This story has many plotlines woven together to make one well rounded story. Right away I was drawn into Kelly's story and her flashbacks. The Inside Project was also something that I found intence and intersting.

I really liked the themes and topics about humanity and the world. I liked how the author talked about these topics in a way that's part of the world and not just an essay.

I've read Gabrielle Korn's other book, Yours for the Taking, and liked it. But The Shutouts was one I enjoyed more. I already liked her writing style but The Shutouts made me enjoy her writing style even more. I was lucky to get to take this story in by audiobook and the narrator did such a great job of delivering the drama and intense scene of the book. It's read so well.

A thought-provoking dystopian, queer journey, told in a captivating story.

The Shutouts was a propulsive and well-written read. I liked the audio narrator. the character study was thorough.

Actual Rating 2.5

This story is told from dual timelines (one in the 2040s and one in the 2070s) and multiple POVs. I liked one timeline more, and I think that was largely due to the fact that there were less characters present in that one. The second timeline had many characters all around the same age, and I had a difficult time keeping them separate from each other. This was partially because their voices weren’t that distinct, which made it that much harder to keep them separated.

I did enjoy the plots and story overall. The two timelines complimented each other well as the earlier timeline showed us what the before times were like for the 2070s timeline. I would have loved if there had been a stronger feel for the setting, though. It wasn’t incorporated quite as strongly as I would have liked, and I never really felt immersed in it. The micro-communities (some of which are cult-like), the technologies responding to climate change, and the upheaval that were incorporated were all interesting and added much to the worldbuilding.

Apparently this is book two in a series, though it states that nowhere other than saying it’s “set in the same world.” As a standalone, this is an okay read. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I loved 'Yours for the Taking' and this book is a perfect follow up.

The stories are different enough that I didn't feel like I was reading the same story again, however, the links between the two books were strong and thematically similar enough that they definitely belonged in the same universe.

I really liked that this book took place outside of the Inside. I liked getting to see what happened to the rest of the world and I love a good exploration of the types of societies that are created after a collapse. Korn also seamlessly includes so much LGBTQIA+ rep and feminist arguments that my little heart did happy dances all over the place. This is not your typical post-apocalypse story because it does feature these larger arguments and I absolutely loved their addition to this genre.

If you haven't read the first one, please do because you now have two wonderful apocalypse stories to marathon and enjoy.

This was a decent story, but it didn’t grab me as much as some other dystopian tales I’ve read recently. I did enjoy the characters and the believability of their interactions with each other.

*The Shutouts* is a compelling queer dystopian novel set against a backdrop of climate collapse. Gabrielle Korn’s writing balances an engaging pace with strong, emotionally complex characters. The shifting perspectives and timelines add depth but can feel disorienting at times, leaving some gaps in the narrative.

Gail Shalan’s narration in the audiobook is a standout. She gives each character a distinct voice, bringing the story to life in a way that kept me hooked.

This is a great pick for readers who like dystopian stories with a focus on connection, resilience, and the consequences of environmental neglect. While it left me wanting more, it was still a satisfying and thought-provoking read.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy.