While this had an interesting premise, I thought the execution was thin, thin, thin. (Pun intended.) I never fully got a sense of any of the characters or setting, and the plot was a bit weak. I didn’t even feel a claustrophobic atmosphere, which disappointed me.

I think perhaps a sparse story/writing was the author’s intent, but that just personally rarely works for me. I needed the story and the characters to be more fleshed out, because as it is, this felt rushed. I actually think this premise would have been fantastic as a short story. For a full-length novel, it doesn’t hold up.

(It’s curious that even in a matriarchy, young girls are still encouraged/forced to physically shape and change and starve their bodies to fit certain standards. This aspect of the story is, unfortunately, skimmed over. I would have liked a more in-depth look here because I think that could be a really insightful comment how harmful and pervasive the patriarchy is in the real world.)