The Breeders

I couldn't believe I had missed out on reading this one when I saw it's publishing date! How had I not heard of it? I love dystopia! The cover features a large iceberg and a rainbow over it. Upon reading the book I came to the conclusion that this could be Sanctuary, the place people are sent if they disobey the governments laws. The cover certainly attracted my eyes and then when I read the Blurb I knew I just had to read this book!

The genres listed for this book are LGBTQIA and Literary Fiction though personally I would also add Dystopian and Futuristic as it has an “alternative” society controlled by what most would label as an unconventional government with their new laws.

The world is now ruled by the majority of the population which are homosexual. As the world was becoming rapidly over populated those in charge decree that there should be no more “natural” pregnancies. The government are increasingly going down the route of engineered families that they perceive as being perfect. Though they have the engineering expertise they also have a back up plan of men and women (heterosexuals) who can be controlled, conceive and produce offspring in a constrained environment. However should anyone become pregnant naturally, the guilty pair are banished to a place called Sanctuary, located in the Antarctica, which is an extremely harsh place. Those sent to Sanctuary live a hard life as a punishment. The ”back up” individuals are referred to as Failsafes (men) and Carriers (women).

The book is told from two main points of view. Dex Wheelock, a fail safe with two mothers as parents, who had what he thought could have been the beginnings of a meaningful relationship with a carrier called Diana. Things had been going really well, then one day she just disappeared into thin air. No matter how he tried he could not find out where she had gone. Dex’s friend invites him to a party to distract him from losing Diana. Dex is attracted to a woman called Grace and they end up having sex that evening.

The other point of view is from the perspective of Grace Jarvis, a carrier, with two fathers who finds herself pregnant after what she considered a one night stand at a party. The pregnancy leaves Grace with a very difficult decision to make. Though Grace initially attempts to hide her pregnancy, this is not something that she can do for long. The pregnancy literally tears her family apart. Dividing her parents and family who have shockingly differing opinions on her pregnancy. Dex and Grace meet up again and discuss their options which come down to just two options, to being inevitably found out as Grace’s pregnancy goes further along and being banished to Sanctuary, or to run! There is a rumour of a resistance that can help people in their situation. Neither of them want to leave their families behind but they have no choice. To begin with Dex is determined to support Grace and their baby but at a crucial moment he gets cold feet leaving Grace in the hands of the resistance alone. Whilst being on the run with the resistance Grace is becomes unsure about the resistance and their true objectives but what choice does she really have but to continue on the path she is on. There is no option for her to turn back and she is even told she would not be allowed to leave as she had seen and heard too much of the resistance secrets and locations to be allowed to escape alive!

I of course really liked the main characters of Dex and Grace. Dex seems to have been quite spoilt by his two mothers. We see Grace’s family split with her father ?? being disgusted with her pregnancy and literally turning his back on her not wanting any part in her life or his grand-child’s. Luckily Grace has the unlimited love, moral and financial support of her dad Stuart.

This book is really action packed and had me hooked within reading the first 10%. There is a lot going on, the pregnancy just seems to be the “thing” that triggers some of the changes. The Breeders is full of family woes, disagreement and darkness as the truth of how quickly some of the characters discard friends/family in trouble. Then uplifting when complete strangers risk their lives to help to people that they have only just met.

I guess some people will find the book controversial, with the switch of power being in the hands of homosexuals rather than heterosexual. The head of the government is referred to as Queen Vincent and he wants to eradicate heterosexuals. The book turns the majorities on their head, having what we would still think of minorities leading the way. I found the book engrossing and intriguing. For those possibly put off by other reviews I would want to remind everyone that this is fiction and that I find reading a way to escape my everyday real life.

I definitely enjoyed reading this book with its complex society and it intricately woven plot. I loved that things were revealed to us as Grace was learning about them too. The book was both an enjoyable read and a very thought provoking one too. I’d say this book is a great conversation starter. The book tips the prejudice that homosexuals receive on its head telling the story where they are in charge and it is the heterosexuals that are the harassed minority.

I received this story as an ARC thanks to Net Galley in exchange for an honest review!
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

No substantive spoilers.

An amazing page turner and I could not put it down. Reading this book was like reading a Black Mirror script mixed with Handmaid's Tale and I wasn't ready for some of the twists and turns. In my opinion, Grace's POV was an amazing insight for hetero identifying people to look into what could be the not so distant future for Women especially in the LGBTQ community. I won't do a character break down as there is so much growth and change between the several shifting parts of the novel.

If you're looking for something to widen your ideas of the struggles of fellow folks out there daily, but still has that tinge of Science Fiction to it, then do yourself a favor and pick up this book.

I actually finished The Breeders by Matthew J. Beier a few days ago, but wanted to sit on it for a bit before reviewing. This one is a deep thinker in some ways, and I'm glad I waited.

As others have mentioned, this is marketed as a LGBT novel, but I would absolutely change that and market it as Dystopian. Others have summed up the plot well, so I won't go into detail to sum it up again, but you have to understand going in that the overall arc to this one is that the govt is made up and ruled by the homosexual majority. Because the world was becoming rampantly overpopulated, the homosexuals overthrew the heterosexuals and instituted laws to engineer families instead of allowing for natural reproduction. Heterosexuals still exist, and there is a backup plan of men and women who conceive and produce offspring in a controlled environment, but the majority is now homosexual. Anyone who becomes pregnant naturally is immediately banished to the extremely harsh "Sanctuary" located in Antarctica, and forced to live a hard life of punishment.

As a lesbian, I wasn't sure how that would make me feel, but chose to go into this with an open mind. I'm so glad I did!

I loved the MCs, Dex and Grace. It was nice to see the two viewpoints of how their situation was handled within their families also, with Dex's moms turning their back on him, while Grace's dad showed her unlimited love and support. The whole book was action packed, and triggered some real deep thinking.

Eventually you realize the real issue that the book takes on is not about WHO is in power or control, it's more about the fact that power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Solid 4 stars.


*Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free ARC copy in exchange for my honest review*

It sounds like a really amazing idea for a dystopian (utopian?) book: what if heterosexuals were actually the discriminated and ridiculed minority, only left alive to help breed babies for the homosexual ruling majority? And then what if their genetic engineering research progresses far enough to be able to abolish semen-donors and surrogate mothers all-together? For a good portion of the novel, this concept works well in showing the still far-reaching discrimination - subtle or violent - that members of the LGBT-community have to endure. The characters were likable and well-written, the action was balanced with plenty of emotion, and I can't complain about the world-building either. Yet something bugged me.

And then I figured it out: with the constant description of the gay majority as lust-driven, sex-hungry, raping heterosexuals, being effeminate in every way (speech, clothing), and in general the heightened stereotype of a gay man, it was unclear to me who the author was trying to parody. Gay men? Or the idea of the "homosexual take-over" that conservatives fear? Why not show a bit more diversity in your gay characters? And by the way: where are all the other letters - the bisexuals, the trans*people, etc? Why are there only gay and lesbian couples, and a shrinking minority of straight people? In the end, while the idea was a great one, this lack of clarity made it an ambiguous book for me. Also, I did not understand why the ecological and gender-issues needed to be thrown in as well. That was a bit too much for the narrative.

So the book left me with a bitter aftertaste, and not just because of the ending. Maybe that was intentional, maybe that was me overthinking the treatment of LGBT-characters even in a novel that put them front and center. In any case, it is a book worth reading and thinking about.