Vox is a Handmaid’s Tale for the modern world, I borrows dystopian themes from 1984 and A Brave New World. It’s reveals the power of the voice not just when talking about politics but how you talk to and communicate with loved ones. This is an important book just for the conversation it will bring up about men and women’s relationships and where they fit in society. I was blown away my the beginning and the how the world was set up and a little let down by the ending which suddenly turned into an action flick where It should have been more about words.

The Plot: A religious movement sweeps across America with the president heavily influenced by a televangelist. In order to turn the world back to supposed better times. It takes women out of the work force and installs a bracelet that allows them to only speak 100 words or deal with shocks to the body. LGTBQ are force in cells and classes with a member of the opposite sex and are forced to marry or suffer being locked up until they do. If you commit sex out of wedlock you’re sent to either be a prostitute or enter a work camp. Men are unpunished unless you’re gay. The story focus on Jean who has four children three boys and one girl and is married to Patrick who works for the president in the medical field. Jean used to be a doctor and worked on brain function. Jean has not settled in to being a homemaker, she has trouble relating to her oldest son, Steven who believes the bracelets lead to a better society, and her youngest and only girl Sonia who is five and barely speaks. Jean is offered a special privilege, when the President’s brother suffers a brain aneurysm and Jean could be the only one to bring him back. She makes a deal that her and her daughter get the bracelets removed. But when she gets there she question if she’s really making a cure, or is she making a weapon?

What I liked: The set up to the world was really good and really drew me in to this new world. The flashbacks are really well thought out and always tell us the reader something new. I liked that the character of Jean is not without her problems, and makes some hurtful choices. This novel really makes you think about society and how I would function on a 100 words a day. I lied the arc of Steven how at some points you really hate him, but it keeps reminding you he’s only a child. The first 250 pages are really great, the science is pretty easy to understand and the drive of the characters are really focus. The book has small chapters which make it easy to digest. I like that it mentions The Handmaid’s Tale. Te book doesn’t make all guys the bad guys there’s a lot that are against the cause.

What I disliked: The ending, I was sure this book was going to be five stars, then the last 70 comes and the tone shifts to an action like movie. It wasn’t needed they could have added suspense with out having an attack. I won’t spoil it but it was out of nowhere and did not belong in this story, this comes from someone who loves action adventure novels. The President’s brother storyline was dropped and never mentioned again after Jean commits to the work. The character of Patrick doesn’t get his due, he has some nice moment here and there but I wanted more and wanted to see what that character went through at the end. The scope of the story felt really isolated I would want to see how all America was effected.

Recommendations: This is already one of 2018’s most buzzed about books and I recommend it to all adult readers. This is a book perfect for book clubs because there is a lot to discuss in the text and in the ideas the book brings forth. If you love dystopian fiction then this is the book for you. I’m going to recommend this to my friend who rarely reads but was a women’s study major. I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars.