I am delighted to share my review today for Donate by Emma Ellis. This is the first book in the Eyes Forward series and I discovered it on Kindle Unlimited. It is a dark, unsettling dystopian novel that is so very addictive.
Mae finds herself pregnant in a world where the global population has hit twenty billion, and governments decree that no child may be born without a life being sacrificed in return.
With growing unrest and violence towards pregnant women, Mae must navigate a hostile world to secure a future for her unborn child — no matter the cost. When the stakes are so high, how far would you go to protect your family?
MY REVIEW
I am a fan of dystopian novels, especially those that you can all but imagine happening. Donate is just that sort of book, but it gets very dark as consequences, opinions, and political alliances all think they are right—no different from the society we live in today!
Mae’s society reminds me very much of 1984 or countries with a regime where people were encouraged to report any infringement to the law. The world is overpopulated and by some miraculous event, all the countries have decided that the only way to reduce the population is by limiting births. For those already pregnant there is a very small window to register the pregnancy. If you fail to register in time there is a clause that allows you to progress with your pregnancy. An older person must be willing to sacrifice their life for that of the baby. Another rule is that anyone over the age of 90 will not have access to any medication.
The announcement of these new rules is brought in just as Mae and her partner discover she is pregnant. The website crashes, and there is panic about what will happen, maybe they can get an exemption, but what happens if they can’t? There are a couple of elderly relatives, but that is not something they can sanction, so the alternative is what. Stay where they are and have their baby terminated or do something else!
The realisation hits Mae as she and her partner try to work out what to do for the best, what will give them all the best outcome where they all survive. The author takes the story down some very dark roads and for some, this may be very upsetting. I think this is part of the story however and as horrible as some of the atrocities become, it is unfortunately very believable. As a race, humans have committed atrocities that are unimaginable in the past, and some continue to this day. So is so far-fetched to think that the things the author brings into her book will not happen?
As the author takes her characters in a direction they never would have considered, it gives her the chance to add more variables and opinions from others. Bringing in new laws will always divide people and there will be groups that are more active, vocal and in some cases violent. The groups the author forms are, in some cases, taken to the extreme and some of the acts are horrible. But, as I mentioned earlier, it is all part of the story and is within context.
I do like a dystopian novel that really tests me as a reader, this one did that. It is imaginative but also very dark. Showing extremes people will, may and have gone to as a wa7y to protect themselves and their way of life. Status, society norms, politics, perspectives, views and opinions are all tested in this book and I thought it was a very addictive read. I started this book around 10pm and finished it at some daft hour in the early hours of the morning, that says just how addictive I found it. My next book to read is the second one in this series and I am looking forward to another brilliant story.
This is one for those who like a more darker style dystopian novel that takes the reader down some very thought-provoking and alarming events. Fabulous story and one I would definitely recommend.
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