Review: Q by Christina Dalcher @CVDalcher @HQstories #QBook #OnlyThePerfect #BookReview

ONLY THE PERFECT WILL SURVIVE

Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s new elite schools. Her daughters are exactly like her: beautiful, ambitious, and perfect. A good thing, since the recent mandate that’s swept the country is all about perfection.

Now everyone must undergo routine tests for their quotient, Q, and any children who don’t measure up are placed into new government schools. Instead, teachers can focus on the gifted.

Elena tells herself it’s not about eugenics, not really, but when one of her daughters scores lower than expected and is taken away, she intentionally fails her own test to go with her.

But what Elena discovers is far more terrifying than she ever imagined…

I knew when the email came through from Bloggers HQ on this one that I would have to cross my fingers so tightly to get a spot on this highly anticipated new novel from Vox author Christina Dalcher, well after hand cramp from crossing them so tightly I got confirmation from those hard working wonders at HQ Stories that I’d been accepted on the tour. So thanks HQ Stories for sending me out a copy and for the spot! Q is the second novel from Christina, with Vox being published last year. You can grab yourself an exclusive hardback edition from Waterstones here, or a kindle copy here! If something unsettling and gripping is your cup of tea go grab a copy!

Well, this book had me completely and utterly captivated from the first chapter – drawn into an existence where the human population is placed into a caste system based on their Q, their quantifying worth which in this case is knowledge, status and income, where foetuses can be tested in utero and it’s determined if they are worthy enough for life based on one number. Only the perfect has a chance in Elena’s world. Elena lives in the perfect neighbourhood with her husband, a high ranker in the education system and her two daughters, everyday she sends them off to their schools via their colour designated school bus. But what happens when on of her daughter’s grades drop low enough that she is taken away in the dreaded bus?! You’ll have to read and find out won’t you!

Christina has created an unsettling dystopian thriller that is gripping and worrisome, a fantastically written novel that will make you shudder to the core while you’re sucked into Elena’s world, as she unravels the mystery around her and answers the questions that are relevant. Q is a book that I flew through, when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it – possessing underlying themes that are hauntingly frightening and absolutely plausible, this dystopian will transport you from your reading chair to a world where only the perfect are accepted. The storyline is perfectly conceived with flashbacks, as well as with a present day narrative from Elena’s viewpoint, Q is a novel that everyone, especially fans of Margaret Atwood, should put on their TBR list for this spring, you won’t be dissapointed!

Thanks again HQ Stories for having me on the tour! If you’ve missed the prior posts by some cracking bloggers regarding this read, you can catch up now by searching for the hashtags #QBook #OnlyThePerfect on Twitter.

Until next time,
Happy reading!