The Measure

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Synopsis

“A story of love and hope as interweaving charters display: how all moments, big and small, can measure a life. If you want joy, love, romance, and hope—read with us.” —Jenna Bush Hager 

A luminous, spirit-lifting blockbuster for readers of The Midnight Library. 

Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.

It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out.

But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live.

From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?

As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn’t have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.

Enchanting and deeply uplifting, The Measure is a sweeping, ambitious, and invigorating story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that encourages us to live life to the fullest.

Synopses source: StoryGraph

Review

Genre(s): Fiction, Contemporary, Magical Realism
HB&W Rating: 4.5 stars
View on StoryGraph, Goodreads
Buy on Barnes & Noble, Amazon

This is one of those books that I know I’m going to think about long after I finish it.

This was such an interesting premise and a really in-depth thought experiment delving into the “what if” of an untenable situation. It’s a heavy book but even so, there is humor, courage, and hope all throughout the pages. I really appreciated the imagery the author used to show how interconnected we all are to one another using the overlapping stories of these characters.

Speaking of the characters, I had a hard time getting to know them at first, a by-product of the multiple POVs and jumping around. However, as their individual stories overlapped and the story came full circle, I came to know them better. I loved that the cast of characters showed a diverse representation of identities across race and LGBTQ+ and the story did a great job of exploring how the strings effected multiple groups who were already marginalized by society.

There’s a lot of humanity in this story – at its worst but also at its best. While the ending was predictable, it was well worth the ride. Julia Whelan does a fantastic job narrating, as always. A truly lovely piece of speculative fiction that begs the question: what would you do?

Until next time,

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