Review: The Power
Available at Bookshop.org
4.5/5
For fans of: The Handmaid’s Tale, alternative history, what if situations, build up to war, cataclysm, shift in balance of power
The Big Questions:
What genre is this in? Adult fiction, speculative fiction, science fiction
Are there any swoon-worthy characters? No
Is it spicy? There are some consensual love scenes
Is it violent or gory? MASSIVE trigger warnings: rape/torture/forced medical procedures/violence
Should I buy, borrow, or pass on this book? Borrow it!
“This is the trouble with history. You can’t see what’s not there. You can look at an empty space and see that something’s missing, but there’s no way to know what it was.”
Synopsis: In THE POWER, the world is a recognizable place: there's a rich Nigerian boy who lounges around the family pool; a foster kid whose religious parents hide their true nature; an ambitious American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But then a vital new force takes root and flourishes, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power--they can cause agonizing pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world drastically resets.
“It doesn’t matter that she shouldn’t, that she never would. What matters is that she could, if she wanted. The power to hurt is a kind of wealth.”
Review: There is a LOT happening in this book, maybe too much. This book tackles how the world could react to massive societal, religious, and political changes when the power dynamic between men and women changes. It also provokes some interesting questions about how history is remembered and interpreted, why the dynamic between men and women is the way it is, and how truly different are we if the dynamic changed. Overall, the themes and tones of the book are incredibly thought provoking. The style of storytelling keeps things fresh and moving as well. Four different storylines weave in and out of each other focusing on different aspects of a decade of change all culminating to a worldwide reset. I thought it was brilliantly portrayed. The only issue I had was uneven pacing with the storylines, but beyond that, it left me thinking a lot about how little difference there really is in men and women as a whole, both in a good and a bad way.