Okay book - would have been GREAT as a book club book , but I wouldn’t personally recommend it as an independent read. It sparked interesting conversations, but the plot got a little monotonous. The back 1/4 of the book was better because the characters became interwoven with one another and their stories/histories were shared more with the reader, but it otherwise felt a bit repetitive.

Would you open your box?

Format: Audiobook
Resource: Scribd
Narrator(s): Julia Whelan

So, I get the same vibe as when I read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I know, I know, they are different, talking about different things, but the vibe is there. And maybe it's because they both contemplate life. One takes place in one's own limbo vs this one, which takes place in present time.

The Measure brings about a lot of life questions. And yes, most of them are generic:
• What would you do if you knew how long you had to live?
      ↳ What would you do if you find out your partner only has x-years left to live?
      ↳ Would you have kids?
      ↳ Would you spend time traveling?
• What are you new priorities in life?
• Are you willing to die alone?
• Are you a good person?
      ↳ Does living make you a bad person?
• Does not knowing make you a selfish person?
      ↳ Does not wanting to die make you a selfish?
      ↳ What about survivors guilt?
Those kind of questions. I mean, shit (T_T), like, way to put us on the spot, ya' know!

I don't know, I mean, we just got through a pandemic (easy now, we technically are still in one, but at least it's not a "surprise" like it was in 2019/2020). And it's situations like those that force people to contemplate their own life and priorities. And that what this book this.

Told in various POVs, the plot travels between the various characters, all of which are somehow related. Some we know right off the bat, other take time to find the "connection." To me, I will always assume that the first characters mentioned will the MC's, in this case, that'll be Nina & Maura. We do get a glimpse in the lives of all the characters, with all their fears & ambitions. That also just leaves me too many options to dislike characters. I did find that Erlick did a decent job at not making me dislike a character unless it was meant to be disliked -- like Anthony (the politician -- he was such a dick).

There were times that I found this book to be inspiring, and other times too real -- like the whole politics & inequality aspect -- and I don't know how I feel about that. Like is Erlick trying to make a political statement on inequality among various marginalized groups by creating something so simple as life expectancy? Or are they trying to make a statement of "put yourself/family first" type of thing? And I feel like that's what bugged me. To me, it should have been one or the other. Having both aspect made the storyline seem so superficial & trying to be something "deep" 🙄. Idk, maybe listening to it left me unsatisfied (also, I'm still on that reading high from previous novel so....).

I did find it curious that Erlick chose 22 as the age to receive the boxes.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite [out of context] quotes:

Rating Breakdown
Writing Style & Pacing: 3.5
Characters: 3.75
Storyline/Plot: 3
Audio Narration: 4.5
Overall Rating: 3.69 rounded ↑

Wow! It’s a fascinating concept about life and learning about how long you will live. I thought it was a great commentary on the world and how we’d handle it. I was blown away by the analysis of what rules would be made, who would win the presidency and how the world would continue. It’s a must read. I think anyone who even slightly enjoys dystopian worlds would love this book !!

The opportunity to create a new category of othering arrives overnight for anyone over the age of 22 and prejudices flow amidst the panic.

I wish that there was some closure on some of the (what I consider) plot holes, as well as a couple of characters we grew to know over the 15 years that pass in the book, though I was given enough to be satisfied.  It was a bit predictable and cliche, but I teared up a couple times and definitely cried at the end because thinking about life and death and found family gets me in the feels.

Title: The Measure
Author: Nikki Erlick
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Rating: 5.00
Pub Date: June 28 , 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Intriguing • Original • Uplifting

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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?

💭 T H O U G H T S

Of course, I'd seen The Measure on so many 2022 favourites lists, yet it wasn't until it was recommended to me as part of my 12 recommendations from 12 friends project for 2023 that I really paid attention to this debut. And in short, from the very first pages I knew I was going to love this book!

I loved all of the characters (except maybe one...) and each of their distinct, yet interconnected lives. While the cast is vast, Erlick does a fantastic job at giving each character a distinct arc, so the reader is able to keep the plotlines straight. Getting to explore different reactions to the strings through a variety of POVs was an absolute gift. There's an underlying political aspect (that I know many won't love) weaved into the story, and I thought it was interesting to see the perspective of how people in power would handle such huge life questions.

This novel gave me way more than just entertainment. It dives deep into the meaning of life and what makes a good life. It explores priorities, the value of connection, and the importance of both the big and the small moments, while also contemplating hope and destiny. It is just so wholly human. Additionally, there were so many parallels to things that have happened or are ongoing (war, COVID, etc.) that it sparked even more deep thought and reflection on my part. This book is the reason I love reading.

I cannot finish my review without mentioning the anonymous letters been Ben and Amie. It was one of my favourite aspects of the book, an absolutely beautiful portrayal of interconnectedness and the power of strangers. Their communication and support of one another made me believe in the kindness and good of people. When there is so much doom and gloom, getting an uplifting (even if fictionalized) account of kindness brought tears to my eyes.

An ambitious debut, I simply could not put this book down! While it tackles themes of death and immortality, it does so in a very human and hopeful matter. I went back and forth between whether I'd want to open my box or not, and came away still unsure. As someone who has bared witness to the death of my person (himself a 'short stringer'), I honestly cannot say whether I'd have wanted to know or not. I don't think anything could ever prepare someone who such a loss. What I do know for sure is that no matter what I'd still feel the same - love would always be a constant. The Measure has found its way onto my favourites list and I will come back to it as a comfort read in the future. I cannot wait to see what Nikki Erlick writes next and I know I'll definitely be pre-ordering it.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• everyone!
• fans of The One and/or The Midnight Library
• bookclubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"The poster was covered with wrinkled photos of famous figures, all of whom has passed prematurely: Selena Quintanilla, Kobe Bryant, Princess Diana, Chadwick Boseman. A meaningful life, at any length was written across the top in cursive lettering."

"But you asked if everyone deserves happiness. I certainly think so. And I don't think having a short string should make that impossible. If I've learned anything from all the stories I've read - of love and friendship, adventure and bravery - it's that living long is not the same as living well."

"'It's easy to look at our time together and think that we were so unlucky. But isn't it better to spend ten years really loving someone, rather than forty years growing bored or weary or bitter? When we think of the greatest love stories ever written, we aren't judging them by their length. Many of them were briefer than my marriage with Maura. But our story - mind and Maura's - it felt deep, and it felt whole, despite its length. It was an entire, wonderful tale in and of itself, and even though I've been given more chapters than Maura, her pages were the ones you couldn't put down. The ones that I'll keep rereading, over and over, for the rest of my life. Our decade together, our story, was a gift.'"

"Dear B,
No matter what happens, I still feel the same.
-A" 

Last year I read The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier and while I absolutely loved its premise, the book didn't work for me. It was all too much for my liking: too many characters and too many ideas explored. This book was similar in many ways: its starting point is an inexplicable mysterious shift in the universe that changes life as we know it, on both a societal and personal level. Furthermore, this book also followed many characters while exploring philosophical and political ideas that resulted from the shift. The reason why I feel it did work this time, is because the plot actually acted as a supporting character, successfully tying people, ideas and events together. The result is a beautiful novel that succeeds in being thought-provoking as well. The way things played out around the country felt very real; even when it shifted to a more hopeful approach, it never crossed the line to becoming unrealistic. Enjoyed this one, and I am curious to see what future work this author will bring. 

This book started off STRONG, so I thought I would end up rating it 5 stars, classifying it was one of my favorite books I read this year. I certainly still enjoyed the book, but it wasn’t what I expected.

I liked how the characters and their stories connected. I was frustrated, though, that we never got an answer as to how or why the strings appeared. I get the symbolism: in life, we don’t always know the “why” nor can we always control what happens to us, but we can control our reaction to it; I just wish we got an answer in the story.

What would you do if one day you woke one day to find out that every single adult in the world could know the length of their life? As you can imagine the world could easily fold to chaos. Wow. This book will stay with me. 

Eight people. All wake one day to a world who all have a small chest with a string inside showing how long they'll live. Governments, religions, families, jobs, friends, marriages, all changed overnight. Looking at everything differently. The value of life changing and being argued. 

The different perspectives, and human experiences. The way people's experiences were intertwined. I was gripped, and touched. This reflects SO WELL the world we live in. I'll be thinking of this book for a long time to come. Absolutely brilliant. 10/10 recommend.