Reviews with content warning for Mass/school shootings - The Measure

This was an incredibly thought-provoking story. A concept like this, where everyone in the world has the ability to figure out how long they will live through a tangible material object, can only be told best in multiple perspectives, and there was a wide variety in the character personalities themselves. Some were long-stringers, some short-stringers, some who refused to look, some who took advantage of their string to get to the top, etc. I loved how the storylines of some of the characters intermingled yet remained predominantly separate. My favorite thing about this book was the deep dive into the dark consequences and impact this event would have on society particularly about the corruption and bigotry. A dark thing to like, yes, but it really made you think!

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maggiekate's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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bcbirrer's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

I had an incredibly hard time with this book. It was an imaginative premise and wonderfully written. It is a beautiful book worth reading and discussing. It draws so many parallels and gives a less fraught and personal avenue for people to discuss how humans treat each other.

Where I personally struggled was with how well the author connected the premise to what might actually play out in real life. Basically horrible humans being horrible humans and how quickly people would turn on each other. This book was exhausting. While I recommend reading it, I also recommend taking whatever time and space you need to read it. There is hope in the book. There is just lots of discrimination and pain as well.

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katharina90's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Really intriguing concept with a lot of potential. Ultimately I didn't care much for any of the characters which made the book less impactful than it could have been.

Maybe there were just too many perspectives which limited my ability to get to know the characters and feel invested in their stories.

I did enjoy pondering some of the questions the book poses:
If you could find out how much time you have left, would you want to?
And if so, would that knowledge change your life choices?

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jasminechocklettslee's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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whimsykat's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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jrice17's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book addressed the age old question, would you want to know when you would die? One day, boxes arrive containing strings that "measure" the length of your life. There are eight characters with their intertwining stories of love and loss, as well as moral and ethical dilemmas of the arrival of the strings.

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katrinarose's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed this book, it was heavy on character development and I think it was done really well. All the main characters felt real and I cared about them all. It was heavy on political messaging and while the author and I clearly have the same political affiliation, I felt like at times she wasn’t giving the reader enough credit to read between the lines, and it was a bit overdone. I think the moral messages would be completely lost on someone who didn’t share political ideologies for this reason. However, the premise really makes you think about the far reaching effects of these strings would have in our society and I enjoyed how the author’s incorporated her speculations about this. It’s something I think I’ll be thinking about for a long time.

One thing that I felt like was never addressed which seemed obvious to me is determinism vs free will. The strings seem to mean determinism is the way the world works, yet no one in the book seems to think this, or has any sort of existential crisis about it. Everyone just seems to come to the conclusion that they still have free will even though they can’t stop their death (or life). I think this topic should have been explored more, or at least discussed.

Overall, a fascinating premise (just don’t expect a sci fi novel) which delivers on character development and societal commentary.

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