Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Measure

Masterfully written, The Measure gets you trapped in your own head and keeps you there until the very last page.

After having just come through our very own unprecedented times, it was difficult to read about these characters that you come to care deeply for navigate their way through life's greatest trials and tribulations.

Erlick does a beautiful job weaving a complex, high-concept idea with characters exploding with heart. You find yourself both lost in the story but also making greater connections to the world we actually live in.

Not an easy, light read if that's what you want, but deeply thought-provoking and one you won't quickly forget when you reach the end.

Content Warnings

kibbles15's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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kcarney86's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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? Yes

4.25

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znvisser's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.0

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.

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themomwithabook's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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sophs_mood_reading's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

One morning the whole world changes. Everyone 22 years and older wakes to find a box at their front door holding a string. This string is the measure of their life. And so ensues a new way to segregate humans. Those with short strings and those with long. With this comes the propaganda of the reckless and dangerous short stringers who should be restricted from holding positions of power and denied jobs, loans and other privileges for those long stringers.

We follow the stories of 8 (don’t test me on that number) characters and their decisions around their strings and what they mean. Of course as many multiple point of view novels as we wind our way though the first year of “having the strings” their lives all slowly and subtly intertwine.

I enjoyed the social justice aspects of the novel and seeing again how easily the human race can be pitted against each other in fear of differences. I did find some of the book predictable and even in the most dramatic moments the book was too calm. I wanted more tension, more angst.

Overall a really good story of human relationships fighting diversity.

Content Warnings

karyan1's review against another edition

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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

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