Bumpy Oak Books

**I was provided a physical ARC by the publisher in a mystery box.**

3 stars

Sophie Mackintosh’s newest novel involves a society where girls receive a lottery ticket when they enter puberty. Blue gets you freedom and a career. White gets you marriage and motherhood. When Calla, a blue ticket recipient, decides she wants to be a mother, she has to go on the run to fight for what she wants.

This book is very hard for me to review. It was not an ARC I specifically requested, nor would I have requested it had I been aware of it. I have personal issues with the topics of pregnancy and motherhood, and was not aware that Calla would, in fact, be pregnant and describing her body’s experiences for the majority of this book. In that aspect, this was absolutely not the book for me.

Conceptually and technically, Mackintosh presented a well-formed novel. It was a quick read. It was well-written. It was an interesting concept.

Definitely not for me, though I appreciated the opportunity to read it early.