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Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s new elite schools. Her daughters are exactly like her: beautiful, ambitious, and perfect. A good thing, since the recent mandate that’s swept the country is all about perfection.
Now everyone must undergo routine tests for their quotient, Q, and any children who don’t measure up are placed into new government schools. Instead, teachers can focus on the gifted.
Elena tells herself it’s not about eugenics, not really, but when one of her daughters scores lower than expected and is taken away, she intentionally fails her own test to go with her.
But what Elena discovers is far more terrifying than she ever imagined�
Now everyone must undergo routine tests for their quotient, Q, and any children who don’t measure up are placed into new government schools. Instead, teachers can focus on the gifted.
Elena tells herself it’s not about eugenics, not really, but when one of her daughters scores lower than expected and is taken away, she intentionally fails her own test to go with her.
But what Elena discovers is far more terrifying than she ever imagined�
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 21, 2020
458 people are currently reading
13.7k people want to read
About the author
Christina Dalcher
20books1,630followersChristina Dalcher earned her doctorate in theoretical linguistics from Georgetown University. She specialized in the phonetics of sound change in Italian and British dialects and taught at universities in the United States, England, and the United Arab Emirates.
Her short stories and flash fiction appear in over one hundred journals worldwide. Recognitions include first prize in the Bath Flash Fiction Award as well as nominations for The Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions.
Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency represents Dalcher’s novels.
After spending several years abroad, most recently in Sri Lanka, Dalcher and her husband now split their time between the American South and Andalucia, Spain.
Her debut novel, VOX, was published in August 2018 by Berkley (an imprint of Penguin Random House) and has been translated into twenty languages.
Dalcher’s second novel, MASTER CLASS, will be out in the spring of 2020.
Her short stories and flash fiction appear in over one hundred journals worldwide. Recognitions include first prize in the Bath Flash Fiction Award as well as nominations for The Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions.
Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency represents Dalcher’s novels.
After spending several years abroad, most recently in Sri Lanka, Dalcher and her husband now split their time between the American South and Andalucia, Spain.
Her debut novel, VOX, was published in August 2018 by Berkley (an imprint of Penguin Random House) and has been translated into twenty languages.
Dalcher’s second novel, MASTER CLASS, will be out in the spring of 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,659 reviews
June 27, 2021
I NEED A DRINK RIGHT NOW! I’m suffocating!!! Wooww! What kind of crazy roller coaster I climbed into!!!
I confess! I love horror movies! I can handle zombies, serial killers, vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves, bloody teen slashers, anything dark, vomiting kind of disgusting, irritating, nerve bending, even I can tolerate to watch Fox news for five minutes or predatory animals� adventures on National Geographic Wild! I have high pain tolerance. But this book FROZE MY BLOOD, BLEW MY MIND AND TERRIFIED THE HELL OUT OF ME because it’s so dark, depressing, mind-f*cking, horrifying and REALISTIC!
I keep reading the news and see the winnings of right-wing populists at all over the world starting from European countries to Brazil, including some of the Eastern, Middle Eastern countries and of course in the US.
Think about yourself in a world that you’re not fleshy human being with full of emotions, beliefs, opinions, decisions. Your full value could be integrated in an unique number. The number consisted of your smartness, your financial capabilities, your pure genetic perfectness (you need to be white, healthy, fertile, without any psychical or mental disability)
They call your number “Q� which identifies who you are, what you are capable of, which school you may attend, where you could live, what the ideal occupation you could focus on. As a summary your Q is your path finder.
It never tolerates with immigrants, LGBTQ community, mediocre or low IQ-ed population, disability. See welcome to the new world is created by incarnated Hitler youth! ( I know at those pages I used several “F� words and spent all of my coins for cursing jar!)
So this quiet brilliant, provoking story is not only about the criticizing the political system and scaring us about probable balance changes, it is also about Elena Fairchild who is brilliant teacher, exampled citizen of the system with her high Q point.
But few years ago she made two terrible mistake. For getting approval of her mean girls� club she harassed a loner girl in her high school who ended her life and the other mistake was she chose to marry with a wrong guy who became a predator to serve the system for creating True Aryan Genesis. Malcolm Fairchild , has a respectable position in the government and works on genocide project to form an unique populated society consisted of white, rich, intelligent, chosen American people. ( Oh Malcolm, I haven’t read about a pure evil since I read true crime books about Manson family so you over exceeded my expectations! I don’t know how many times I screamed “Burn in hell� when I’m reading your parts! By the way, why do you carry similar name with Morgan Fairchild- a.k.a Chandler Bing’s mother- I love the author’s quirky and dark sense of humor!)
So Elena has a big dilemna. She has two girls: Anna and Freddy. Anna is the successful, father’s smart girl but Freddy is on the spectrum of Asperger. ( The monster husband wanted her aborted but Elena changed the Q score of baby to prevent this! It was a necessary precaution at that time but how long she can protect her daughter!) Now Freddy fails her test and she needs to get transferred to the public school located in Kansas.
And Elena could not bring her home by turning into Dorothy and clicking her heels. Because they are not gonna be in Kansas anymore. The place her daughter is sent for her education is some kind of refugee camp of expendable outsiders. They’re forced to work at the corn fields. Thankfully they are not chained and guarded by gunned white trash guardians.
Elena needs to make Sophie’s choice and go for her girl by leaving behind the other one with her monstrous husband. But could she fight against the corrupted system? Could she bring her girl to the home? How far she could sacrifice to do the right thing with dangerous methods?
Read, weep, sigh, read, scream, drink few glasses to cool down, read, scream more: That was my survival formula for this book!
I didn’t read Vox because of mixed reviews but when it comes to this dark, sick, terrifyingly dangerous, borderline, stunning, riveting, mind blowing story, I couldn’t stop myself and finished it faster than I expected.
So my 3.75 stars rounded up to 4! Ending was so cruel for me but I know it was necessary and right conclusion for this kind of bloody story!
This book is not for everyone. But if you want it darker, surely the author gives you the flame. Well done! Salute!
Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing for sharing this provoking, mind bending, amazing ARC COPY with me in exchange my pure honest review and thanks to the over imaginative, pure dark and realistic mind of Christina Dalcher for creating one of the most controversial books of 2020. I cannot wait to read more works of her.
I confess! I love horror movies! I can handle zombies, serial killers, vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves, bloody teen slashers, anything dark, vomiting kind of disgusting, irritating, nerve bending, even I can tolerate to watch Fox news for five minutes or predatory animals� adventures on National Geographic Wild! I have high pain tolerance. But this book FROZE MY BLOOD, BLEW MY MIND AND TERRIFIED THE HELL OUT OF ME because it’s so dark, depressing, mind-f*cking, horrifying and REALISTIC!
I keep reading the news and see the winnings of right-wing populists at all over the world starting from European countries to Brazil, including some of the Eastern, Middle Eastern countries and of course in the US.
Think about yourself in a world that you’re not fleshy human being with full of emotions, beliefs, opinions, decisions. Your full value could be integrated in an unique number. The number consisted of your smartness, your financial capabilities, your pure genetic perfectness (you need to be white, healthy, fertile, without any psychical or mental disability)
They call your number “Q� which identifies who you are, what you are capable of, which school you may attend, where you could live, what the ideal occupation you could focus on. As a summary your Q is your path finder.
It never tolerates with immigrants, LGBTQ community, mediocre or low IQ-ed population, disability. See welcome to the new world is created by incarnated Hitler youth! ( I know at those pages I used several “F� words and spent all of my coins for cursing jar!)
So this quiet brilliant, provoking story is not only about the criticizing the political system and scaring us about probable balance changes, it is also about Elena Fairchild who is brilliant teacher, exampled citizen of the system with her high Q point.
But few years ago she made two terrible mistake. For getting approval of her mean girls� club she harassed a loner girl in her high school who ended her life and the other mistake was she chose to marry with a wrong guy who became a predator to serve the system for creating True Aryan Genesis. Malcolm Fairchild , has a respectable position in the government and works on genocide project to form an unique populated society consisted of white, rich, intelligent, chosen American people. ( Oh Malcolm, I haven’t read about a pure evil since I read true crime books about Manson family so you over exceeded my expectations! I don’t know how many times I screamed “Burn in hell� when I’m reading your parts! By the way, why do you carry similar name with Morgan Fairchild- a.k.a Chandler Bing’s mother- I love the author’s quirky and dark sense of humor!)
So Elena has a big dilemna. She has two girls: Anna and Freddy. Anna is the successful, father’s smart girl but Freddy is on the spectrum of Asperger. ( The monster husband wanted her aborted but Elena changed the Q score of baby to prevent this! It was a necessary precaution at that time but how long she can protect her daughter!) Now Freddy fails her test and she needs to get transferred to the public school located in Kansas.
And Elena could not bring her home by turning into Dorothy and clicking her heels. Because they are not gonna be in Kansas anymore. The place her daughter is sent for her education is some kind of refugee camp of expendable outsiders. They’re forced to work at the corn fields. Thankfully they are not chained and guarded by gunned white trash guardians.
Elena needs to make Sophie’s choice and go for her girl by leaving behind the other one with her monstrous husband. But could she fight against the corrupted system? Could she bring her girl to the home? How far she could sacrifice to do the right thing with dangerous methods?
Read, weep, sigh, read, scream, drink few glasses to cool down, read, scream more: That was my survival formula for this book!
I didn’t read Vox because of mixed reviews but when it comes to this dark, sick, terrifyingly dangerous, borderline, stunning, riveting, mind blowing story, I couldn’t stop myself and finished it faster than I expected.
So my 3.75 stars rounded up to 4! Ending was so cruel for me but I know it was necessary and right conclusion for this kind of bloody story!
This book is not for everyone. But if you want it darker, surely the author gives you the flame. Well done! Salute!
Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing for sharing this provoking, mind bending, amazing ARC COPY with me in exchange my pure honest review and thanks to the over imaginative, pure dark and realistic mind of Christina Dalcher for creating one of the most controversial books of 2020. I cannot wait to read more works of her.
April 3, 2021
Elena Fairchild is a teacher at an exclusive "Silver" school - where the best of the best students go.
I have too strong a survival instinct. Always have.
The new educational system (Silver schools for the smartest, Green for the middle and Yellow for the bottom-tier students) has been in place for a while now.
Elena somewhat supported it but...has had her doubts for a while now but her husband is a staunch supporter. He's partly responsible for the new tiered system for education in the US.
The system is supposed to prevent educational resources from going to the undeserving.
Elena's eldest daughter goes to a silver high school and her nine-year-old goes to a "green" school. But the monthly tests can bring anybody down a level at any time.
This is all supposed to be good for the children. Good for the families. Good for society.Then the unthinkable happens to her family.
Elena's youngest daughter fails one of the monthly tests and is demoted to a yellow school.
And just like that, the daughter is shipped off to the only yellow school in Kansas. No phone calls. No visits home. She's just gone.
The words "no child left behind" take on fresh, terrible meaning. It's impossible to leave a child behind if the child doesn't exist.Elena wants her daughter back. And she will stop at nothing to get her.
I had kind of an idea of how this book was going to go thanks to reading Dalcher's first book (Vox) but whew. I was not prepared for this level of TENSION.
I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The sheer amount of stress that Dalcher made me go through was absolutely perfect.
The characters worked quite well in this book. I loved Elena. She provided a great perspective and her family really rounded out her character.
Her husband was absolutely awful in the best way possible. I loved to hate him.
The premise for this world felt mostly believable and grounded though I feel like there were a few moments that was a leap (i.e. how was there not more resisted? And how was it such a secret?).
I definitely believed the premise but...it felt like it had a few holes in it that were distracting.
From what I can tell, this one is set in the modern era. So to have such a contained secret involving so many people's children in a world full of cell phones and the omnipresent social media...I just felt like there needed to be more of an explanation behind the how-this-can-happen.
The ending snapped upon me really quickly and while I feel like it worked, it felt like it happened really quickly.
Overall, I really did enjoy this one and oh my gosh. I can't wait to see what she writes next!!
A huge thank you to Berkley and the author for sending a free copy in exchange for an honest review
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January 19, 2020
Thank you to #GoodreadGiveaways, Berkley Publishing Group and Christina Dalcher for the ARC!
4 Stars
Prepare to be terrified!
Can you imagine a time when the future of every child is categorized based on a person’s Q (Quotient) Score? Score high and the world is your oyster, score low and boom� your descent happens instantaneously like you’re on the Tower of Terror!
Growing up, Elena never imagined that the plans she and Malcolm Fairchild outlined would become the framework for our government. If only Elena could turn back time..
Now married, with two children, Elena and Malcolm are on different sides of this extremely difficult agenda. Anna is an outstanding student with the best Q score, while Freddie has an extremely low Q. Freddie just failed her most recent exam and has received a yellow card and will be shipped off to a boarding school in Kansas on the next bus. As a Government Official, Malcolm is supportive of this outcome, while Elena, a Teacher at an Elite Green School, is not, yet doing something to help Freddie would take extremely drastic measures.
You know what they say about drastic times..
To say that Christina Dalcher’s writing astounds me is not enough. The fact is, I cannot do this novel justice. I simply adore her writing. A follow up to “Vox� - I had no idea what I was in for reading “Master Class� all I can say is that it was worth the wait.
In “Master Class� by Christina Dalcher, all is not as it seems. Admittedly, this book gave me pause for a myriad of reasons. The themes in this novel include: Family, love, liberty and equality, empowerment, women’s rights and the need to speak up when we are made and/or told not to, I could go on and on. This novel is utterly terrifying, brilliant, and shocking to boot. While I didn’t quite love it as much as “Vox,� - it has so many themes that vex and trouble and it will sit with me for quite a while. I commend Ms. Dalcher for consistently writing novels that niggle at the reader and make them think and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next.
This was a fabulous buddy read with Kaceey that really got us talking!
Published on ŷ on 1.12.20.
4 Stars
Prepare to be terrified!
Can you imagine a time when the future of every child is categorized based on a person’s Q (Quotient) Score? Score high and the world is your oyster, score low and boom� your descent happens instantaneously like you’re on the Tower of Terror!
Growing up, Elena never imagined that the plans she and Malcolm Fairchild outlined would become the framework for our government. If only Elena could turn back time..
Now married, with two children, Elena and Malcolm are on different sides of this extremely difficult agenda. Anna is an outstanding student with the best Q score, while Freddie has an extremely low Q. Freddie just failed her most recent exam and has received a yellow card and will be shipped off to a boarding school in Kansas on the next bus. As a Government Official, Malcolm is supportive of this outcome, while Elena, a Teacher at an Elite Green School, is not, yet doing something to help Freddie would take extremely drastic measures.
You know what they say about drastic times..
To say that Christina Dalcher’s writing astounds me is not enough. The fact is, I cannot do this novel justice. I simply adore her writing. A follow up to “Vox� - I had no idea what I was in for reading “Master Class� all I can say is that it was worth the wait.
In “Master Class� by Christina Dalcher, all is not as it seems. Admittedly, this book gave me pause for a myriad of reasons. The themes in this novel include: Family, love, liberty and equality, empowerment, women’s rights and the need to speak up when we are made and/or told not to, I could go on and on. This novel is utterly terrifying, brilliant, and shocking to boot. While I didn’t quite love it as much as “Vox,� - it has so many themes that vex and trouble and it will sit with me for quite a while. I commend Ms. Dalcher for consistently writing novels that niggle at the reader and make them think and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next.
This was a fabulous buddy read with Kaceey that really got us talking!
Published on ŷ on 1.12.20.
January 12, 2020
3.75*
An insightful, thought-provoking dystopian thriller.
Christina Dalcher became a household name with her release of the highly controversial book Vox! It lit the world of dystopian book readers on fire. Now she’s back with her newest offering that will once again have everyone buzzing!
So…how would you feel about living in a world where everyone is perfect? And I do mean everyone! You will be defined and judged purely by your Q score.
Everyone fortunate enough to have a Q over nine will enjoy the finer things in life. Best jobs, neighborhoods, no long lines for anything. BUT…If you should dip below a 9? Well, let’s just say your life becomes rather difficult.
As for the children, their fate is even worse. Should you drop too far below that desirable Q of nine, you’ll be issued a dreaded yellow card and whisked off to a state-run school. And trust me, NO ONE wants that card!
I treasure my heart-thumping dystopian thrillers, with unpredictable future scenarios to scare me half to death! That’s exactly what was delivered in the first half of this book. Then it seemed to drift off somewhat...
There’s a strong message infused throughout this book! One that needs to be told.
But on the fine line between sharing that message and writing a purely dystopian thriller...the thriller side took a backseat.
Did this latest thriller have the impact that Vox provided? For me...no. But Christina Dalcher is a brilliant novelist and I'm still looking forward to her next release.
A buddy read with Susanne.
Thank you to Elisha at Berkley Publishing (and Susanne) for an ARC to read and review.
An insightful, thought-provoking dystopian thriller.
Christina Dalcher became a household name with her release of the highly controversial book Vox! It lit the world of dystopian book readers on fire. Now she’s back with her newest offering that will once again have everyone buzzing!
So…how would you feel about living in a world where everyone is perfect? And I do mean everyone! You will be defined and judged purely by your Q score.
Everyone fortunate enough to have a Q over nine will enjoy the finer things in life. Best jobs, neighborhoods, no long lines for anything. BUT…If you should dip below a 9? Well, let’s just say your life becomes rather difficult.
As for the children, their fate is even worse. Should you drop too far below that desirable Q of nine, you’ll be issued a dreaded yellow card and whisked off to a state-run school. And trust me, NO ONE wants that card!
I treasure my heart-thumping dystopian thrillers, with unpredictable future scenarios to scare me half to death! That’s exactly what was delivered in the first half of this book. Then it seemed to drift off somewhat...
There’s a strong message infused throughout this book! One that needs to be told.
But on the fine line between sharing that message and writing a purely dystopian thriller...the thriller side took a backseat.
Did this latest thriller have the impact that Vox provided? For me...no. But Christina Dalcher is a brilliant novelist and I'm still looking forward to her next release.
A buddy read with Susanne.
Thank you to Elisha at Berkley Publishing (and Susanne) for an ARC to read and review.
May 24, 2020
Eye rollingly lame.
For a dystopia to work it needs to either be so far from possible that it's basically fantasy or close enough to possible to be believable. This one failed both ways, although it was supposed to be some sort of cautionary tale of what could happen. Plus, there was such a corniness to it all. I mean, come on, they were taking people's children away and sending them to "farms"? So, they recommended that you have a last great day with them before they have to go. Take them to do all their favorite things and see all their favorite people!
At least they can visit all their old pets.
So lame.
Plus, the old wise lady who was conveniently a first-hand witness to the Holocaust tells the "how to boil a frog" story. Puleaze! That story is more played than the definition of insanity.
Our protagonist is basically Serena from The Handmaid's Tale. She is married to the guy in charge of this ridiculous system in which children are "graded" and sent to schools according to the Q levels - a rating system. Her past unfolds in occasional chapters to show that she is basically an asshole who wanted to make all the cool kids pay for being cooler than her. She helped set-up this system, but now regrets it because her youngest daughter is not cutting it.
At the start we find out she hates her husband because he plays favorites with the older daughter and disregards the younger. She's way better than him! The horrible monster!
until.....
She abandons the older daughter for the younger one. Her husband is such a cruel monster that she is a bit afraid of him, but hey, the older daughter will be fine being left alone with dad. Kids are way less vulnerable than adults, right?
I didn't relate to this woman at all. She did not come off as a real person at all, but as a book character. You know what I mean? Someone who popped into existence with a backstory and personality that was very inconsistent.
As for the idea that there would be a faction out there that would possibly be interested in this kind of school set-up? It also makes no sense. That was the brilliance of The Handmaid's Tale. There was a believable, but terrifying idea that extreme groups would want to set-up a world that uses twisted takes on the bible to enslave women. But, there is no group that would want ratings on kids that could get them 'sent to the farms'. The extreme right would never allow their kids to be taken away. They often homeschool and believe in parental rights ahead of government rights. The extreme left thinks the government needs to protect children ahead of parental rights, but they would never allow the obvious discrimination in this rating system. Plus, and most importantly, let's face it - we Americans couldn't even make it through a quarantine to protect ourselves and others against death because our freedom was being jeopardized. Do we really seem like the kind of people who would let the government take our kids away if they fail math?
Because of this I never felt that disturbing fear that something like this could be possible. Instead I just rolled my eyes and even laughed at the ridiculousness a few times.
For a dystopia to work it needs to either be so far from possible that it's basically fantasy or close enough to possible to be believable. This one failed both ways, although it was supposed to be some sort of cautionary tale of what could happen. Plus, there was such a corniness to it all. I mean, come on, they were taking people's children away and sending them to "farms"? So, they recommended that you have a last great day with them before they have to go. Take them to do all their favorite things and see all their favorite people!
At least they can visit all their old pets.
So lame.
Plus, the old wise lady who was conveniently a first-hand witness to the Holocaust tells the "how to boil a frog" story. Puleaze! That story is more played than the definition of insanity.
Our protagonist is basically Serena from The Handmaid's Tale. She is married to the guy in charge of this ridiculous system in which children are "graded" and sent to schools according to the Q levels - a rating system. Her past unfolds in occasional chapters to show that she is basically an asshole who wanted to make all the cool kids pay for being cooler than her. She helped set-up this system, but now regrets it because her youngest daughter is not cutting it.
At the start we find out she hates her husband because he plays favorites with the older daughter and disregards the younger. She's way better than him! The horrible monster!
until.....
She abandons the older daughter for the younger one. Her husband is such a cruel monster that she is a bit afraid of him, but hey, the older daughter will be fine being left alone with dad. Kids are way less vulnerable than adults, right?
I didn't relate to this woman at all. She did not come off as a real person at all, but as a book character. You know what I mean? Someone who popped into existence with a backstory and personality that was very inconsistent.
As for the idea that there would be a faction out there that would possibly be interested in this kind of school set-up? It also makes no sense. That was the brilliance of The Handmaid's Tale. There was a believable, but terrifying idea that extreme groups would want to set-up a world that uses twisted takes on the bible to enslave women. But, there is no group that would want ratings on kids that could get them 'sent to the farms'. The extreme right would never allow their kids to be taken away. They often homeschool and believe in parental rights ahead of government rights. The extreme left thinks the government needs to protect children ahead of parental rights, but they would never allow the obvious discrimination in this rating system. Plus, and most importantly, let's face it - we Americans couldn't even make it through a quarantine to protect ourselves and others against death because our freedom was being jeopardized. Do we really seem like the kind of people who would let the government take our kids away if they fail math?
Because of this I never felt that disturbing fear that something like this could be possible. Instead I just rolled my eyes and even laughed at the ridiculousness a few times.
May 28, 2020
My reviews can also be seen at:
4.5 Stars!!!
�It started with fear, and it ended with laws�
Elena Fairchild has a very busy morning. She has nine alarms set to make sure that her daughters don’t miss their school bus.
The first Friday of every month every person of school or working age is given a test that will calculate or recalculate their "Quotient" or "Q". Today is the second testing day of the school year. Elena's daughter, Anne is very confident and has no worries about testing. But Elena's nine-year-old daughter, Freddie is extremely anxious about the test. A high Q means a secure future. A low Q means a student's choices are very limited.
Elena’s husband, Malcolm works for the Department of Education and helps write the laws that enforce the rules. He’s the man who invented the Tier System and the Q Rankings and pushed their importance. But he didn’t do it alone.
These changes were supposed to be good for everyone. Children, family, and society. At first, the new policies were pushed against. But eventually�
Elena had thought her Oma was exaggerating when she talked about the past. Now she thinks of Moira Campbell from down the street. She thinks of the grey women with clipboards who search the neighborhood for “unfit� families.
Now the worst has happened.
Elena talks to Malcolm but he can’t or won’t help. She doesn’t know what to do. She feels hopeless. Her grandmother warned her. “Don’t let her go to that…place.� But what could Elena do? It’s the law!
Elena knows she has to do something. She thinks of the other things her grandmother said and she makes a plan...
Wow! This was a thought-provoking and powerful read!
Just like the author’s previous novel, “Vox� some of what happened in this novel is terrifyingly possible. Of course, it’s still a fiction book. Some parts may be unrealistic, but it is inspired by a dark and horrifying reality.
When the author was asked what this book was going to be about she said: �I’m writing a nonhistorical fiction about eugenics experiencing a renaissance here in the United States.� In her letter to readers at the beginning of the novel, Christina Dalcher gives some facts about the history of eugenics that are shocking but true. This had me Googling for hours searching eugenics, Better Baby contests, state schools, and more.
I read this in just a couple of sittings. I was gripped from the start but did find that it dragged a little in the middle. There was a lot of information (though it was good information). However, it wasn't long before it picked up again and I was completely engrossed for the rest of the book.
Christina Dalcher has written another novel that fascinated, entertained, and terrified me.
I can’t wait for more!!!!
I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
March 13, 2020
I don’t often read science fiction. But I can really appreciate a well done dystopian book that has a premise taken from the current state of affairs. Master Class proposes a world where a child’s future is totally based on a standardized measurement, their Quotient. This score acts as a caste system, determining education and job possibilities. It doesn’t take into account other strengths, such as artistic ability. Or even the concept that a person might be a genius in one area but not all. Or God forbid, somewhere on the autism scale. It’s the exact opposite of The No Child Left Behind premise. This is Eugenics 2.0.
I did wonder if I was the only one that saw a similarity between the head of the Dept of Education in the book and Betsy DeVos. In the book, Elena’s husband works for this Betsy DeVos takeoff and fully supports the party line. So much so, that when his younger daughter’s Q number slips, he’s willing to just let her go. But Elena is not. But then she’s faced with a Sophie’s choice type of dilemma.
This book is scary and depressing. It was one of those books I had to keep putting down because it was freaking me out. Malcolm, the husband, made me cringe. How he could turn against his younger daughter is just appalling.
The book also points out how often we, as people, are willing to turn a blind eye to something until it affects us personally.
I didn’t read Vox, but having finished Master Class I definitely want to go back and read it. Dalcher has that unique ability to take a premise and draw it out to its scary future possibility. This book raises some truly meaningful questions.
My thanks to netgalley and Berkley for an advance copy of this book.
I did wonder if I was the only one that saw a similarity between the head of the Dept of Education in the book and Betsy DeVos. In the book, Elena’s husband works for this Betsy DeVos takeoff and fully supports the party line. So much so, that when his younger daughter’s Q number slips, he’s willing to just let her go. But Elena is not. But then she’s faced with a Sophie’s choice type of dilemma.
This book is scary and depressing. It was one of those books I had to keep putting down because it was freaking me out. Malcolm, the husband, made me cringe. How he could turn against his younger daughter is just appalling.
The book also points out how often we, as people, are willing to turn a blind eye to something until it affects us personally.
I didn’t read Vox, but having finished Master Class I definitely want to go back and read it. Dalcher has that unique ability to take a premise and draw it out to its scary future possibility. This book raises some truly meaningful questions.
My thanks to netgalley and Berkley for an advance copy of this book.
May 12, 2021
She was right. By the time the Fitter Family Campaign turned ten years old, they were holding Best Baby Contests in every single state. The motives were different, but each of them united together in a sickening solidarity. Middle America was tired of what they called underprivileged overbreeders; the Boston Brahmins wanted schools that focused resources on their own child prodigies (although even the champagne communists voiced their concerns about overpopulation—they just voiced them in their penthouse salons); the baby brigade worried over allergies, autism, a growing list of syndromes. Everyone wanted something new, some solution, a reason to feel safe about their little wedge of the human race pie in a country that would see skyrocketing population numbers in another generation.In a near-future America, your place in society is controlled by your Q score, a constantly recalculated number that seems to be a combination of your GPA and credit score on steroids. The novel focuses primarily on the school system, where a great score means admission to the best schools and where a slide into a mediocre score sends you to a state vocational boarding school far from home. Elena Fairchild helped create this system, and while she’s clearly soured on it, she’s stayed silent about it until the long-feared day when her youngest daughter gets ticketed for the dreaded yellow school bus....
...
“You should have studied history, you bitch. Don’t you know it repeats itself?�
I’m not going to spoil what lies at the heart of Q/Master Class (the novel has a different title in different countries); it’s a slow reveal though it’s not exactly a surprise. But even aside from that point, there are a lot of critiques of contemporary America in this novel. Of the obsession with standardized testing, and the pressure it places on both students and teachers. Of those who silently help prop up unfair social systems until the system personally harms them. Of how Americans risk repeating mistakes from the past because we are so ignorant of not just world history, but even US history.
The reader is dropped into an extreme, improbable future that is being used to highlight what’s wrong in the here and now. Often these school-based dystopian novels are told from the kids� perspectives with the kids as the protagonists, so telling this novel from a mother’s perspective is a bit unusual. And once Elena makes up her mind to rescue Freddie, her mama bear powers know no bounds. Like Ms. Dalcher’s debut novel , Q/Master Class is not subtle. Still, it’s an entertaining, propulsive story that will quickly draw you in.
May 9, 2020
Terrifying and thought-provoking. Christina Dalcher has once again written a disturbing and way too realistic tale. Imagine a world where a person’s worth is measured by a single score a quotient or Q. Your queue is determined by your intelligence, your families status, and your financial standing. Have a high Q, as a child you will attend an elite silver school and received the best education followed by the most desired career opportunities have a low Q, as a child you will be shipped off to a federal boarding school and what happens after that is anyone’s guess. Elena would have never thought this system of categorizing people by intelligence that she dreamed up with her boyfriend Malcolm in high school would ever be utilized by the entire country. It was all good when it meant that the popular cheerleader had to go to the end of the lunch line. But now that her younger daughter is being shipped off to a federal boarding school, Elena is not so sure. Determined to save her daughter Elena heads out on a journey of self discovery, hard decisions, and terrifying revelations.
This is one of those books that really makes you think, I think it would be great for book club. Could you leave one child behind to save the other? Or how your perception is often altered when things directly impact you or your family. Would Elena ever see this categorizing process as evil if it didn’t negatively affect her own daughter? There is also a strong theme of history repeating itself running through the story. While this was not the most entertaining book I’ve ever read and I don’t think I necessarily connected with any of the characters it sure held me captivated from first page to last.
This book in emojis 💻 🚌 🧬 ✏️ 👩� 🤔
*** Big thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
This is one of those books that really makes you think, I think it would be great for book club. Could you leave one child behind to save the other? Or how your perception is often altered when things directly impact you or your family. Would Elena ever see this categorizing process as evil if it didn’t negatively affect her own daughter? There is also a strong theme of history repeating itself running through the story. While this was not the most entertaining book I’ve ever read and I don’t think I necessarily connected with any of the characters it sure held me captivated from first page to last.
This book in emojis 💻 🚌 🧬 ✏️ 👩� 🤔
*** Big thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
April 27, 2020
4.5 thought-provoking stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫
I really enjoyed the edgy dystopian novel Vox written by Dalcher two years ago. Master Class also visits an uncertain future time.
Oh my goodness, this book. Even the synopsis wigged me out. In the near future, every child’s potential is measured through a standardized test, referred to as their quotient (Q). If you score well, you attend a top tier school, which means more opportunities. If you don’t meet the cutoff, you are destined for a federal school where the outcomes are fewer and less advantageous.
Why is society doing this? To decrease funding for education by focusing only on the students with supposedly “brighter� futures. So, the privileged become more privileged and gaps between groups widen. Oh, and did you know that kids are tested regularly, and they can drop and have to move between schools at any time? Talk about the pressure.
Elena is a teacher at one of the top schools, and her nine year old daughter is sent away to a federal boarding school because of that exact scenario. And Elena wants her daughter back. She’s going to make it happen, too, no matter the costs.
This was such a thoughtful examination of so many things. Class differences, educational differences, privilege, I could go on and on. The pressure here is terrifying and immense, and while it’s a few jumps from the pressures kids receive today from testing, it isn’t that completely far fetched in my mind either.
Overall, this book scared me to death and offered so much thought and insight. Christina Dalcher writes books that encourage us to talk, listen, discuss, learn, and grow, and for that I’m grateful.
I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: and instagram:
I really enjoyed the edgy dystopian novel Vox written by Dalcher two years ago. Master Class also visits an uncertain future time.
Oh my goodness, this book. Even the synopsis wigged me out. In the near future, every child’s potential is measured through a standardized test, referred to as their quotient (Q). If you score well, you attend a top tier school, which means more opportunities. If you don’t meet the cutoff, you are destined for a federal school where the outcomes are fewer and less advantageous.
Why is society doing this? To decrease funding for education by focusing only on the students with supposedly “brighter� futures. So, the privileged become more privileged and gaps between groups widen. Oh, and did you know that kids are tested regularly, and they can drop and have to move between schools at any time? Talk about the pressure.
Elena is a teacher at one of the top schools, and her nine year old daughter is sent away to a federal boarding school because of that exact scenario. And Elena wants her daughter back. She’s going to make it happen, too, no matter the costs.
This was such a thoughtful examination of so many things. Class differences, educational differences, privilege, I could go on and on. The pressure here is terrifying and immense, and while it’s a few jumps from the pressures kids receive today from testing, it isn’t that completely far fetched in my mind either.
Overall, this book scared me to death and offered so much thought and insight. Christina Dalcher writes books that encourage us to talk, listen, discuss, learn, and grow, and for that I’m grateful.
I received a gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: and instagram:
April 23, 2020
3.5 A shameful and part of America's history rears its ugly head and is taken to extremes. Although this is not something I learned from history textbooks, I have read many books about this since I was out of school. It is the best future and now everything is monitored by Q scores. Scores which measure ones IQ, but also includes other socioeconomic indicators, family members performance, and the positions they hold in the work force.
A creepy read that insidiously leads to a family, a family that is considered golden. That is until the unexpected happens and their youngest daughter is caught up in the system to her detriment. What will a mother do to save her child? What would it be like to have a world where only the top tier matter?
I liked the ending, was a very different one from the one I was expecting. Not all neatly tied into a happily ever after scenario. A very interesting, thought provoking read? Can it happen here? Again or have we learned our lesson? Somehow I doubt it.
ARC from Netgalley.
A creepy read that insidiously leads to a family, a family that is considered golden. That is until the unexpected happens and their youngest daughter is caught up in the system to her detriment. What will a mother do to save her child? What would it be like to have a world where only the top tier matter?
I liked the ending, was a very different one from the one I was expecting. Not all neatly tied into a happily ever after scenario. A very interesting, thought provoking read? Can it happen here? Again or have we learned our lesson? Somehow I doubt it.
ARC from Netgalley.
April 27, 2020
3.5 stars
Master Class explores what happens when the government divides people up by measuring their quotient (Q). The idea is to improve society by putting the focus on more "promising" children. I loved the premise of the story here, and it certainly got me thinking about some things; however, I would have liked there to have been more grey areas to the story to provoke the thoughts I wanted to have.
There are always two sides to everyone's story, and our main character here, Elena, seems like she has it all together until her daughter's Q scores drop. She starts to see the other side here, and things turn a little darker then I expected here in the story. Christina Dalcher does a great job weaving some dark realities of the past with the reality happening in the story. As well as some future realities here for us today; however, I did feel things have more thriller elements to the story to make me question if any of this could happen.
I was hoping to have my heartstrings pulled a little more here with the dynamics between the characters. I wanted to feel Elena's desperation for her daughter, and that was missing for me to make any connections to the characters. Instead, I felt horror over the way some things played out.
Overall I enjoyed the thriller elements to the story and liked I was shocked with horror, and the biggest question I was left with was "what is wrong with me for liking that." lol
I received a copy from the publisher.
Master Class explores what happens when the government divides people up by measuring their quotient (Q). The idea is to improve society by putting the focus on more "promising" children. I loved the premise of the story here, and it certainly got me thinking about some things; however, I would have liked there to have been more grey areas to the story to provoke the thoughts I wanted to have.
There are always two sides to everyone's story, and our main character here, Elena, seems like she has it all together until her daughter's Q scores drop. She starts to see the other side here, and things turn a little darker then I expected here in the story. Christina Dalcher does a great job weaving some dark realities of the past with the reality happening in the story. As well as some future realities here for us today; however, I did feel things have more thriller elements to the story to make me question if any of this could happen.
I was hoping to have my heartstrings pulled a little more here with the dynamics between the characters. I wanted to feel Elena's desperation for her daughter, and that was missing for me to make any connections to the characters. Instead, I felt horror over the way some things played out.
Overall I enjoyed the thriller elements to the story and liked I was shocked with horror, and the biggest question I was left with was "what is wrong with me for liking that." lol
I received a copy from the publisher.
February 24, 2021
It took a long time for me to get , another novel by out of my head when reading this. It just felt all too similar in terms of characters and themes. However by the end I was able to recognise it as it's own novel but still didn't fall in love with it.
March 17, 2025
I received an uncorrected proof copy of Q (titled Master Class in the US), in exchange for an honest review.
And honest I shall be...
This is the second book written by Christina Dalcher. I read her first book, VOX, last year and unfortunately I really didn't enjoy it. My spoiler-filled, and equally loathsome, review for that can be found here: /review/show...
I was initially going to pass on reading this because of my bad experience with VOX, but I was interested to see how (and if) Dalcher's writing and storytelling had developed.
This review will reference VOX fairly often, but I hope to make my points clearly enough so as not to have made it necessary to have read it to understand my criticisms.
In addition I shall add that you may even prefer this book if you haven't read VOX, because at their core they are ostensibly the same book. I shall break it down.
Spoiler-free Story Overview:
Q is the story of Elena Fairchild - a teacher at an elite school, and her family.
A recent mandate has swept the country that is all about striving for "perfection".
Everyone must undergo routine tests for their quotient, Q, and any child who doesn't measure up is transferred to new government schools, so that teachers may focus on the gifted and the perfect.
When one of Elena's daughter's Q scores takes a dive she is taken away and Elena does what she can to get her back.
I shall start by saying that the writing itself, whilst I still think it a far cry from "great", has improved somewhat since the last book.
There aren't half as many confusing tangents or ill-fitting scenes pasted throughout the book. I found it easy to read quickly, which I appreciated.
Take that as you will.
VOX was a short story that was padded out and sold as a full length novel at the perfect time. It had some themes and not-so-subtle complaints and criticisms about the then current state of affairs in the US, and it found it's market amongst people who were looking for more 'Handmaid's Tale' type stories.
Q, however, is just a lazy re-skinning of the same plot, characters, messages and themes of VOX with the names swapped out and the central idea being based around the education system, rather than women's rights and linguistics.
There are far too many similarities to write about them all, but I shall compile a key few of them into concise bullet points:
� The 'Pure Movement' is now the 'Fitter Family Campaign'. Badges, figurehead, iconography and all.
� Instead of the Italian sub-plot we saw in VOX, we have the German one here in Q.
� It features the same bland, first person POV, from a mother of a nuclear family. Highly educated and very middle class. No deviation at all, to the point that they could have been the same character.
� A husband who works for the government, who is almost directly credited for the new system being implemented and enforced. Half of a very unhappy marriage. Patrick or Malcolm, you ask? Same difference. They both have offices that both hide crucial information on locked computers that both of our protagonists end up stealing at one point in the story.
� Our protagonists also both have a child who is indoctrinated by the new system(s), who both end up realising that oppression is bad! Aren't they smart? Steven and Anne play exactly the same roles as far as I could see.
BONUS SIMILARITY:
� Dalcher also seems to be somewhat fixated on the usage of the word "it". Her distain for the word appears in both books in exactly the same fashion, although thankfully less so here.
I have a two other key complaints:
1) It is mentioned that the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities and those that suffer with mental health issues are specificallytargeted groups of society under this new and oppressive mandate. But, not giving them any voice or representation past a single token lesbian character, who has no role within the context of the story, I found to be shameful.
Instead we again see what a hard time the straight, middle-class, highly educated, white woman (who somehow caused these systems to be rolled out in the first place) had when dealing with the repercussions.
If an author "cares" enough to acknowledge the struggle these groups face, why not do something to accommodate for them in their own story? It comes across as "fake-woke" to mention it and then to leave it alone. Instead they'd sooner write from inside their own little bubble of understanding. Only giving voice to those they can relate to personally. Anyway.
2) Less importantly, but still frustratingly, the insertion and active acknowledgment of one-sentence coincidences that have absolutely no relevance to anything at any point... Why? Why?! An example of this being a character called Dr. Mender, who's job it is to do what amounts to the opposite of "mending" his patients... What's the point in pointing out that "coincidence"?! Or even writing it in in the first place?!
There were elements that I thought were OK. The parallel timelines and flashbacks were well done, although I DID find it to be a little heavy handed to start each flashback with...
"THEN:"
Give us some credit! We can immediately see that this is the past.
But the story these flashbacks told were one of the more interesting arcs: Elena and her days in school, when she was the reject and the nerd that everyone pushed around and how, under these newly emerging rules and structures, she became a bully and a snob. Bitter and shallow.
Now I know what you're thinking, and admittedly, this is not normally what you look for in a main character, but I'd honestly take it over the bland, boring and two-dimensional version of herself that she becomes as she gets older.
I shall end this critique here. I have pages and pages of notes, but I really don't wish to spend any more time thinking about this book than I already have.
However "troubling" or "scary" the premise, the execution was far from it. I wasn't invested, hooked or emotionally moved at any point, and the blatant usage of the same storytelling framework as the previous novel comes across as extremely lazy.
Thank you again to the publisher, Harper Collins, for sending me a free copy of Q and giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts on it, particularly after my 1 star review of VOX. I am sad to be giving this one the same.
I honestly hope that others end up enjoying this more than I did.
Personally, I shan't be so optimistic about the next derivative excuse of a book from this author, and I am sure that I won't be reading it.
_________________________
Thank you for taking the time to read my review.
If nothing else this book has succeeded in making me very excited to read ANY other book. But luckily for me I am finally going to start Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson next!
Onward and upward!
Happy reading, folks!
And honest I shall be...
This is the second book written by Christina Dalcher. I read her first book, VOX, last year and unfortunately I really didn't enjoy it. My spoiler-filled, and equally loathsome, review for that can be found here: /review/show...
I was initially going to pass on reading this because of my bad experience with VOX, but I was interested to see how (and if) Dalcher's writing and storytelling had developed.
This review will reference VOX fairly often, but I hope to make my points clearly enough so as not to have made it necessary to have read it to understand my criticisms.
In addition I shall add that you may even prefer this book if you haven't read VOX, because at their core they are ostensibly the same book. I shall break it down.
Spoiler-free Story Overview:
Q is the story of Elena Fairchild - a teacher at an elite school, and her family.
A recent mandate has swept the country that is all about striving for "perfection".
Everyone must undergo routine tests for their quotient, Q, and any child who doesn't measure up is transferred to new government schools, so that teachers may focus on the gifted and the perfect.
When one of Elena's daughter's Q scores takes a dive she is taken away and Elena does what she can to get her back.
I shall start by saying that the writing itself, whilst I still think it a far cry from "great", has improved somewhat since the last book.
There aren't half as many confusing tangents or ill-fitting scenes pasted throughout the book. I found it easy to read quickly, which I appreciated.
Take that as you will.
VOX was a short story that was padded out and sold as a full length novel at the perfect time. It had some themes and not-so-subtle complaints and criticisms about the then current state of affairs in the US, and it found it's market amongst people who were looking for more 'Handmaid's Tale' type stories.
Q, however, is just a lazy re-skinning of the same plot, characters, messages and themes of VOX with the names swapped out and the central idea being based around the education system, rather than women's rights and linguistics.
There are far too many similarities to write about them all, but I shall compile a key few of them into concise bullet points:
� The 'Pure Movement' is now the 'Fitter Family Campaign'. Badges, figurehead, iconography and all.
� Instead of the Italian sub-plot we saw in VOX, we have the German one here in Q.
� It features the same bland, first person POV, from a mother of a nuclear family. Highly educated and very middle class. No deviation at all, to the point that they could have been the same character.
� A husband who works for the government, who is almost directly credited for the new system being implemented and enforced. Half of a very unhappy marriage. Patrick or Malcolm, you ask? Same difference. They both have offices that both hide crucial information on locked computers that both of our protagonists end up stealing at one point in the story.
� Our protagonists also both have a child who is indoctrinated by the new system(s), who both end up realising that oppression is bad! Aren't they smart? Steven and Anne play exactly the same roles as far as I could see.
BONUS SIMILARITY:
� Dalcher also seems to be somewhat fixated on the usage of the word "it". Her distain for the word appears in both books in exactly the same fashion, although thankfully less so here.
I have a two other key complaints:
1) It is mentioned that the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities and those that suffer with mental health issues are specificallytargeted groups of society under this new and oppressive mandate. But, not giving them any voice or representation past a single token lesbian character, who has no role within the context of the story, I found to be shameful.
Instead we again see what a hard time the straight, middle-class, highly educated, white woman (who somehow caused these systems to be rolled out in the first place) had when dealing with the repercussions.
If an author "cares" enough to acknowledge the struggle these groups face, why not do something to accommodate for them in their own story? It comes across as "fake-woke" to mention it and then to leave it alone. Instead they'd sooner write from inside their own little bubble of understanding. Only giving voice to those they can relate to personally. Anyway.
2) Less importantly, but still frustratingly, the insertion and active acknowledgment of one-sentence coincidences that have absolutely no relevance to anything at any point... Why? Why?! An example of this being a character called Dr. Mender, who's job it is to do what amounts to the opposite of "mending" his patients... What's the point in pointing out that "coincidence"?! Or even writing it in in the first place?!
There were elements that I thought were OK. The parallel timelines and flashbacks were well done, although I DID find it to be a little heavy handed to start each flashback with...
"THEN:"
Give us some credit! We can immediately see that this is the past.
But the story these flashbacks told were one of the more interesting arcs: Elena and her days in school, when she was the reject and the nerd that everyone pushed around and how, under these newly emerging rules and structures, she became a bully and a snob. Bitter and shallow.
Now I know what you're thinking, and admittedly, this is not normally what you look for in a main character, but I'd honestly take it over the bland, boring and two-dimensional version of herself that she becomes as she gets older.
I shall end this critique here. I have pages and pages of notes, but I really don't wish to spend any more time thinking about this book than I already have.
However "troubling" or "scary" the premise, the execution was far from it. I wasn't invested, hooked or emotionally moved at any point, and the blatant usage of the same storytelling framework as the previous novel comes across as extremely lazy.
Thank you again to the publisher, Harper Collins, for sending me a free copy of Q and giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts on it, particularly after my 1 star review of VOX. I am sad to be giving this one the same.
I honestly hope that others end up enjoying this more than I did.
Personally, I shan't be so optimistic about the next derivative excuse of a book from this author, and I am sure that I won't be reading it.
_________________________
Thank you for taking the time to read my review.
If nothing else this book has succeeded in making me very excited to read ANY other book. But luckily for me I am finally going to start Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson next!
Onward and upward!
Happy reading, folks!
August 29, 2020
Q determines everything. You gain Q with academic success and can potentially lose it in every other area of your life. Lateness, illness, and disorderly behaviour are just three such examples. Q segregates the 'elite' into their own schools and affects future potential housing areas, job roles, and even where and when you can shop for your groceries. Families become reliant on each other following the rules to safeguard their own Q and so an infallible system is created, which keeps the population dependent and compliant, and so easily assessed and managed.
Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the top-tier silver schools, which trains those with near-perfect Q scores for their definitely-perfect futures. She is the wife of one of Q's creators and greatest advocates and a mother to one teenager who thrives inside its system. She experiences all the benefits of this newly ordered world. All bar one exception: her other daughter, Freddie. Freddie does not excel under the severe testing and stringent measures in place. Freddie worries herself to distraction and slips further away from ever gaining a high Q score until she slips away from her family as well, and is transported to a distant yellow school for the troubled and troubling.
Whilst I found this a little heavy-handed with the introduction to certain rules and the sociological insights conveyed, I also appreciated how highly realistic it felt. Dalcher created such a scarily plausible possible future here, one in which only one type of intelligence matters and so multiple queries over the future of the arts, sports, and those with other non-academic skill-sets are also consistently brought to the fore. Without an importance placed upon these other sectors a very dim future world is constructed, in which play and imagination are all but diminished, even in its youngest members. The price we pay for ordering society in such a way is heavy one, and harks back to a very dark time in humanity's recent history.
Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the top-tier silver schools, which trains those with near-perfect Q scores for their definitely-perfect futures. She is the wife of one of Q's creators and greatest advocates and a mother to one teenager who thrives inside its system. She experiences all the benefits of this newly ordered world. All bar one exception: her other daughter, Freddie. Freddie does not excel under the severe testing and stringent measures in place. Freddie worries herself to distraction and slips further away from ever gaining a high Q score until she slips away from her family as well, and is transported to a distant yellow school for the troubled and troubling.
Whilst I found this a little heavy-handed with the introduction to certain rules and the sociological insights conveyed, I also appreciated how highly realistic it felt. Dalcher created such a scarily plausible possible future here, one in which only one type of intelligence matters and so multiple queries over the future of the arts, sports, and those with other non-academic skill-sets are also consistently brought to the fore. Without an importance placed upon these other sectors a very dim future world is constructed, in which play and imagination are all but diminished, even in its youngest members. The price we pay for ordering society in such a way is heavy one, and harks back to a very dark time in humanity's recent history.
April 29, 2020
Thought-provoking, conceivable, and engrossing!
MASTER CLASS by CHRISTINA DALCHER is a terrifying, dark, creepy, and captivating dystopian thriller that was both shocking and haunting to read. The concepts that were addressed here in this book were extremely well done and felt so real to read.
I’ve read a few books now about the eugenics movement so while I was slightly familiar with this, the underlying truth to the story is what actually held my attention and scared the bejesus out of me. The horrific idea of this and the way that the author weaved her story with real historical events was absolutely brilliant.
The tension and dread slowly increases as the story progresses producing so many different emotions from me while reading. Although I wouldn’t necessarily say that the characters produced much emotional depth for me it was more the storyline in general and the overall suspense. At times I had to distance myself from some of the darkness and thinking too hard on the storyline as it is quite depressing.
I haven’t read Vox yet, but after finishing this book I most definitely will be picking it up sooner than later. I’m actually pretty excited to read it.
Thank you so much to Elisha at Berkley Pub for providing me with an ARC.
MASTER CLASS by CHRISTINA DALCHER is a terrifying, dark, creepy, and captivating dystopian thriller that was both shocking and haunting to read. The concepts that were addressed here in this book were extremely well done and felt so real to read.
I’ve read a few books now about the eugenics movement so while I was slightly familiar with this, the underlying truth to the story is what actually held my attention and scared the bejesus out of me. The horrific idea of this and the way that the author weaved her story with real historical events was absolutely brilliant.
The tension and dread slowly increases as the story progresses producing so many different emotions from me while reading. Although I wouldn’t necessarily say that the characters produced much emotional depth for me it was more the storyline in general and the overall suspense. At times I had to distance myself from some of the darkness and thinking too hard on the storyline as it is quite depressing.
I haven’t read Vox yet, but after finishing this book I most definitely will be picking it up sooner than later. I’m actually pretty excited to read it.
Thank you so much to Elisha at Berkley Pub for providing me with an ARC.
August 17, 2020
4.5 stars. Review to come!
- - - - - -
I was not a fan of Vox but I am super excited to give this author another try!
| | | | | |
October 2, 2020
Master Class is without a doubt one of the most thought-provoking, socially terrifying books I have read. Not by overt horror but through the way she crafts a society that by the end of the book doesn’t seem so far off from our own. Absolutely gripping and brilliant!
I love a good dystopian fiction novel on occasion, but I’m picky about them. If you are the type of reader who tends to find that they aren’t a good fit for you, give Master Class by Christina Dalcher a try because I can almost guarantee it will change your mind! Fascinating, gripping, and an ending that will have your mind reeling!
In the book, the country breaks all people out according to their Q score—an index of their intelligence but also certain factors about their life, such as their parent’s Q scores and jobs. Elena Fairchild is a mother to two daughters—Anne and Freddie.
All kids are assigned to a three-tiered school system depending on their Q score, and Elena’s kids are in the highest tier (a prestigious school where Elena herself teaches). Students are tested monthly, and if their score drops too low, they get dropped a tier (or very rarely two tiers) in their school. While kids can go down a level based on a bad Q score, they aren’t really able to go back up a tier based on a good score.
This premise is interesting, right? Initially on reading it, I thought a lot about the logic of it all. A system that in theory places kids in schools with others of a similar ability level, so that instruction can be most effective doesn’t sound so wild in theory. But these Q scores permeate life. They determine what jobs you can get, whether you get priority checkout at the grocery store, and what opportunities your kids have.
Elena and her husband both have high Q scores, and their elder daughter Anne is a high-performer who consistently maintains a high Q score. But their younger daughter, Freddie, is anxious and constantly struggles to maintain a passing Q score for their elite school. And then one testing day, the results come back and Freddie has bombed the test, dropping her to the lowest tier school. These schools are boarding schools halfway across the country, and their parents are only allowed very limited visits.
Elena will do anything to get Freddie back, including destroying her own life and family�
There are so many twisted and addictive plot points that unfold, where you learn more about the society and Q scores—everything from their origin to how they relate to other aspects of society. The more you learn, the more terrifying it all becomes. Dalcher draws some parallels to other aspects of our actual society and history that when you see them laid out will have your mind spinning! I really can’t say much more because this is truly something you need to read to find out all of the twists for.
Timely, unputdownable social commentary that is a must-read! The ending is sure to have your mind tied up for days thinking about it all!
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.
I love a good dystopian fiction novel on occasion, but I’m picky about them. If you are the type of reader who tends to find that they aren’t a good fit for you, give Master Class by Christina Dalcher a try because I can almost guarantee it will change your mind! Fascinating, gripping, and an ending that will have your mind reeling!
In the book, the country breaks all people out according to their Q score—an index of their intelligence but also certain factors about their life, such as their parent’s Q scores and jobs. Elena Fairchild is a mother to two daughters—Anne and Freddie.
All kids are assigned to a three-tiered school system depending on their Q score, and Elena’s kids are in the highest tier (a prestigious school where Elena herself teaches). Students are tested monthly, and if their score drops too low, they get dropped a tier (or very rarely two tiers) in their school. While kids can go down a level based on a bad Q score, they aren’t really able to go back up a tier based on a good score.
This premise is interesting, right? Initially on reading it, I thought a lot about the logic of it all. A system that in theory places kids in schools with others of a similar ability level, so that instruction can be most effective doesn’t sound so wild in theory. But these Q scores permeate life. They determine what jobs you can get, whether you get priority checkout at the grocery store, and what opportunities your kids have.
Elena and her husband both have high Q scores, and their elder daughter Anne is a high-performer who consistently maintains a high Q score. But their younger daughter, Freddie, is anxious and constantly struggles to maintain a passing Q score for their elite school. And then one testing day, the results come back and Freddie has bombed the test, dropping her to the lowest tier school. These schools are boarding schools halfway across the country, and their parents are only allowed very limited visits.
Elena will do anything to get Freddie back, including destroying her own life and family�
There are so many twisted and addictive plot points that unfold, where you learn more about the society and Q scores—everything from their origin to how they relate to other aspects of society. The more you learn, the more terrifying it all becomes. Dalcher draws some parallels to other aspects of our actual society and history that when you see them laid out will have your mind spinning! I really can’t say much more because this is truly something you need to read to find out all of the twists for.
Timely, unputdownable social commentary that is a must-read! The ending is sure to have your mind tied up for days thinking about it all!
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.
March 8, 2020
In society we are already being judged by our race, religion, class and colour, but imagine a world where you are also judged on you’re IQ. The high achievers have the best jobs and even get a special checkout at the supermarket!!
Elena is a teacher at an elite school, pupils are tested monthly and depending on their results can be moved to different schools. Elena believes in the system until her daughter Freddie fails her tests. For Freddie and for all the others who fail, there are boarding schools out of state where they are sent and parents can only visit for 30 minutes once a month.
Elena decides to fail her test so she can find her daughter and bring her home.
The story explores motherhood and what you would do to protect you’re family. An unusual twist is that her husband helped set up the system that she is now going against!!
This book had me hooked from start to finish. I read it believing this could actually happen and made me wonder how different my life would be.
I loved the use of the iconic yellow bus which to me symbolises happy school children, but in this book the yellow bus comes once a month to pick up the children, but they never return.
A thought provoking book with an ending that I wasn’t expecting.
A must read, shocking but very addictive.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.
Elena is a teacher at an elite school, pupils are tested monthly and depending on their results can be moved to different schools. Elena believes in the system until her daughter Freddie fails her tests. For Freddie and for all the others who fail, there are boarding schools out of state where they are sent and parents can only visit for 30 minutes once a month.
Elena decides to fail her test so she can find her daughter and bring her home.
The story explores motherhood and what you would do to protect you’re family. An unusual twist is that her husband helped set up the system that she is now going against!!
This book had me hooked from start to finish. I read it believing this could actually happen and made me wonder how different my life would be.
I loved the use of the iconic yellow bus which to me symbolises happy school children, but in this book the yellow bus comes once a month to pick up the children, but they never return.
A thought provoking book with an ending that I wasn’t expecting.
A must read, shocking but very addictive.
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.
May 12, 2020
Elena Fairchild is a teacher in a futuristic world where her own children are in the school system. Her husband Malcolm works for the department of education and is instrumental in overseeing change. The current system uses a standard measurement to evaluate the potential of students called the Quotient (Q). It is a standardized test score where each student's progress is calculated and measured. Those achieving high Q’s attend top tier schools with rewarding futures, and those with the lowest tests Q’s are sent to a federal boarding school.
Elena’s youngest daughter, Freddie, is nine and performed terribly on her recent test. Her Q score deteriorated so far that her parents were notified that she will be sent away to the federal boarding school. Malcolm believes in the system and feels his own family should not be exempt. Elena becomes unhinged at the thought of losing her daughter but fighting the system will lead to the end of her career and marriage.
Master Class by Christina Dalcher is a suspenseful dystopian novel. It is a thought-provoking book and raises questions and concerns about social change. The tension mounts throughout the story making it exciting to read.
Elena’s youngest daughter, Freddie, is nine and performed terribly on her recent test. Her Q score deteriorated so far that her parents were notified that she will be sent away to the federal boarding school. Malcolm believes in the system and feels his own family should not be exempt. Elena becomes unhinged at the thought of losing her daughter but fighting the system will lead to the end of her career and marriage.
Master Class by Christina Dalcher is a suspenseful dystopian novel. It is a thought-provoking book and raises questions and concerns about social change. The tension mounts throughout the story making it exciting to read.
September 11, 2024
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I am quite happy to announce I am part of the Blogger Takeover for Q by Christina Dalcher. Many thanks to Izzy and the HQ Team, for sending me an ARC copy of this book!
Elena is a teacher at one of the most prestigious schools in America. Her daughters are just like her: ambitious, smart, beautiful and perfect.
Elena is happily married to Malcolm, who is the man that is in charge in the new tier system in the country. Every month, everyone has to undergo a number of tests to determine their Q. The “Q� is a quotient that is based on every metric: genetics, IQ, social status, past history, etc. Depending on the Q number, people are split into three different tiers:
SILVER
The top tier, prestigious schools, money and social status. Always first in line for everything. Privileged. The best. Perfect. The (only) humans that America wants.
GREEN
The middle tier. Not the best, could be better. If they improve their scores, they could upgrade to silver again, but most statistics show that you can only go down from here.
YELLOW
The bottom tier. People that hop on the yellow bus are taken to the state schools, and there are rumours about the kind of places they are taken to. These people are last in line for everything.
As usual, justice boils down to how high you can keep your Q rating.
When one of Elena’s daughters fails the tests and is sent with the yellow bus, Elena makes the choice of failing the test herself on purpose, only to join her daughter. The things she is about to see and experience are worse than you could ever imagine!
My Thoughts:
Q is one of those books that is based in a fictional world, but it certainly makes you see the similarities with today’s society. It dives into a dystopian world that might as well be a future one for us, if we don’t acknowledge the fact how our society works today.
The story is told from Elena’s point of view, both in the present time and the past. As we move through the book we get to know Elena better as a mother, as a wife and as a person. I loved the fact that we were slowly finding out facts about her, sometimes as she did as well. Along that, we also get to see how her choices in the past played a huge impact into her present.
Choices don’t matter when they’ve already been made.
But I think what matters in this book is the consequences of all these people making choices, especially Elena. And sometimes, it may be too late to fix something that has gone out of control.
Elena’s perspective as a mother was very emotional in every single way. Even though I wasn’t a mother, I could still feel what Elena was feeling. I loved the fact she cared so much about Freddie, that she chose to fail her tests and get moved to the state school too. However, I also feel that she somehow left Anne out of the picture. It was as if Elena and Freddie were one team, while Anna and Malcolm were another, even before Freddie failed her test.
On the other side, we had Malcolm.
The husband, the father and also the man in charge of the tier system. A very cold human, with no remorse, no empathy, very arrogant and extremely manipulative. Watching Elena’s relationship with him reveal and uncover scenes from the past was an interesting concept I enjoyed about this book. We also had a small opportunity to find about how the two daughters felt as well. Children are able to feel something is wrong with their parents or their lives. They have their own opinions as well, that define the actions they might made. This was beautifully shown in a few scenes in the book.
It is definitely important to mention Elena’s parents and grandmother. Oma is a queen and I loved her! She made me crack up and made me cry. She made me miss my grandma a lot! Here’s to all Omas!
Christina’s writing is really admirable. She managed to tell us all the facts about life that we already know in another light. This Is something I really admired throughout the book, and here is a paragraph I really enjoyed:
Any child knows time slows down in the days before Christmas; any bride knows time speeds up during a wedding reception. And any mother knows time flies in the years after she gives birth.
It was very interesting to read a book that takes on society tiers in such an extreme way. We may not be aware, but this is happening to us on daily basis. Not to the degree as described in the book, but it is definitely going in that direction.
We get separated into groups since we are little kids in school. Someone is always picked first, and someone is always last. Then we grow up, and we think we’re past it. But before we know it, some of our friends have other friends and we get separated again, based on our work, neighbourhood, background, physical appearance, nowadays even social media status.
Even though fiction, Q still touches home, and that it why I love this book. Because it’s as real as it is fictional.
And it will hurt you to the core.
| | | | |
I am quite happy to announce I am part of the Blogger Takeover for Q by Christina Dalcher. Many thanks to Izzy and the HQ Team, for sending me an ARC copy of this book!
Elena is a teacher at one of the most prestigious schools in America. Her daughters are just like her: ambitious, smart, beautiful and perfect.
Elena is happily married to Malcolm, who is the man that is in charge in the new tier system in the country. Every month, everyone has to undergo a number of tests to determine their Q. The “Q� is a quotient that is based on every metric: genetics, IQ, social status, past history, etc. Depending on the Q number, people are split into three different tiers:
SILVER
The top tier, prestigious schools, money and social status. Always first in line for everything. Privileged. The best. Perfect. The (only) humans that America wants.
GREEN
The middle tier. Not the best, could be better. If they improve their scores, they could upgrade to silver again, but most statistics show that you can only go down from here.
YELLOW
The bottom tier. People that hop on the yellow bus are taken to the state schools, and there are rumours about the kind of places they are taken to. These people are last in line for everything.
As usual, justice boils down to how high you can keep your Q rating.
When one of Elena’s daughters fails the tests and is sent with the yellow bus, Elena makes the choice of failing the test herself on purpose, only to join her daughter. The things she is about to see and experience are worse than you could ever imagine!
My Thoughts:
Q is one of those books that is based in a fictional world, but it certainly makes you see the similarities with today’s society. It dives into a dystopian world that might as well be a future one for us, if we don’t acknowledge the fact how our society works today.
The story is told from Elena’s point of view, both in the present time and the past. As we move through the book we get to know Elena better as a mother, as a wife and as a person. I loved the fact that we were slowly finding out facts about her, sometimes as she did as well. Along that, we also get to see how her choices in the past played a huge impact into her present.
Choices don’t matter when they’ve already been made.
But I think what matters in this book is the consequences of all these people making choices, especially Elena. And sometimes, it may be too late to fix something that has gone out of control.
Elena’s perspective as a mother was very emotional in every single way. Even though I wasn’t a mother, I could still feel what Elena was feeling. I loved the fact she cared so much about Freddie, that she chose to fail her tests and get moved to the state school too. However, I also feel that she somehow left Anne out of the picture. It was as if Elena and Freddie were one team, while Anna and Malcolm were another, even before Freddie failed her test.
On the other side, we had Malcolm.
The husband, the father and also the man in charge of the tier system. A very cold human, with no remorse, no empathy, very arrogant and extremely manipulative. Watching Elena’s relationship with him reveal and uncover scenes from the past was an interesting concept I enjoyed about this book. We also had a small opportunity to find about how the two daughters felt as well. Children are able to feel something is wrong with their parents or their lives. They have their own opinions as well, that define the actions they might made. This was beautifully shown in a few scenes in the book.
It is definitely important to mention Elena’s parents and grandmother. Oma is a queen and I loved her! She made me crack up and made me cry. She made me miss my grandma a lot! Here’s to all Omas!
Christina’s writing is really admirable. She managed to tell us all the facts about life that we already know in another light. This Is something I really admired throughout the book, and here is a paragraph I really enjoyed:
Any child knows time slows down in the days before Christmas; any bride knows time speeds up during a wedding reception. And any mother knows time flies in the years after she gives birth.
It was very interesting to read a book that takes on society tiers in such an extreme way. We may not be aware, but this is happening to us on daily basis. Not to the degree as described in the book, but it is definitely going in that direction.
We get separated into groups since we are little kids in school. Someone is always picked first, and someone is always last. Then we grow up, and we think we’re past it. But before we know it, some of our friends have other friends and we get separated again, based on our work, neighbourhood, background, physical appearance, nowadays even social media status.
Even though fiction, Q still touches home, and that it why I love this book. Because it’s as real as it is fictional.
And it will hurt you to the core.
| | | | |
May 31, 2020
Q up Weltschmerz
What if your child was taken away from you because of an academic test performance?
Elena, the first person narrator of Master Class faces this scenario.
With schools encountering added challenges and budget constraints how do you educate children with so many individual circumstances and learning abilities? How does everyone receive the best schooling possible?
In this book, they don’t.
Assigned individual Q scores, students undergo monthly testing, tabulation, and re-configuring. The highest resources are allocated to the most gifted and motivated while the middle tier resides in limbo with the third and bottom rung students quickly bussed to rural institutions.
Elena’s life is in turmoil as she faces the prognosis of her younger child after she falls into the third tier. What can she do?
Options are non-existent and her insufferable husband just adds to the misery. He’s one you’ll love to hate if you appreciate villainy. I know I did!
Mood inducing and provoking of thoughts and emotions, this is a quiet thriller, but no less scary. This was very imaginative!
A possible trigger exists for discussion between family members regarding the pre-war years in Germany. It’s sensitively written, but I wanted to alert those whom it may affect.
What if your child was taken away from you because of an academic test performance?
Elena, the first person narrator of Master Class faces this scenario.
With schools encountering added challenges and budget constraints how do you educate children with so many individual circumstances and learning abilities? How does everyone receive the best schooling possible?
In this book, they don’t.
Assigned individual Q scores, students undergo monthly testing, tabulation, and re-configuring. The highest resources are allocated to the most gifted and motivated while the middle tier resides in limbo with the third and bottom rung students quickly bussed to rural institutions.
Elena’s life is in turmoil as she faces the prognosis of her younger child after she falls into the third tier. What can she do?
Options are non-existent and her insufferable husband just adds to the misery. He’s one you’ll love to hate if you appreciate villainy. I know I did!
Mood inducing and provoking of thoughts and emotions, this is a quiet thriller, but no less scary. This was very imaginative!
A possible trigger exists for discussion between family members regarding the pre-war years in Germany. It’s sensitively written, but I wanted to alert those whom it may affect.
March 18, 2020
I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it wasn't for me.
I really liked the concept. Although mainly fictional it is partly based on true life, which is very scary.
However, I just don't think it was executed that well
I really struggled with the writing style. It wasn't easy to read or that engaging.
It took a long time for anything to happen. The first 150 pages were quite a chore to get through.
It's been marketed as a thriller. Personally I wouldn't say it's a thriller, it's more of a dystopian book.
I just found it quite boring. There wasn't much really happening, until the end and then I felt like it was wrapped up too quickly.
I didn't like how it went back and forth in time and I also did not like how the chapters weren't labelled with the characters name. It kind of confusing in places, with whose perspective I was following.
Overall, I was disappointed by this one. It had a strong concept but the writing and pace didn't do much for me unfortunately
I really liked the concept. Although mainly fictional it is partly based on true life, which is very scary.
However, I just don't think it was executed that well
I really struggled with the writing style. It wasn't easy to read or that engaging.
It took a long time for anything to happen. The first 150 pages were quite a chore to get through.
It's been marketed as a thriller. Personally I wouldn't say it's a thriller, it's more of a dystopian book.
I just found it quite boring. There wasn't much really happening, until the end and then I felt like it was wrapped up too quickly.
I didn't like how it went back and forth in time and I also did not like how the chapters weren't labelled with the characters name. It kind of confusing in places, with whose perspective I was following.
Overall, I was disappointed by this one. It had a strong concept but the writing and pace didn't do much for me unfortunately
April 29, 2020
Book Reviewed on
For many years I have loved dystopian books. I love reading about how the authors� idea of a futuristic, government-controlled world would look and whilst there are some vast differences between dystopian books there is always one similarity, the rich, clever, and good get the best in society, the poor, not so well educated, and those that are not perfect, get the worst there is to offer. In Q this is certainly brought to the forefront.
Everyone has to undergo tests every so often to discover what their Q score is. Score highly and you get the best in life such as a good job, the ability to shop whenever you wish, a nice house, etc. Score badly and all that changes. The score isn’t only based on your IQ level it is based on your genetics, married status, finances, health, sexual status, etc.
The schools are split into different levels, the high achiever’s school, the less achiever’s school, and the yellow card boarding school where those that go below a certain score are sent, away from others in society.
Elena Fairchild is a popular and well-liked teacher at one of the more elite schools. She is married to Malcolm who is a member of the government department responsible for setting up and monitoring these rules and implementing them. They have two daughters, Anne who excels at everything, and Freddie who is nine and in today’s society would probably be on the Autism Spectrum. Her grades are not so good.
In fact, Freddie scores so low on one of her tests that she is sent to one of these boarding schools in Kansas. Elena does what any drastic mother would have done in that situation, she botches her own test so that she can stay with her daughter, but the boarding school isn’t like what they have been made to believe, it is hell on Earth.
This is the first book by Christina Dalcher that I have read and from what I know about her first book and after reading this one she sure can write a dystopian novel. The book is heartbreaking, angering, comforting, and body-shuddering all at the same time.
You have the government and their policies and boarding school on one side, versus a mother’s love on the other. We not only get to read about what is happening now, but we are also taken back in time and see how this all began and how Elena after finding out during pregnancy that her baby wouldn’t score very well changed the results so that she could keep her child.
You also always find one character in these types of books that make you want to reach into the pages and ripped them apart and Elena’s husband Malcolm is that person in this book. How she married such an evil, despicable man in baffling. What makes a person behave and think the way he does?
Overall this is a book that dystopian fans should read. It is edgy, riveting, and kept me turning the pages needing to know everything. It also had me thankful that even though we are living through horrid, scary times at the moment they are nothing compared to what living in a Q society would be like.
For many years I have loved dystopian books. I love reading about how the authors� idea of a futuristic, government-controlled world would look and whilst there are some vast differences between dystopian books there is always one similarity, the rich, clever, and good get the best in society, the poor, not so well educated, and those that are not perfect, get the worst there is to offer. In Q this is certainly brought to the forefront.
Everyone has to undergo tests every so often to discover what their Q score is. Score highly and you get the best in life such as a good job, the ability to shop whenever you wish, a nice house, etc. Score badly and all that changes. The score isn’t only based on your IQ level it is based on your genetics, married status, finances, health, sexual status, etc.
The schools are split into different levels, the high achiever’s school, the less achiever’s school, and the yellow card boarding school where those that go below a certain score are sent, away from others in society.
Elena Fairchild is a popular and well-liked teacher at one of the more elite schools. She is married to Malcolm who is a member of the government department responsible for setting up and monitoring these rules and implementing them. They have two daughters, Anne who excels at everything, and Freddie who is nine and in today’s society would probably be on the Autism Spectrum. Her grades are not so good.
In fact, Freddie scores so low on one of her tests that she is sent to one of these boarding schools in Kansas. Elena does what any drastic mother would have done in that situation, she botches her own test so that she can stay with her daughter, but the boarding school isn’t like what they have been made to believe, it is hell on Earth.
This is the first book by Christina Dalcher that I have read and from what I know about her first book and after reading this one she sure can write a dystopian novel. The book is heartbreaking, angering, comforting, and body-shuddering all at the same time.
You have the government and their policies and boarding school on one side, versus a mother’s love on the other. We not only get to read about what is happening now, but we are also taken back in time and see how this all began and how Elena after finding out during pregnancy that her baby wouldn’t score very well changed the results so that she could keep her child.
You also always find one character in these types of books that make you want to reach into the pages and ripped them apart and Elena’s husband Malcolm is that person in this book. How she married such an evil, despicable man in baffling. What makes a person behave and think the way he does?
Overall this is a book that dystopian fans should read. It is edgy, riveting, and kept me turning the pages needing to know everything. It also had me thankful that even though we are living through horrid, scary times at the moment they are nothing compared to what living in a Q society would be like.
April 26, 2021
Do you wanna read a book that screams “MEN ARE TRASH� but, at the same time, it has to be touching and shocking? Something familiar but new. So disgusting to make Stephen King blush. A book that'll leave you anxious and nauseous.
Well, Master Class is your book.
When I read the plot I just knew this was a book made for me, and reading it I understood my instinct wasn't wrong.
I spent all my high school years in a class where everybody was too concerned about going out on Saturday evening and about make-up and clothes than study. I was the best student in my entire school and I hated it because you know, the majority wins. It was hell.
Until the day I thought of something like writing in this book: a school where the “nerds� have won and the ones who didn’t care about education are in the last step of the chain.
You can’t imagine how mean a person can become when it’s constantly bullied for being what it’s supposed to be.
But this book explains really well what happens when things go too far.
I mean, I get the idea of the school system, but parents and other people in the family are not supposed to fit in. My parents are poor but I’m a genius, why I can’t go to the best school? Also, you can’t really pretend to make a six-year-old girl study all day; kids have to be kids.
The most shocking aspect remains the fact that this book is about women and the fact that they’re the only ones who can give birth to other human beings. But, even in this contest, men can have control over everything like in the �40s.
They are more paid, only they can ask for the divorce, they keep the children. A woman in this world is nothing, and this is totally absurd. And it’s even more absurd when you know that the head of all this is a woman.
All this makes me sick.
Loved the narration, the flashbacks, the similarities with the camps - THAT camps -, and the science aspects of the dark period in Europe.
Saying the lead character is incredible isn’t enough. Not just because you can really connect with her during her life, her good memories, and her mistakes; what Elena does is going to save the world - or at least the United States.
On the other hand, Malcolm is not just a selfish egocentric nazist. He’s an asshole who thinks can decide who lives and who dies even he’s just a teacher, for God’s sake. The simple fact that he does what he wants, and not what he has to do, made me wanna punch him in the face every time I had to deal with him.
I knew this was a good story, but I couldn't imagine it was so good.
A little advice tho: prepare the tissues. Just in case, you know.
� 5 stars
Well, Master Class is your book.
When I read the plot I just knew this was a book made for me, and reading it I understood my instinct wasn't wrong.
I spent all my high school years in a class where everybody was too concerned about going out on Saturday evening and about make-up and clothes than study. I was the best student in my entire school and I hated it because you know, the majority wins. It was hell.
Until the day I thought of something like writing in this book: a school where the “nerds� have won and the ones who didn’t care about education are in the last step of the chain.
You can’t imagine how mean a person can become when it’s constantly bullied for being what it’s supposed to be.
But this book explains really well what happens when things go too far.
I mean, I get the idea of the school system, but parents and other people in the family are not supposed to fit in. My parents are poor but I’m a genius, why I can’t go to the best school? Also, you can’t really pretend to make a six-year-old girl study all day; kids have to be kids.
The most shocking aspect remains the fact that this book is about women and the fact that they’re the only ones who can give birth to other human beings. But, even in this contest, men can have control over everything like in the �40s.
They are more paid, only they can ask for the divorce, they keep the children. A woman in this world is nothing, and this is totally absurd. And it’s even more absurd when you know that the head of all this is a woman.
All this makes me sick.
Loved the narration, the flashbacks, the similarities with the camps - THAT camps -, and the science aspects of the dark period in Europe.
Saying the lead character is incredible isn’t enough. Not just because you can really connect with her during her life, her good memories, and her mistakes; what Elena does is going to save the world - or at least the United States.
On the other hand, Malcolm is not just a selfish egocentric nazist. He’s an asshole who thinks can decide who lives and who dies even he’s just a teacher, for God’s sake. The simple fact that he does what he wants, and not what he has to do, made me wanna punch him in the face every time I had to deal with him.
I knew this was a good story, but I couldn't imagine it was so good.
A little advice tho: prepare the tissues. Just in case, you know.
� 5 stars
November 15, 2022
3,25� (6,5/10)
Una distopía que parte de una premisa, que sin ser original, sí es interesante. Inicialmente el desarrollo acompaña, pero, en torno al 50%, toma una deriva rara.
Dice la sinopsis:
El potencial de todos los niños regularmente es determinado por una medida estandarizada: su coeficiente intelectual (iq). Si la puntuación es elevada, el camino hacia un futuro dorado pasa por un colegio de nivel superior. Si la puntuación es demasiado baja, el futuro pasa por un colegio público con perspectivas muy limitadas. ¿El propósito? Una sociedad mejorada en la que los costes de la educación estén controlados al máximo posible y donde los profesores se centren en los estudiantes más prometedores.
¿Qué me ha gustado?
La idea de la que parte es interesante. Hasta un poco antes de la mitad el desarrollo acompaña.
Está narrado en primera persona. Relata una realidad alternativa, situada en algún momento del siglo XXI (incluso puede ser nuestro tiempo), con flashbacks al pasado inmediato, que nos permiten conocer cómo se llegó a esa situación.
Las reflexiones que Christina Dalcher desgrana a medida que avanza la trama. Son lo mejor que tiene el libro.
El personaje de la abuela de Elena, la protagonista. En un libro de personajes más bien flojos, aunque no sale mucho es la única que puede salvarse.
¿Qué me ha gustado menos?
A partir del 50%, la novela abandona en parte esa premisa inicial y toma una deriva rara. Demasiadas cosas mezcladas al mismo tiempo sin terminar de cuajar ninguna.
Se centra excesivamente en Elena, sin profundizar en el resto de personajes.
Demasiadas casualidades.
En conclusión. Una distopía que parte de una idea interesante, que se diluye y desaprovecha. Ni la recomiendo ni la dejo de recomendar.
Una distopía que parte de una premisa, que sin ser original, sí es interesante. Inicialmente el desarrollo acompaña, pero, en torno al 50%, toma una deriva rara.
Dice la sinopsis:
El potencial de todos los niños regularmente es determinado por una medida estandarizada: su coeficiente intelectual (iq). Si la puntuación es elevada, el camino hacia un futuro dorado pasa por un colegio de nivel superior. Si la puntuación es demasiado baja, el futuro pasa por un colegio público con perspectivas muy limitadas. ¿El propósito? Una sociedad mejorada en la que los costes de la educación estén controlados al máximo posible y donde los profesores se centren en los estudiantes más prometedores.
¿Qué me ha gustado?
La idea de la que parte es interesante. Hasta un poco antes de la mitad el desarrollo acompaña.
Está narrado en primera persona. Relata una realidad alternativa, situada en algún momento del siglo XXI (incluso puede ser nuestro tiempo), con flashbacks al pasado inmediato, que nos permiten conocer cómo se llegó a esa situación.
Las reflexiones que Christina Dalcher desgrana a medida que avanza la trama. Son lo mejor que tiene el libro.
El personaje de la abuela de Elena, la protagonista. En un libro de personajes más bien flojos, aunque no sale mucho es la única que puede salvarse.
¿Qué me ha gustado menos?
A partir del 50%, la novela abandona en parte esa premisa inicial y toma una deriva rara. Demasiadas cosas mezcladas al mismo tiempo sin terminar de cuajar ninguna.
Se centra excesivamente en Elena, sin profundizar en el resto de personajes.
Demasiadas casualidades.
En conclusión. Una distopía que parte de una idea interesante, que se diluye y desaprovecha. Ni la recomiendo ni la dejo de recomendar.
April 30, 2020
It is truly crushing when a book you have anticipated ends up being a disappointment. I really enjoyed Vox, the previous release from this author and I liked her brand of contemporary dystopia; close to current society.
Q started off well, with a family situation, two successful parents and two high-achieving children. However, the mask fell off and a hideous under layer was revealed. This was a story about IQ above every other facet of a person and it drilled down to emotive and polarising topics of elitism, abortion and someone’s personal worth.
The protagonist, Elena, mother of two and wife was an interesting character and I liked her...until I didn't. She taught in an elite school, her children were intelligent and passing their monthly tests until one didn’t. The husband was 100% a bd. The first half of the book was strong and I liked where it was going but then it went downhill for me, I’m afraid. I felt like I was pushing through with the narrative. The plot was intangible at times, even considering that it was dystopian. I hated the final direction and found the culmination so unsatisfying.
I’m hugely disappointed but I am grateful to have had an early review copy. Considering how much I liked Vox, I will definitely read Christina Dalcher again.
Thank you to Headline for the review copy.
This review can be found on .
Q started off well, with a family situation, two successful parents and two high-achieving children. However, the mask fell off and a hideous under layer was revealed. This was a story about IQ above every other facet of a person and it drilled down to emotive and polarising topics of elitism, abortion and someone’s personal worth.
The protagonist, Elena, mother of two and wife was an interesting character and I liked her...until I didn't. She taught in an elite school, her children were intelligent and passing their monthly tests until one didn’t. The husband was 100% a bd. The first half of the book was strong and I liked where it was going but then it went downhill for me, I’m afraid. I felt like I was pushing through with the narrative. The plot was intangible at times, even considering that it was dystopian. I hated the final direction and found the culmination so unsatisfying.
I’m hugely disappointed but I am grateful to have had an early review copy. Considering how much I liked Vox, I will definitely read Christina Dalcher again.
Thank you to Headline for the review copy.
This review can be found on .
September 21, 2024
What I find intriguing about Christina Dalcher’s sci fi is that she takes a modern day issue (in this case, standardized testing, SATs, ACTs, pressure and staggering competition to get into the best colleges, automation and job losses, eugenics, and writes a creepy sci fi world not too far removed from history or reality. In her world, students are divided into three schools, silver, green gold. Your school determines what future, education and career you are destined for. Her husband designed the system. She is a teacher in the system. One of their daughters is thriving, a silver. The other is not.
The scenes set in the present day and the worry shared by mother and daughters was what really gripped me. Like in Dalcher’s first book, we have a main character with little power and the way that lack of agency affects the way the story plays out can make some spots feel a bit slow, others absolutely heart-wrenching. Elena makes choices, but to a large degree she is at the mercy of Malcolm throughout the novel. I liked the way this book raised thoughtful questions.
The scenes set in the present day and the worry shared by mother and daughters was what really gripped me. Like in Dalcher’s first book, we have a main character with little power and the way that lack of agency affects the way the story plays out can make some spots feel a bit slow, others absolutely heart-wrenching. Elena makes choices, but to a large degree she is at the mercy of Malcolm throughout the novel. I liked the way this book raised thoughtful questions.
February 26, 2020
This is story is set in a dystopian future where a persons IQ determines every aspect of their life. Students are regularly tested and depending on their results moved into different schools. If someone continues to fail the tests they are sent to a state school away from their family.
A chilling look at a world where a persons contribution to society is the ultimate goal.
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
A chilling look at a world where a persons contribution to society is the ultimate goal.
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 17, 2020
3.5 rounded up
Christina Dalcher has a way of writing that makes the implausible seem plausible.
While I enjoyed her first book Vox more, I still thought Master Class was really good... and that ending!
Christina Dalcher has a way of writing that makes the implausible seem plausible.
While I enjoyed her first book Vox more, I still thought Master Class was really good... and that ending!
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