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I've read Vox and Femlandia, so I wasn't too surprised at the tone of Q. It would say I liked it better than Vox, and on a par with Femlandia. If you're looking for a feminist near-future dystopia, Christina Dalcher is a safe bet.

In Q, every human being has a ranking - a Q - that indicates how smart and valuable they are to their society. We're with the first generation for whom this has become a standard, with the main protagonist's two daughters being born at a time when this is the norm. Their mother - Elena - is a school teacher, and their father Malcolm works for the organisation that created the Q system.

The action takes place in contemporary patches and flashbacks. In the former, Elena is bringing up her two girls who benefit from a 'best of the best' education in a so-called Silver School. Elena teaches in that same top level. If you're Q isn't high enough for Silver schooling, there's also a Green level but nobody wants to let their score slip too far, or they'll be sent out of state on the Yellow buses to be housed at a Yellow 'school' - where, let's say, not too much schooling is happening.

In this vision of America, they've got rid of all the immigrants and automated the low paid jobs. The top Q people get shorter lines at the supermarket, fast track access to all the good things in life, and better conditions. The rest are distinctly second or third class.

When Elena's younger daughter slips below the Q score needed to stay in her privileged school, she's sent a summons to go to the Yellow school in Kansas. Elena can't understand how the score slipped so low, nor how other girls in the neighbourhood have also been sent to Kansas, including ones she knows are smart. She arranges to flunk her own Q testing and get sent to Kansas to see what's really going on.

Husband Malcolm is a nasty piece of work. He adores his older daughter but is less engaged with the younger one. He holds all the cards. With a higher salary and position with the administration, he knows that if Elena wants to divorce him, he'll get the girls, the house, and maintain his Q standing.

The flashbacks are fascinating and start to reveal how Elena and Malcolm's teen years have had a direct impact on the Q system. Think of it as an extreme case of 'Revenge of the Nerds' but taken way too far. Malcolm is fully committed to a smarter America, no more stupid people, no more opportunities for the kind of people who would have treated him as an outsider in his teens.

How far with Elena go to bring down Malcolm's house of cards? How much will a mother do out of love for her daughter?

It's pretty smart. Not too 'clever', and very easy to follow the thinking. With Elena's grandmother a survivor of the Hitler Youth, there are plenty of parallels to be drawn although the level of jeopardy seldom goes even close to that of the Nazis. It's still pretty shocking.

Well worth a read.