The Future of Another Timeline

I considered giving this book one star, because I really hated it, but I decided to be generous and give it two for a few reasons:

For one, I think there are some genuinely cool ideas here (executed terribly, but I'll get to that,) The book was clearly well-researched; I learned a few things from the research notes at the end. It's the most modern sci-fi I've read, and it plays on very genuine fears that myself and many other women in our country are feeling right now. I also liked that the characters are diverse.

However, that diversity of the cast felt like a checklist for every kind of marginalized identity (i.e., not white males). The time-travel details make absolutely no logical sense. The sub-plot takes a dark turn early on, but instead of that being shocking and fresh, it's essentially the premise of A Promising Young Woman. No character inspires any kind of empathy; not one of them is believable. Expositional dialogue is rampant and a weak vehicle for a blatant (if not bludgeoning) message. There is no subtlety whatsoever. And it's super polarizing; while I don't think all books should be for all people, this book is REALLY not for some pretty sweeping demographics. Also, there's a completely gratuitous masturbation party that takes up far too many (uncomfortable, forced, and very weird) pages.

I'm totally pro-women's rights to reproductive health. 1000%. And if the writing and plot were well-developed, this could have been a fascinating, empowering book. But as it is, that's just not the case. I don't recommend it (unless, like me, you're reading it for book club).