REVIEW
The Only Boy
by Jordan
Locke
Today you can read my review of The Only Boy by Jordan Locke. This review opportunity is brought to you by Xpresso Book Tours. You can read an excerpt, a guest post by the author, and an interview
with the author in my previous blog post.
Description
Mary is stuck in Section One, living with three hundred women in a
crumbling hospital. She wonders what life was like two centuries ago, before
the Cleansing wiped out all the men. But the rules - the Matriarch's senseless
rules - prevent her from exploring the vacant city to find out.
Taylor's got a dangerous secret: he's a boy. His compound's been
destroyed, and he's been relocated to Section One. Living under the Matriarch
means giving up possessions, eating canned food and avoiding all physical
contact. Baggy clothes hide his flat chest and skinny legs, but if anyone
discovers what lies beneath, he'll be exiled. Maybe even executed.
Mary's never seen a boy - the Matriarch cut the pictures of men from the
textbooks - and she doesn't suspect Taylor's secret. If she knew, she might
understand the need to stop the girls from teasing him. If she knew, she might
realize why she breaks the rules, just to be near him. Then again, she might be
frightened to death of him.
Taylor should go. The Matriarch is watching his every move. But running
means leaving Mary - and braving the land beyond the compound's boundaries.
Favorite Lines
"Taylor's eyes catch mine. Blue eyes. Haunting eyes. I open my mouth
to speak, to accept the apology, but can't even breathe."
"Why does she make me feel like I've been struck with some
paralyzing disease?"
"Throughout history, men have been a destructive, repressive force.
Believe me, we are better off without them."
"... the Cleansing didn't stop the struggle for power. The Cleansing
didn't end violence. The Cleansing didn't bring peace. When free to find their
own way, women are just as destructive."
"She's wrong - women are violent. Because right now, I want to kill
her."
"I'm miles from home and in a strange place, and yet I've never felt
this safe before."
"It's reasonable to suspect that this epidemic will end humanity.
Even if it doesn't, the Earth as we know it will cease to exist."
"I could tell her that just the sight of him makes me feel more
alive. I could tell her that his smile makes me both deeply elated and painfully
sad. I could tell her that I yearn to be near him. But she'd never
understand."
"Her mother probably never held her when she was a toddler. She
never knew the power of touch. She obviously never loved. Never truly loved."
My Review
By Lynda Dickson
Mary lives in a matriarchal
society run on 73 rules. The Cleansing killed off all of the men decades ago.
Now, all references to men have been removed from books, touching is prohibited
(rule 8), and every infraction is punished by a stint in the pit. Mary has
spent every day of her life locked inside the hospital (rule 22) in Section One,
ruled over by the Matriarch. She has never seen a boy, but that's about to
change. A new visitor comes to the hospital from Section Seven after everyone
else is killed by a bomb. Taylor is taller and skinnier than the other girls,
she wears baggy clothes, her voice is a bit husky, and when she touches Mary,
Mary feels something she has never felt before. In a society where men are
reviled, Taylor lives in fear of being discovered.
What will Mary do when
she finds out Taylor is actually a boy? When Taylor escapes, will Mary follow
him? Can they make a new life together after having been raised so differently?
What other dangers will they face? Will their love triumph over the odds? And
who is really behind the attacks that killed both Mary's mother and Taylor's
entire compound? These questions and more will be answered in this
action-packed tale.
The story is told
alternately from Mary's and Taylor's points-of-view. I loved the interactions
between these two and Mary's discovery of how important touch is. In her
society, where touch is prohibited for fear of communicating disease, all
semblance of humanity has been lost. And, while the surviving women blame the
men for all of the Earth's problems, their own actions prove that the violence
doesn't stop just because all the men have been cleansed from the planet. This books
gives us plenty to think about and is a great observation on society and
humanity in general. But it's also full of action and would make a great movie!
About the Author
Jordan Locke lives in Connecticut with his wife, two lively daughters and
a well-behaved whippet. A graphic designer by trade, his creativity spilled
over into the literary world. After years of writing, reading and learning the
craft, his fifth novel, The Only Boy, brought him offers of representation from two well-known agents. Now,
after the dog is fed and the kids are in bed, you will find him tapping away at
the keyboard.
Links
