Wow. What an incredible book. I loved it and it scared me. Definitely reminded me of The Handmaiden's Tale.
Thank you for a first look. I am sure it will make waves.

Imagine living in a world where women (even female children) are limited to 100 words a day and if they go over that limit they are given electric shots via a wristband they are all forced to wear. Women aren't allowed to work, read or write. They go to school to learn homemaking skills. But wait! There's more. Apparently some people are suffering from Wernicke's aphasia. And yes, apparently this is a real thing (In this form of aphasia the ability to grasp the meaning of spoken words and sentences is impaired, while the ease of producing connected speech is not very affected.). In the beginning we see that Dr. Jean McClellan has been reduced to a stay at home mom, her Dr. title stripped from her. She can't even have a cookbook in her home. Then, it progresses to where she and her original team that were working on a cure for Wernicke's aphasia is called together to finish it. They figure out that the government is reverse engineering the cure to learn how to cause Wernicke's aphasia because they want to silence women even more (?). Mixed in is some drama with Jean's family, her martial life, her kids... and the ending gives hope... but the story over all felt like it was trying too hard, had too many things going on, and no real good explanations or details.

Long book, or at least felt like it. Interesting story but at times I felt lost and wished I had more history about what led up to all of this and such. Very. Slow. Read. Cross between Fahrenheit 451 and Handmaid’s Tale. I get what the author was trying to do and say with this story, but it was so long.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2417962958?book_show_action=false

I heard a lot of hype about this book. It was good enough to recommend. It does make you a little worried that it could happen, but I found the timeline unrealistic.

I really enjoyed this book, but couldn't stop making comparisons to The Handmaid's Tale. In this story, women in America have been removed from working outside the home, schools have become segregated by gender and girls no longer learn to read or write - rather they are taught home economics and math (so they can balance the family budget), and all females in America are forced to wear a counter on their wrist that limits them to 100 words per day with electric shocks when they pass that limit.

The author thought through the premise pretty thoroughly. She speaks to the swiftness with which this change came about and the fact that there were some women on board with it, as well as some men not on board. There is a resistance, as there always will be, sometimes in the most unlikely of places.

It is an interesting idea and a quick read. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This could be this generation's Handmaid's Tale. So scary because you could almost see how it happens when you think about some of things that are going on in our country right now or that some people would like to see happen. A must read!

This book was quick-paced and engaging; I read it in a day. The premise of the book was intriguing and was enough to keep me interested.

That said, I was kind of disappointed. I didn't really like the main character very much, and I don't enjoy reading books where the main character isn't relatable. I felt like some of the other characters were extraneous, like the narrator's twin sons. The ending felt rushed - without spoiling it too much, I felt like we weren't really told what happened.

The ambition of this book was admirable, and accounts for a lot - but I felt the execution of the idea left a lot to be desired.

I had tremendously high hopes for this book, perhaps too high. I was immediately intrigued by the promises that VOX would be a more contemporary companion to the The Handmaid's Tale. Unfortunately, I found the book to be almost too heavily inspired by the Handmaid's Tale, to the point that the characters, the word choices, and even the major plot points felt like bad copies. Dalcher is no Atwood, and VOX lacks the nuance and originality it needed to stand up as a quality political dystopian thriller.

What if the political climate was influenced by a "pure" coalition and women became second class citizens? Vox imagines what this would be like in a scary and not so unlikely way. Women wear wristbands that limit the number of words they can speak per day to 100. Other rights, like working, voting, travelling have been taken away. The story centers around a linguistic scientist and the white house's need for her skill set. Riveting from the very beginning although the plot gets a bit crazy towards the end.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

So scary because this is what could happen in America with the current war on women. There is even a First Lady who is an ex-swimsuit model who is now virtually a prisoner in the WH. Ladies, take heed. Stand up now before it is too late. Resist, persist and vote. Don’t be like the automaton women. The far rights’s expansion is frightening in real life as it is in this fiction. Very hard to read.

The most terrifying horror story I've ever read- in an America with an ever growing right winged Bible Belt that stretches the entire country women have been silenced. Wrist counters limit them to 100 words per day and the effect is immediate. This is the third book I've read lately with this theme and it truly scares me, how easily they can steal our voice and how far reaching the effects of our silence extends.

A poor woman's version of The Handmaid's Tale. Despite this being billed as a modern re-imagining of the Atwood's classic, this one falls short. There are some interesting moments, but the book does little to capitalize on them and they are few and far between.

In a not-to-distant world, women and girls have their voices and opinions taken away. What would you say if you could only say 100 words a day?
Loved this novel, but felt the end was a bit too tidy. The author obviously felt she had to wrap up things up.

I wanted to like this book I really did but I just couldn't get through it. It's like The Handmaid's Tale fan fiction gone wrong. The relationship with her oldest son was just infuriating and so passive. Like, oh, I'm raising an jerk, oh well! Her husband is working in the administration that is punishing her but his involvement as a doctor and also advisor (?) is so unclear I couldn't even understand what it was. Her relationship with her co-worker was so shallow and odd. It seems like his only personality trait is being Italian? Her daughter bounces out of a year long nightmare inducing near silence in 20 min on a farm. Also, the mailman's family could get their shockers off but no one else could? I couldn't get into it.

An absolute page-turner for those who love (and love to hate) Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. This story shows how silence leads to invisibility, and inevitably, to dismissal by society. It is a great reminder that telling our stories and listening to others tell theirs is a large part of what makes us human.

A timely dystopian novel that tells the story of a near-future America where women are limited to 100 words a day and the neurolinguist who sees a way to protect herself and her daughter - and women in society as a whole.

Wow, just wow. Started reading and couldn't stop. It's the story of what happens when too many of the same people get into leadership roles and change it to suit themselves. It starts with half of the workforce who now have to stay at home and live up to strict limitations.. Who are these people that are treated this way ,you may ask? It's women and girls. Dr. Jean McClellan’s job before the life changing events was trying to help stroke victims with their expressive aphasia. Words come out but don't mean anything to the other person. The President 's brother had an accident with a head injury and wanted Dr McClellan's help to reverse his aphasia. She finally agreed on her terms. This book is great and I don't want to reveal too much, but it beyond rocks. So much in-depth research had to be done before writing this book. I'm extremely impressed by how the writing and the story all came together. I will be recommending it highly, especially to my medical friends, but anyone can read and enjoy it. I am honored to be able to review such a great book from Net Galley and Berkeley Publishing for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

Reading this book was really scary. This world is not much different from our present day and the very likeliness of something like this every happening is really frightening. The author has written it really well, and really brings to issues that are present in reality. The themes and characters remind me of "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood and there a lot of similarities.

When I saw this book advertised in a Facebook ad the very first time, and read the blurb, I knew I had to read it. The premise behind it was so intriguing, so scary, and such a realistic idea, it seemed like a psychothriller unlike anything I’d ever read. I contacted the author/publisher and requested copies for my entire book club. That would guarantee that I’d have someone to discuss it with!! And I’m so glad I did!!

I actually found myself restricting words when I began to read this. Questioning if the things coming out of my mouth were actually necessary. (Thank God that didn’t last long!) But trying to only use 100 words a day?!? What an impossible task, only accomplished when the threat of an electric shock is present.
There is lots of medical jargon throughout, as Jean is a PhD in neurolinguistics. Seeing how her profession is being manipulated by the government to gain even more control is very interesting AND scary!! But I didn’t feel like I needed a medical degree to read it.

Vox even includes a few chapters towards the end with lots of action and page turning! I had to keep going (sorry kids, make your own dinner!) because I couldn’t pause without knowing what happened!

This will be one of those books that take a few days to digest because of the complicated details and outcomes. I really enjoyed the book, and the gears in my brain are spinning with the ‘what ifs’ that it brought to light.

A 21st Century "Handmaiden's Tale"

How far would you go to save your daughter? Dr. Jean McClellan is stuck, a brilliant researcher she is no longer able to work. Women have been relegated to homemaker and mother. She and all other women are only allowed 100 words a day. Monitored by a lovely contraption on her wrist which will cause you physical harm if you say 101 words.
Dr. McClellan and other women like her struggle against these new parameters of what it means to be a woman. However, it is her youngest daughter who will bear the brunt of these new regulations by never being taught to read or to think it's normal not to talk. Can Jean find the necessary resources to break out of her prison? What will the cost be?

What a rollicking ride, both exciting and frustrating! The author writes in her forward that she hopes the reader gets mad while reading this book. I certainly did! A few years ago Dr. Jean McClellan was leading a normal life as a happily married scientist and mother of 4, 3 boys and a girl. Now she, and all the females in America, are not allowed to read, work, leave the country, or, incredibly, speak more than 100 words per day. How the country got to this point is never fully explained, a flaw in this otherwise amazingly creative story. When Jean is asked to return to her scientific research to save the President's brother, she sees an opportunity to change things for the better. This is a terrific page-turner, with a satisfying ending.