Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh is a dystopian novel that explores the themes of motherhood, choice, and fate. The main character, Calla, is assigned a blue ticket at a lottery that determines her future: she is not allowed to have children. However, she becomes pregnant and decides to escape from the oppressive society that controls her life. The novel is a gripping and haunting story that raises questions about freedom, identity, and happiness.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

'Blue Ticket' is the second novel I've read by author Sophie Mackintosh. My thanks go to Netgalley and the publishers for making both available to me with only the expectation of an honest review in return.

Like her first, 'The Water Cure', in this story we enter a dystopian world, where women are severely restricted by the patriarchal society in which they live.
In 'Blue Ticket' their lives are controlled and tightly monitored, beginning at the start of their first menstrual period when girls attend a government centre where they receive a random allocation of either a White or Blue ticket.

The girls who are given a White ticket go on to be wives and mothers - but wives and mothers only. They are not allowed to extend their lives beyond those roles. The girls with Blue tickets are denied this opportunity but can have a career. A more independent life, but never a family.

The protagonist of the tale is Calla, who we follow as she goes through this rite of passage. She has grown up with her father, but as soon as she begins to bleed she has to be taken to receive a ticket, and from there, separated from the life she has known thus far, One way or another, she is now regarded as a woman and must now live an adult life.

Calla is given a Blue ticket - as we might guess from the title of the novel.
We learn about what happens to her after leaving the centre. The place she lives and the career she has been given. She has no right to ever return to the life she has been living. She cannot make any choices for herself. The ticket must be kept and produced should anyone want to check her status. She must report to a 'therapist' regularly, who checks up on her behaviour and state of mind. He seems more of a probation officer than a counsellor.
Unlike other women (or so we are led to believe), Calla questions her lot in life. Wonders about and then longs for the life and family she has been denied.

As with 'The Water Cure', the world building here in 'Blue Ticket' is quite sparse. The Reader never really gets a sense of society or setting beyond the basic facts of the reproductive lottery this short novel is centred upon.
Also like 'The Water Cure', I found I was left with more questions than answers - more questions than I started with.

I enjoyed Calla's story as far as it went, yet found that (for me) it just didn't go far enough.
Personally, I like detail in the works I read. The lack here, no doubt intentional to highlight and focus upon the story told, merely frustrated me. I understood what the author was doing, yet felt dissatisfied with what I'd been given.

Parallels will obviously be drawn between this novel and others.
First and foremost here will necessarily be Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale'. There has been a spate of similarly themed books published in the last few years, since Atwood's famous work was produced as a televised series. There has been the good and the bad. My reaction to 'Blue Ticket' was that it does fall into the former category, but only just. Really I'm fairly ambivalent about it.
I don't think I would be interested in reading her new work, as the two novels mentioned here just weren't special enough to continue an interest in this author's story-telling.

Sophie Mackintosh is a writer on my watch ever since I attended an event On Anxiety: An Anthology published by 3 of Cups Press. The protagonist’s struggles claim to control over her body then her exile that led to self-discovery was exhilarating to read. Can’t wait to read her next one!

I was grateful to receive a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I had enjoyed The Water Cure and was interested in reading this subsequent work by the same author. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. Perhaps I had set myself up with expectations, as i was intrigued by the premise to do with exploring women’s reproductive rights. While it wasn’t for me, I know there have been readers who have enjoyed it more so worth checking out if you’re interested in books exploring reproductive rights in a dystopian setting.

I have tried a few times to read this as I really liked Sophie’s previous novel, but unfortunately I just couldn’t get on with this book and had to leave it.

I adored the author's previous works so had high hopes for this and it didn't disappoint. Another trip into an almost recognisable dystopia, Mackintosh's prose was as beautiful as ever and I look forward to whatever she writes next!

A feminist dystopian thriller set in a world where girls upon reaching puberty are entered into a lottery as to whether they will be allowed to have babies or not. As a reader, I was frustrated by the pace and many questions were left unanswered. I will read more from this author as the writing in places was beautiful but overall this novel was a disappointment.

I requested this before reading her other book and honestly I will not be reading this after my experience of that - not for me I'm afraid.

Blue Ticket is Sophie Mackintosh's second novel, her first one being The Water Cure, and both of them are lazily labelled as feminist dystopia.
I haven't read her first novel, which was longlisted in 2018 for the Man Booker prize, and there have been several comments by reviewers that it was a better book. I did enjoy Blue Ticket though and will make time at some point to read The Water Cure.

Plot, pacing and characterisation were good and I found myself looking forward to returning to it to find out what would happen next. Perhaps the focus started drifting a little around the three quarter mark and the ending felt a little forced, but overall I found this to be a worthy addition to my virtual read-shelf.
Mackintosh is a skilled writer and I appreciated both her individual style in terms of ability to communicate the protagonist's introspective sensorial world and in terms of building a believably eerie reality.

I also appreciated the themes which were highly relatable for me.

Many thanks to Hamish Hamilton and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When girls have their first period they are divided into one of two categories. They either receive a white ticket or a blue ticket. One ticket sets you on the path to motherhood and marriage. The other means you will not become a mother. The decision is made for you and there is no changing the colour of your ticket.

Calla knew this would be the case. That she would not have a choice. Yet, here she is wondering what her life would be like if she had been given a different ticket. What if the tickets weren’t a thing and she could choose for herself whether or not to start a family?

In rejecting the life planned out for her, Calla must face the consequences. Consequences that include trying to outrun the powers that be. At least they have given her a head start!

Sophie Mackintosh does not spoon feed her reader. How exactly the dystopian world of Blue Ticket came to be is left up the reader’s imagination. Not having all the facts is something I enjoy in dystopian fiction, but I know some people would prefer more world building. The story is told from Calla’s point of view, so it makes sense to me that she may not have all the facts either.

Blue Ticket is about motherhood and identity. It is about desire, grief and anger. It is about the devastating effects of patriarchal violence. It is a haunting exploration of what it means to have free will, while inhabiting a female body.

DNF. Unfortunately, I did not like Blue Ticket. Whilst the plot was extremely interesting, and I usually love Mackintosh's writing I felt it fell flat. Nothing seemed to happen, and I was honestly bored.

A brilliant author! Blue Ticket had me flicking through the pages, I can't wait to get my hands on the next Sophie Mackintosh novel! Highly recommend for Sci-fi and thriller fans

A beautifully written, eerie, dystopian novel. I was completely swept up in the dreamlike narrative - I loved it.

This book just wasn’t for me. I found the writing style difficult and unappealing. The dystopian society in which Calla lives and its origins are left to the reader’s imagination and the reasons for determining a woman’s fate at puberty are difficult to discern. I found it difficult to empathise with Calla and her situation. A disappointment.

Blue Ticket is full of beautifully written, atmospheric prose, but sadly the story didn’t hold my attention. As with a lot of these dystopian novels I found myself wondering why? Why would the US federal government segment girls into breeders and non-breeders at random at the point of their first period? What purpose would that serve as opposed to segmenting women based on medical or genetic history (which is also wrong but would at least make sense if you were trying to create a class of breeders)? I get that it's just a story, but in order for me to relate to the protagonist I need to feel like this is a story that could actually happen, and I just didn't. The protagonist was both irritatingly and unbelievably naive for an adult woman and the plot, such as it is, is just the woman unthinkingly walking into danger at every turn. It just didn't speak to me.

Sophie Mackintosh's novel explores a world in which adolescent girls draw tickets to determine whether or not they will become a mother. She is treading on familiar ground, with undertones of Gilead and hints of Shirley Jackson's Lottery. But "Blue Ticket" suffers from a lack of world-building compared to its predecessors. That said, the novel still packs a punch - the titular tickets are a starting point for a rich and challenging exploration of motherhood.

I'll start off saying I absolutely adored the Water Cure, so I knew Mackintosh wouldn't disappoint me with this novel either!

The symbolism and themes are well explained, and very in depth too. The writing is so raw that I had to stop reading at times, because it got too intense.

Overall, it's a really interesting feminist dystopian novel, and brilliantly executed.

Firstly, thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book and apologies that it has taken me so long to review this book. I read this book when I was on my social media break last year and realised that I hadn’t reviewed. So apologies!

I have read mixed reviews on this book and what I will say is this is a real marmite book. You’re either going to love it or hate it. Anyone who is not a fan of dystopian novels should avoid this book. However, being someone who enjoys watching and reading dystopian, I LOVED it.

The book centres around fertility and women’s rights. I personally have no maternal instinct in me and it was weird, but entertaining, to read about a world where being a mother is the be all

The book is quite addictive and I got serious Handmail tail vibes when I read this

This is a fantastically thought provoking read- one that opens all avenues into discussion on choice, pathways and regrets. How do we know when we've made the right choice? How do we know that our energies and attention might not have been better placed elsewhere? How do women know that motherhood was where we were meant to be? While dystopian situations are a frequent novel choice of mine the themes of motherhood and choice attracted me to this one. It caused me to think and often question the way society works, what is expected of people. It highlights the presumptuous expectations of many and the biased reactions projected onto many who don't fit societal norms. It is a very important piece of writing, one that is complex and very well written. It will demand pure, undivided concentration and devotion throughout but it will be worth it.!!