Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy

9780374601744

368 Pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux / MCD
Release Date: June 1, 2021

Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers, Family Dynamics, Reproduction, Parthenogenic

Josephine “Josie” Morrow is at a university in Chicago researching reproduction systems. She wants to follow in the footsteps of her mentor, Dr Joseph Bellanger. He successfully helped nine women give birth to daughters using their own DNA without any male DNA. Josie sees a news report that her mother’s house had a devastating fire and her mother is missing. She takes a leave from the university and goes home looking for her mother. She finds a few unexplained notes hidden behind a wall clock which begins a search that will change her life.

At first when I started this book, I thought of Orphan Black but in that scenario all the sisters were clones. In this case, the daughters were exact replicas of their mothers. The story is fast paced and written in the third person point of view. The characters are somewhat developed. If you enjoy stories that have unexpected twists, you will like this one. It has everything you could ask for—murder, kidnapping, science fiction, and traveling the country.

Josie Morrow is “Girl One”, the first of nine miracle children conceived by “parthenogenesis” meaning without male DNA. The girls are raised together by their mothers and a scientist on a hidden commune in the countryside. The woman and their children ultimately leave the commune scattering all over the country when a fire ravages the place and kills the scientist who leads the commune. They hide because of the strong opposition to parthenogenesis and lose touch with one another.

Josie and her mother become estranged as Josie pursues a career in medicine, hoping to recreate the parthenogenesis success of the scientist she considers her father. When Josie’s mother goes missing after a second fire, she tracks down her estranged sisters and their mothers trying to piece together obscure comments she found in her mother’s hidden notebook and ultimately unlocking mysteries from their shared past.

Without giving away any more of the twists and turns of this book, rest assured there are many surprises and some take you into the world of science fiction. While I typically don’t read this type of book, I was drawn to it by the description likening it to Margret Atwood’s books. It’s definitely a thriller and I was very absorbed while reading it. I liked the character development and the writing although the story itself became more science fiction as it went on. If you are looking for a good escape book with a dose of feminism, mother-daughter family relations and science fiction, this will likely fit the bill and keep you engaged.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book and for asking for my honest review.

"Girl One" tells the story of Josephine, one of nine babies conceived without male DNA. These "miracle babies" were conceived with the help of Dr. Joseph Bellanger, a man both revered and reviled by the medical community and the world. When tragedy strikes The Homestead, where the children live with their mothers, the women scatter and Dr. Bellanger is killed.

Twenty years later, Josie, also known as "Girl One" because she was the first child to be born at The Homestead, is a young woman striving to follow in Bellanger's footsteps and recreate his ground-breaking work. When Bellanger died, the secret to parthenogenesis died with him, and Josie is determined to discover the key to unlocking the mystery of virgin birth. When her mother goes missing under mysterious circumstances, she begins a quest which will take her across the country to reconnect with her scattered "sisters".

While the mystery was slow to build at the beginning, the pace soon picked up and I couldn't put the book down. It is an intriguing mystery and well-plotted thriller, but the heart of the book, it is about women and reclaiming the power that is too often taken from them. It is about sisterhood and how women are often stronger when they come together.

I read Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy because it was supposed to be like Margaret Atwood's work. That comparison is the only thing that kept me reading.

The story line moves extremely slowly and the first 45% of the book was a slog. After that point, it became less of a chore, but it was never any more enjoyable. I still am not certain what the author was trying to say. The plot seemed to be trying to say something, but it was so convoluted, I'm not sure even the author is clear on what she wanted to convey.

I have read worse books, but that's certainly not a ringing endorsement. I wish I had passed this book up. I wanted to like it, but I just couldn't.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This books was awesome! I loved the story and the characters, I loved how everything evolved and eventually, devolved. It was puzzling, thrilling, wild, and blew my mind. The plot development was masterfully done, the author (very obviously!) mapped it out well! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc in exchange for my honest opinion! I loved this book!

Josie, Girl One, was the first of nine babies conceived through a virgin birth. When she was 6, the Homestead burned, the experiment ended, and the mothers and children scattered. As an adult, Josie is away at medical school when her mother disappears. Determined to find her, Josie begins tracking down the other babies and mothers.

This was a quick read that kept me turning pages long into the night. However, I wanted to know more about the homestead and the virgin birth process. I wish the girls had been pre-teens or teenagers when the fire happened and everyone scattered. Josie, and the other characters seemed a bit flat. They were not very dynamic or well developed. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3858769749
What if you really were turning into your mother? In Girl One, Josephine Morrow is a college student who strives to be like her idol, the scientist who helped her come into existence via parthenogenic reproduction, as she dismisses her mother’s quiet small town life. As the title implies, Josephine was only one of several girls produced via this method at a commune-like center. At one point early on, a tragic fire caused the mothers and girls to scatter. When Josephine’s mother disappears following a house fire, Josephine immediately feels that the fire was intentional and that her mother is in danger. Her quest to find her mother reunites her with the other girls involved in the experiment, and together the girls discover their power, fight to save one another, and rebuild their family.

There are some definite similarities between this book and Orphan Black. The strength of this book builds as more characters are introduced and the tension increases. It does take a while to build, and it’s a longer ride, but I found the ending well worth the

Innovative and thrilling. I've not read anything quite like Girl One. The novel is centered around "miracle babies" born with only maternal DNA. An edge of your seat dark fantasy that was a pleasure to read.

Girl One by Sarah Flannery Murphy is based on a blockbuster of an idea. Kudos to the author for creating a book that is part Medical Thriller, and part Fantasy, with one big dollop of creativity. This book explores what happens when women can reproduce asexually, which is known as parthenogenesis. When a woman reproduces without a man, the baby inherits the full set of genes of their single parent. (“They look alike, they talk alike, at times they even walk alike…”)

The book begins with Girl One, the first girl to be born with her mother’s DNA only. Her birth, and the subsequent birth of eight more babies, each born to a different woman, created a news furor. The doctor whose research enabled this process was either hailed or scorned. Was this good for society or a terrible mistake? It all ended when the “Homestead” where the 9 mothers and their babies lived burned down, killing the doctor and Baby 9. The remaining mothers and daughters scattered to live private lives.

Years later, Girl One, Jose Morrow, plans to be a fertility specialist and continue this research. But when alarming things occur, she must finally reach out to the other girls, and confront her past. Part science, and part thrilling adventure, this book will entertain you while it makes you think about men, women, and society.

Thanks to NetGalley For an advance review copy. This is my honest review.

Blending elements of myth, fantasy, emergent powers and femininity, this novel centers on nine “Miracle babies” who are clones of their moms, born to women in a rural Vermont compound without any male DNA. The breakthrough accomplishment of a misfit, genius doctor, or something else? When Josie’s mother vanishes after a partial house fire, Josie (Girl One of the nine girls) takes a leave from medical school in Chicago to try to figure out what’s going on. Drawn into an increasingly complex thriller, Josie goes on a heart-pounding trek to find the other surviving Moms and daughters, as well as the elusive father figure of the doctor, who has died as the compound was burned to the ground 17 years earlier, before sharing how the girl’s virgin births occurred. As the daughters join forces to both find Josie’s Mom and learn the truth of their births, discover emergent supernatural powers they never realized they had, and get chased by men out to kill them, a cross-country chase unfolds into a crescendo of fiery revelations. Beneath the fast-moving plot, Murphy leads us through complex reflections about historical power balances between men and women, hostility to change, conception, religion, gender roles, sexuality, and the complexities of family dynamics. You thus have both the topical fast-moving plot sitting on top of a deeper philosophical meditation about myriad social norms we take for granted.

I really enjoyed "Girl One." It had the right mix of action, drama, and the supernatural. The ending felt a little rushed/sudden, but overall I would like to delve more into this world if Sara Flannery Murphy decides to keep writing about it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this twisty, turny mystery. Some of the reveals weren’t that surprising but overall, it kept me guessing. I also enjoyed the characters and they’re development as they progressed through the story.

Wonderful story development, rich characters, and a plot that hooks you and never lets you go. I love it when I can immerse myself within a book and just forget about real life for awhile and “become” a part of the story. This book totally delivered!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. I have to admit this is a different read for me but I loved the premise of the book-“Orphan Black meets Handmaid’s Tale”. When an inspiring dr on the verge of a scientific massive discovery meets a young woman who wants to prove women don’t need men, even for childbirth then a cult like community begins, and 9 miracle children are born to virgin mothers. Fast forward to 17 years later and we meet Girl One as her story unfolds in the search for her missing mother. She discovers her “sisters” and their powers and then sets out on an unexpected trip filled with surprises, discoveries, violence, friendship, and romance. Great twist on a coming of age story that will leave you rooting for these highly interesting and well developed characters!

This story was based on a very interesting premise. Nine girls were born with only the mother’s DNA. Josephine, who was the first one and is called Girl One is on a search for her mother. A fire destroyed the commune where they all lived and two from the commune died including Joseph, the scientist who created the girls. Many years later Josephine is in medical school wanting to carry on the work of the scientist. But she learns her mother is missing and begins a journey to find her, learning many other things on her way.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

"Girl One," by Sara Flannery Murphy captured me right from the opening pages and never let go. When her mother Margaret disappears, Josephine Morrow--the first of nine baby girls conceived without male DNA--embarks on a desperate trip across the country to find her other sisters and discover if they have any clues about what happened to Margaret. Along the way, we meet each girl (all of whom are fully developed and interesting characters) and learn about their lives and their relationships with each other. Part road trip and part sci-fi novel, "Girl One" is also a well-plotted mystery, but for me it was most compellingly a novel about family--what makes a family, what family means to different people, and the many different forms a family can take.

One small weakness is that I never felt like I really got to know Margaret very well. Josie fills in her mother's history throughout the story, but there are some decisions we learn that Margaret made that don't get fully explained. The mother characters in general are not as fully developed as their daughters, which is a shame given how much I enjoyed learning about the girls. These are small quibbles, however, with what was an engaging pageturner.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review.

This novel, for me, may have suffered from blurb hype. It would be hard to live up to the promise of being compared to Margaret Atwood and The Power. The Orphan Black comparison seemed the most apt for me here. Overall, pretty good, but not as nuanced as the books this one was compared to. Tension was created, but that was the crux of the plot and left more development in characters to be wanting.

I think where this one book is concerned I'm doomed to be the odd one out. The sole voice of dissent.

I thought I'd like this book. After all, the blurb promises "Orphan Black meets Margaret Atwood". And while I'm only familiar with Atwood's stories through shows like The Handmaid's Tale and Alias Grace (both of which I found frustrating, gripping and thought provoking in equal measures), I've watched and enjoyed almost all of Orphan Black. So I think it's fair to say that even though I'm not an expert, I'm familiar enough with the territory.

When I read "twisty supernatural thriller about female power and the bonds of sisterhood", I expected something more along the lines of Jaymin Eve's "Walker" saga meets the science fiction-y elements of Orphan Black and the dark thriller elements of Margaret Atwood's work. There were "sisters", there was science fiction and there were certain dark thriller elements. But the execution was nothing like I was expecting.

Honestly, for me, this book was a pain to get through. By the halfway point, the fact that everyone had suspicious behaviors had me exhausted. Everyone and everything being so sus made me low key paranoid and had me constantly on edge, and not in a good way. It did not make for a pleasant reading experience.

I like thrillers, but when you're constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, the plot twists lose all the surprise element because you were already expecting them, and you may even grow completely desensitized to everything that's happening and lose all empathy for all characters. Both things ended up happening to me. I cared up to a certain point, and then I just grew tired of constantly worrying about everything and stopped caring altogether.

Also, even though this is a book with strong feminist vibes, or at least a commentary on the patriarchy, and how all men suck and are evil beings hell bent on controlling, using and/or oppressing women, and women would thrive without them, the one character I ended up liking and finding the most relatable, the most empathetic, was Tom (one of the two prominent male characters this story has). I just hate the current of feminism that isn't about equality but female supremacy. I don't like chauvinism either way. Continuously pitting women against men won't lead anywhere good. For example, from the very first moment, Cate, Girl Three, was extremely confrontational and hostile towards Tom apparently for no other reason than his genetic make-up. He had no nefarious intentions, no evil schemes, and still she was constantly just so mean to him. Why?

I know this review is all over the place, but that is how my brain feels right now. Too many threads were left untied, too many questions unanswered. Characters left up in the air, like Emily, Girl Five, or Tom. Or even Fiona, the Last Girl. Topics I felt uncomfortable with, standings I didn't agree with. Unlikable, or unsympathetic characters. Pacing issues and abusing the inherent mystery of thrillers to the point of nullifying it. I wanted and expected to love this book. Sadly, it was not meant to be.

**I received an advanced e-copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and the author for the opportunity**

Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy is an amazing, imaginative book. It's truly stunning and disturbing, I loved it!