Written in the same vein as Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End, Marissa Levein’s debut The World Gives Way makes no qualms about its fate - this is a book about an apocalypse. It follows indentured servant Myrra as she takes her freedom after the suicides of her owners - a couple who knew the terrible secret that the world as they know it is coming to an end.

As Myrra moves through a world that she never got to experience before, she relishes in her freedom, taking in the sights and sounds of a doomed society, knowing that this moment, this life is fleeting. Hot on her trail are the cops, sure that she murdered her owners for her freedom and kidnapped their daughter in the process. Of course, the truth is far more deadly … for everyone.

The World Gives Way should be a book that I loved, but unfortunately I had a lot of difficulty getting into this story. The world at the center of this dystopian novel is quite unusual. I won’t go into the details to avoid spoilers, but for me to get behind such a concept, the world-building needs to be incredibly vivid and strong, and that is just not the case here. I had a hard time conceptualizing the world in which Myrra lived, which greatly dampened my enjoyment of the book. Not to mention that the vague third person POV just didn’t work here for me. I felt like I was holding these characters at arm’s length, never getting to know them.

On the other hand, The World Gives Way had some incredibly beautiful and touching moments. The ending was especially poignant and nearly had me in tears.

This is an apocalypse novel where the apocalypse doesn’t completely take centre stage. At the heart of this novel is the idea of human connection and relationship built in the most unlikely of scenarios. Myrra is witness to a double suicide and at the same time, she becomes aware that her world is in peril. She and her family before her were contract workers, forced to work for the highest bidder on the giant spaceship that is piloting them from what was Earth to the planet Telos–a two hundred year journey. When Myrra’s employers kill themselves, she is free albeit burdened with her employers young daughter. Their deaths are deemed suspicious and thus ensues a manhunt for Myrra that spans their world’s final days.

This is a REALLY quick and intense read. It actually reminds me a lot of Station Eleven, also a debut novel. There’s a lot to process and a lot to unpack. Levien is a master world builder. She’s created this minute microcosm of a world that is a marvellous feat of engineering. Whole cities and landscapes function within this stellar ship, with its own weather patterns and wildlife. Those with no education, Myrra included, have little understanding of how their world works, but they are also most often indentured to the servitude of those above them in the economic hierarchy. The world is beautiful and meant to last generations of people on the journey from Earth to Telos where they will build a new life. The reader sadly learns that their fate is never to make it.

Not only is the world beautiful, the writing is as well. Central to this book is another book: The World is Round by Gertrude Stein. Books are a rare commodity, everything being digital in this age. Paper, wood, art. They are relics of the past, yet their tangentiality brings reality and life to the people who do have access to them. Myrra carries Stein’s book with her and it means everything to her. In the vast expanse of the universe, items such as these are stark reminders of their own humanity. Items like these connect people, more so even at the end of the world.

Myrra has kept people away her whole life, but we watch her in her final days form true and meaningful connections. Likewise, Tobias, the security agent on Myrra’s case, is forced to confront his own lifetime of isolation to reach out and bond with others in those last days. It’s tragic irony that these two people who are similarly alone for their lives, find real meaning in life only hours before their eventual demise.

This book doesn’t lie. The world is ending and there is no escape, but true meaning is found in how the characters handle this crisis: where they find strength, where they fail, where they hold one another up or tear those around them down. At it’s heart, this is a study of human nature and calls into question who we are when we have nothing left. Humans, in the darkest of hours, still seek to hold onto hope, and still work to survive. Levien has captured this in her breakout piece. I hope you enjoy it!

Happy reading!

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.

I loved that this was a story about finding connection in the midst of utter catastrophe. A well-written debut that left me thinking about it long after I finished it. It reminded me a lot of Station Eleven!

A little slow for me but a well-executed, interesting concept. I'm not a huge reader of science fiction but I found the content accessible and believable. Levien is a promising writer to watch.

What It's About: Doomed to a life of indentured servitude, Myrra is given an opportunity for freedom, if only for a moment.
Why I Requested It: The premise sounded interesting at the time, but I couldn't say specifically what about pulled me in.
Cons: There was something about the world building that was just awkward. Maybe it's the way readers learned about the world. or the very kitchen sink approach the author seemed to take, but it just didn't gel with me. There was also a general lack of connection, both with the plotlines and to the characters. For the plotlines, there were two at the beginning, which I honestly found a bit tedious considering what was at stake, but they fizzle out and by the last third a completely new storyline has taken place. The last third felt more appropriate considering what was set up at the beginning, but then the first two thirds come off as kind of a waste, which may also be part of the reason I just couldn't connect with the characters. On top of that, in my personal opinion, I found neither of the POV characters all that likeable, which is something I generally want in a story.
Pros: I won't spoil the ending, but I did find it unique in how it handled things, at least compared to the books that I have read.
Finishing Thoughts: I think I went into this book with false expectations because the synopsis doesn't do a good job of conveying what the book is really about. That being said this still was an underwhelming, and frankly nihilistic story. Maybe if you enjoyed the movie Passengers you would like this, but I honestly found that movie to be boring and some what problematic, which is similar to how I feel about this book.

I was so excited to get this ARC because it looked like it was a different type of mystery/crime-solving novel, unlike those that I usually read. This is more of what I would classify as a dystopian type of novel though. Myrra, the main character, was a force to be reckoned with. This writing was a lot more emotionally-driven than I thought it would be as we go through the struggles people find to find human connection. It was hard for me to tie in the point of the writing and lacked any element of surprise which are two things that I love the most about a well-written book. I did like the way that the writing made us look at the world in more of a universal way, but then the end fell a little flat.

I first heard about this book after a recommendation from another author. I was hesitant to pick it up, but I -- like seemingly so many other readers -- was pleasantly surprised.

In The World Gives Way, Levien introduces us to a near-future world. In order for humanity to survive, a group of people built a huge spaceship -- the world -- to travel 200 years across the galaxy to a new home. We focus on two alternating storylines. The first follows Myrra, a young contract worker (with a mere 50 years left on her contract), who must flee with the young daughter (Charlotte) of the recently-deceased Carlyle family (her previous employers) after she learns a dangerous secret. The second follows Tobias, a young security agent tasked with hunting down Myrra and Charlotte.

It was a quieter novel, one that focused on the people and their interactions more than on the science (though there was plenty present). The characters all felt so real -- with their complex fears, hopes, dreams, ideas, goals -- they were very well fleshed-out.

I honestly had no idea where the story would go next from page to page, and it kept me on my toes. There were a lot of interesting aspects to this world -- I especially liked the chapters that explained the origins of different areas of the world and why they were created as they were.

This was a quiet and unassuming book, but one that really packed a punch. The ending was perfect for the story (no spoilers!), and I think everything worked really well together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

As soon as I saw the cover I instantly thought it was pertaining to Wonder Women , haha.
Premise
In fifty years, Myrra will be free.

Until then, she's a contract worker. Ever since she was five, her life and labor have belonged to the highest bidder on her contract—butchers, laundries, and now the powerful, secretive Carlyles.

But when one night finds the Carlyles dead, Myrra is suddenly free a lot sooner than she anticipated—and at a cost she never could have imagined. Burdened with the Carlyles' orphaned daughter and the terrible secret they died to escape, she runs. With time running out, Myrra must come face to face with the truth about her world—and embrace what's left before it's too late.
This isn’t normally my type of read, but I enjoyed reading about Myrras journey to freedom and was curious to see how things were going to end up for her.

Thank you for the opportunity to explore Marissa Levien's The World Gives Way. I was imagining a story similar to the 1980s series Starlost (I was a huge fan as a child). This novel was so much richer in detail and world building. Difficult to imagine how mind shattering it would be to realize that the world is only a small part of the universe, and that there is a crack in it! At the same time realizing there is nobody that will save you, while being responsible for a small child. I look forward to more from Marissa Levien
PS I really enjoyed hearing the author speak during an online event some weeks ago. Certainly makes for a richer reading experience.

In The World Gives Way by Marissa Levien, Myrra is a contract worker on her way to a new world. For generations she and her ancestors have served the ruling class on the ship. One day, she learns of a horrible secret - the ship is breaking apart and will not complete its journey. As the only person who knows this and on the run for a crime she didn’t commit, Myrra has to decide how to live as the world gives way.

Set in a distant future, aboard a ship traveling to new worlds, Myrra, basically a slave, goes on the run with the daughter of her employer after she commits suicide in a world falling into ruins. Running from the law puts her in contact with many characters along her way, and her ultimate survival comes to depend on the men hunting her. Sensitive and compelling.

What starts out as literal world-building turns into elegiac prose on what constitutes a good life. The author has done a sterling job of bringing two characters from two different social circles together as one initially chases the other for presumed crimes against her employer. As the two begin to realize the state of the world, smaller considerations fall to the wayside as they confront what lies in front of them.

The World Gives Way has a beautiful, eloquent ending. That by itself is what gives it a five star feel. But the build up to that, that's what's brings the stars down.

I am going to try and be vague as I believe that's what Marissa wants until you get into the book for the big reveal.

I love apocalyptic and dystopian fiction and that's what drew me to request this book. Myrra is in a collapsing world with no hope of redemption. Her struggles dealing with this are heartbreaking.

There was a lot of world building throughout. I understand that others may have enjoyed it, but I found it unnecessary. Once I knew the world was ending, did it matter how it got there? And what was the point of finishing a book where you knew the world was going nowhere? At first I thought maybe there was a way to turn everything around. When I realized that wasn't going to happen, I just wanted the feels that came along with someone dealing with this trauma and realization.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a really solid debut, and a fast-moving read! I got through all 400ish pages in less than two days. I liked the premise a whole lot, I liked the world-building (I occasionally wondered if it was getting a little trope-y, but it's a world based on the actual planet Earth, so maybe what I viewed as trope-y was just the author realistically mirroring this world, IDK), and I mostly liked the character dynamics. I'm not sure the characters (especially Myrra) are completely fully realized, but the interplay between everyone was solid,

I think my favorite thing about this novel was the creation and story behind how the class system was created- especially the indentured servitude "contracts" which are inherited and that only expire if/when the ship reaches its destination- benefiting whatever generation of the family is currently alive when they arrive.

There was a lot of interesting stuff in this book, as far as sci-fi goes, its pretty gentle- but I think the ending is well worth the ride.

First and foremost, you have to enter knowing that the imaginative, wondrous, highly creative and detailed world of this book’s world truly is giving way- with no hope of survival. What had me feeling morose, gloomy, and contemplative about the meaning of life during the first two thirds of the novel suddenly began to transform as this sci-fi novel hurdles to its conclusion. I emerged still deeply haunted but ultimately with more uplifting emotion and reflection along the lines of "carpe diem" and hope that the act of living life and relationships with others can imbue our existence with meaning regardless of what comes next.

The novel opens with Myrra, a 25-year-old indentured servant on a gigantic spaceship the size of Switzerland, which is about half along in its century long trip to Telos, a habitable planet for humanity, escaping a troubled Earth. Everyone aboard fits in two stark castes: the ultra-wealthy who have paid extravagantly to secure a place on board: the fictional equivalent of joining Jeff Bezos on his inaugural space rocket launch. The other group: people who entered indentured servitude to pay for their place on the ship, with this 200-year indentured status continuing to all their descendants during the voyage until landing at the destination planet. Myrra's grandmother signed on as an indentured servant, and Myrra faces staying in demeaning and exhausting servitude until she’s elderly.

After sweating in oppressive factory and laundress roles, Myrra's contract gets bought by an uber-wealthy couple, the Carlyles, to become their nanny for infant Charlotte. Living in a tiny basement room, the Carlyles remain oblivious to do Myrra, offering up no generosity or kindness to her drab, thankless existence. The only highlight of her life: bonding with baby Charlotte, who gets ignored by her busy and distracted parents. As the book opens, both Carlyle's commit suicide having learned that there’s an irrevocable breach in the hull of the spaceship, and it's only a matter of short time before the entire ship will tear apart.

Taking Charlotte and some of the couple's cash, Myrra goes on the run throughout elaborate cities on the ship, while being chased as a contract-breaker and potential killer by the cops, including a new officer, Tobias, her age who's trying to build his reputation.

As the escape and chase ensue and earthquakes start to reck havoc on the world, you’re drawn into a constant reckoning of what life as a transient speck in the Cosmos means.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reader’s copy.

You like dystopias ? You like poetic stories ? Then look no further, The World Gives Way is the book for you. I got in the book for the dystopian aspect, and stayed for the depth of Myrra and Tobias, the main characters.

After her owners tell Myrra the ship on which all that's left of humanity is breached, and that nothing can be done about it, she is surprised. And then they kill themselves, leaving their babies in the care of Myrra. Now she's gone from surprised to panicked. How can this be real? But why would they have committed suicide if it wasn't true?

Then, Myrra runs. She can't be found with dead bodies. She is now free, with Charlotte, the baby, and she must try making the most of her final days while escaping the security agents sent after her... And maybe find a way to escape all of this?

I really liked the concept of world-ending. It's a trope I really enjoy, and this one did not disappoint. I loved Myrra and Charlotte instantly! Myrra is one of the few people who knows the world is going to end, and she immediately decides to take the rest of her life in her own hands, after having been enslaved her whole life. Throughout her journey to escape her pursuers, she gets to see the many places she had only ever heard of. We basically tour the ship with her, and that was really enjoyable to read about all those incredible places. It kind of felt like exploring a map in a video game! So cool!

I'm not sure if this is a spoiler, but just in case, here is a thought that might be a little spoilery, so you can jump to the paragraph after this :

This book also surprised me in that I expected a dystopia in which Myrra tries to figure out how to escape from the breaking ship. But this is not what you should look for here. This is more of a human tale. The inner works of the mind when you know you're going to die, and you have to process it. What do you do? Who do you want to be with? What do you make of your life when you know it's going to end soon? Therefore, the book is a beautiful, almost poetic tale of humanity. Sure, there is action, there is a chase between Tobias, security agent with many insecurities, and Myrra, slave on the run with a baby.

Tobias and Myrra have a great dynamic. They weren't all I thought they would be, but the writing surprised me in a good way. Baby Charlotte is also so important here. The bond between her and Myrra is very poignant, and it made my heart swell so much.

While Myrra and Charlotte were on the run, Tobias is chasing them. But not just that. He tries to understand Myrra, the reasons she might have killed her owners and kidnapped the baby. Throughout this process Tobias grows a lot as well, and seeing him mature and gain confidence was so fantastic to read!

In the end, those three characters gained my love effortlessly and wandered through this ending world with us readers, embodying the red string of this poetic tale of humanity.

I really think this is a hidden gem, and I hope many of you will get to read it and fall in love with both the plot and the characters <3

Thank you to Netgalley and Redhook Books for providing me an advanced copy for review.

The World Gives Way was a roller coaster of a book! The action started right away and did not let up until the very end. The writing was clean and the characters were well developed. I definitely did not see the end coming at all! I applaud Marissa Levien for going in a direction I did not expect. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a well-written science fiction novel with well developed characters.

Stunning dystopian debut. Dark and captivating. A fast paced, well written story of a world on the brink of the collapse and the ultimate quest for survival. Refreshing and intense.

Myrra is a nanny-maid contract worker on an intergenerational ship. When she discovers the end of the world is coming, she runs away. Tobias is the rookie detective sent to track her down.

The best part of this book for me was Tobias. I liked him. Myrra remained too morally gray and manipulative for my tastes - and while I understand the reasons for this - I felt like she never really showed any growth.

My least favorite part of the book was the worldbuilding. The ship doesn't even have a name as far as I can tell. The people on it have somehow managed to forget most everything despite it being such a short time span, and every time there was a reference to things like: the sun, the stars, soldiers, pigeons, sugar, soot, etc, I was immediately thrown out of the story. There was reference to prison, but no explanation of the government, and so on. I realize none of that matters, not if the world is ending, but it was jarring to constantly feel like they were on a hollow set playacting a story.

The book is laser-focused on the personalities and motivations of the two point-of-view characters, and that's what kept me enjoying the read. There's never any doubt about the end, Levien makes it very clear their world is doomed, but somehow that didn't ruin the emotional impact of how the characters face the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette for this copy in exchange for an honest review.