A wild and fast=paced drive through a dystopian future where immaculate conception is the latest miracle, The immaculately conceived are raised together on a commune that's targeted, causing them all to disperse. Years later, when one of them goes missing — the rest of them come together to track down the truth. There's safety in sisterhood after all, right? Or at the very least, safety in numbers.

This book was phenomenal. I didn’t know quite what to expect, but im so glad I picked it up. It has all that one could want out of a book. The characters were realistic and interesting. All in all, 4 stars.

GIRL ONE by Sara Flannery Murphy feels like part coming of age, part journey book. Main character Josephine Morrow is Girl One, the first of nine babies conceived without male DNA. When her mother Margaret goes missing (with whom she shares 100% of her DNA), Josephine leaves school to investigate, and finds her house burned down. From there she sets out to find the other remaining Girls.

On its face, there's a lot to pull the reader in, but I'm not sure the writing style is appropriate for the premise. For this plot, I want something much faster-paced. Instead, it feels fairly slow, with a lot of (sometimes repetitive) main character introspection. The story also feels overly long -- a tighter narrative would go a long way to improve pacing.

DNF at 30%. Really cool premise, but I'm not interested enough in where this story's going to hang on for 11 more hours. If a friend were interested in GIRL ONE, I'd let them know ahead of time that it's both slower and on the longer side; perhaps knowing both ahead of time would improve the reader's enjoyment.

The audiobook production, as usual with Macmillan Audio, is well done. The narrator does give the book a YA vibe -- I'm not sure if that was intentional or not.

GIRL ONE is a tale that fabulously blends science, fantasy, and mystery. Sara Flannery Murphy seamlessly weaves together a narrative that pushes the boundaries of who we are as humans. The author's writing is delightfully compelling and enjoyable.

Audiobook Note: Having 1/2 read and 1/2 listened to this book, I can say that the narration brings the characters to life. Jesse Vilinsky did a really good job.

A supernatural thriller set in the '90s where nine babies were born without male DNA? Sounds like a winning formula to me. Likened to the writing of Margaret Atwood, Sara Flannery Murphy has a unique voice as she navigates the lives of these women after a devastating fire and other mysterious happenings.

Fantastic narration intensifies the experience.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

This was a solid and fun read - the audiobook was very great and well done. I would definitely read more from this author!

Tried really hard to get into this one but just couldn't. Might pick it up again later, but I think I'm DNFing for now. Totally a me thing — if your genre is supernatural thriller and the idea of "female power and the bonds of sisterhood," give this one a try.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* really ended up liking this book! it was really interesting and such a great read to get lost in, would love to own

I am not sure if there is a difference between reading the physical book and listening to the audio version, but it was quite a journey for this novel. It started a little slow but it got really good as it progressed.
The plot was well thought out and the characters are developed. The ending made a full circle.

I read in many reviews that the plot is a mash up of Orphan Black and Margaret Atwood and I agree with them.
If you have enjoyed them, you will not be disappointed with this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen to this for my candid review.

This book was unique; nine miracle babies conceived without male DNA. These miracles resided on an experimental commune. Josephine Marrow is Girl One. A horrendous fire destroys the compound and kills two of the girls, leaving the remaining to flee in different directions across the country.

Years after, Josephine’s mother disappears. Following the clues she left behind Josie reunited with the other girls to unravel this mystery.

I enjoyed it. It was an interesting concept.

Girl One is a propulsive supernatural thriller. Pivoting between a ‘70s commune, where nine women had babies with no male DNA involved, and the mid ‘90s, as Josephine Morrow, the first of those babies, searches for her missing mother.
There are mysteries on mysteries in this book and they build a compelling world. The book is instantly readable, the supernatural element is entirely believable. I was fascinated reading this story. A woman searching for answers, trying to make sense of her past, reconnecting with the women and girls she came from. It is a journey and the conclusion, while a little unresolved, was fun.

A sci-Fi thriller that’s firmly grounded in the 1990s. There is a lot to like about the story and characters. It took me a little bit to really get into but I once I settled into the rhythm of the book I was hooked.

The plot is long but steady and full of thrills and revelations. There were, however, a lot of repetitive thoughts that slowed me down. I get bored with merry-go-round 1st person perspective monologuing. Still, Josie’s voice and personality were strongly written and distinctive. And each new person and puzzle piece that were added along the way were intriguing and unique.

Some revelations were obvious while others were delightfully thrilling. Some great feminist moments and some areas where it fell a little short. Some great scientific ideas and some that were a little too speculative. It wasn’t perfect but still, the story and people kept drawing me back in.

The audio experience was fantastic. I loved the narrator and pacing. The tone and voice was consistent but also built to the climax of the story with great urgency. Very strong reading. I’d definitely recommend it.

Overall, I really enjoyed it.

DNF at 33%. Really interesting premise and in a brief summary of what I’ve read so far it sounds really great. But for some reason as I’m actually reading I am not drawn into the story and don’t want to pick it up again after I set it down. May just be a case of picking this up at the wrong time but for now it’s a dnf. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading and listening copies.

As a note particularly on the audio - I had to wait to get it from the library. The narrator and audiobook are great but the Netgalley audio player is so terrible I couldn’t listen. The quality is tinny and it can’t be sped up any faster than 2x. I won’t be requesting any more audiobooks from Netgalley.

The premise of this book really grabbed me and I was excited to dive in to this book about clones. However, while I really love Brittany Pressley as a narrator, even she couldn't save this book for me. It really dragged. The chapters were long and there was little to no action for the first half of the book. I really wanted to love this book, but it just wasn't for me.

A gripping story about sisters - but not your traditional sisters - finding their way back to one another to discover the truth about their past. If you enjoyed watching Orphan Black, this book is for you.

I definitely enjoyed listening to this book and getting engrossed in the story. However, it is rather lengthy, just shy of 16 hours, to get to the meat of the story. Murphy takes a long time setting the scene, giving background into the story, and developing the characters. This is most definitely appreciated as she as constructed an intricate world.

The main character, Josephine or Girl One, is very well developed and the story is told from her perspective. The other sisters and characters in the book are less developed, yet in some cases they needed less development. There are many characters in this book!

The audiobook is narrated by Jesse Vilinsky. She does a great job of setting the stage and bringing the story and characters to life through her various voices.

3.5 Rounded Up

**Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest review!**

Girl One is the sci-fi book I feel I have been looking for but never knew I needed. Sara Flannery Murphy has created something unique and thrilling with this book.

At times it felt familiar to other books in this genre and then the author would surprise me and I would find myself completely intrigued and unable to stop reading. It's a perfect blend of thriller, sci-fi, and supernatural.

The women in this story are all very well developed, complex, and overall just badass women. Murphy does not shy away from showing both the good and the bad of the decisions these women made when they decided to start their own community where men were not needed.

I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

When I was offered the opportunity to listen to an audiobook production of Sara Flannery Murphy's new science fiction novel Girl One, I jumped at the opportunity. I am always looking for unconventional novels that explore the more curious areas of life, so I found the premise behind Girl One to be especially intriguing. In this speculative thriller, parthenogenesis in humans has been made possible. That is, women can reproduce without men.

This strange tale has its roots in the 1970s, at a commune where it all started. At the "Homestead," Dr. Joseph Bellanger successfully saw nine pregnancies without the introduction of male DNA to fruition. Josephine Morrow was "Girl One," the first of the nine "miracle babies" to be born. Now in her 20s living in 90s America, Josephine is trying to make sense of her past and own her future. Interested in her origin story and parthenogenesis herself, Josephine attempts to pick up where Dr. Bellanger left off by performing her own research in Chicago. See, he never got to continue his studies after the ninth girl was born because soon after, the Homestead was consumed in flames and Dr. Bellanger died in a blaze of glory.

Josephine has lost track of the other girls and their mothers, but she never thought she would lose touch with her own mom, the first woman to have a baby by parthenogenesis. But that is exactly what has happened. As Josephine sets off on a quest to uncover where her mother has gone, she finds herself reconnecting with the other girls who played such an important role in her past life. What Josephine and her peers never expected to find, however, is a special power that lies within all of them. See, they are more extraordinary than anyone could have ever imagined ...

Girl One is a book that will open your mind to worlds unimaginable. Reproduction without male DNA - who knew it was even a possibility? This science fiction thrill ride reads as part mystery, part literary fiction. There are important themes of feminism and women's rights explored here right alongside topics of superpowers and sleuthing. Throw in a bit of self-discovery and you have a well-rounded novel that can be enjoyed by fans of the science fiction genre, as well as those who typically shy away from these types of reads. It's downfall is that it does drag on in parts and could have likely been edited down to make it a faster-paced read.

The audiobook production of this novel is well done, with narrator Jesse Vilinsky providing a myriad of believable voices and reading at a comfortable pace.

WAIT! Did I go years and years not reading books featuring parthenogenesis and then in the past month I've read two novels about it?!? Life is weird sometimes, maybe not as weird as the life of Josephine Morrow, who is the Girl One referred to in the title. Josephine was the first girl born via "virgin birth" from a group of women living on a commune in the 1970's. These women were determined to have children without the involvement of men. Josephine was the first of 9 girls born here. All of the girls are clones of their mothers. When her mother goes missing, Josephine begins trying to figure out what happened to her and in the course of her investigation talks to some of the other girls and mothers. They uncover forces that seem to be looking to eradicate these girls.

This was an adventure! It was twisty, feminist sci-fi that brings to mind The Handmaid's Tale and other similar works. It's about women who want to prove that they don't need men and some men who don't take kindly to that. It is about fame & privacy. There is so much wrapped up in here. This would make a great book club book. But it isn't too heavy handed and is a fun, thrilling ride of a read.

I listened to the audiobook, which I would recommend!

I very rarely read or listen to Sci-Fi but I found the synopsis of Girl One to be intriguing. It was interesting to listen to it instead of simply reading it and I think it added a lot of value to the story.

Very original storyline that got me intrigued from the start. Science Fiction mixed with a little bit of Mystery ....

The narration of this book made it very easy to follow the story. She did a great job at bringing the characters to life. And made it easy to differentiate the characters. Really good job by the narrator.

My short version: This story is about a girl named Josephine, who they call Girl One. Josephine and 8 others were born without any male DNA and lived on a homestead community. She decides to go looking for her birth mother and ends up meeting the other miracle girls, and finding out her whole life was a lie!

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio & the author Sara Flannery Murphy for this complimentary advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #GirlOne