This alternate history sci-fi weaves a strong feminist message into a captivating narrative. In both overt and subtle ways, the story tackles themes of female voice, relationships, power, and choice. Where I feel it is a little heavy handed at times, it also adds layers of meaning in clever ways that create some poignant moments. Though ultimately a strength for me, these themes are a constant in the story and I think one’s experience with this book can vary depending on how they relate to them.

The story is told from Josie’s point of view throughout. Though I am not the biggest fan of Josie as a narrator, I really like how the plot unfolds. It kept me guessing and wanting to read more. However, the story struggles with pacing. Josie tends to have long moments of ‘processing’, even in the middle of action-packed and/or tense moments. Where these can be meaningful at times, many of them are long and repetitive. As a result, Josie can seem a little whiny and stagnant as a character and the overall flow of the narrative is disrupted. I experienced this piece as an audiobook and the reader tends to over dramatize these moments as well. That being said, they might not seem as intrusive or off putting without the audio.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read and would have given it a perfect score if it weren’t for some of the pacing issues. It has an interesting approach to feminist themes and I could see there being a lot of great conversations around this book.

DNF’d this one so hard. I had high expectations when it appeared on SciFi book lists, I believe it’s being billed as an “Orphan Black” meets Margaret Atwood, a feminist speculative thriller, but there is absolutely nothing exciting or subversive or poignant about this plot (as far as I managed to get through.) If I have to wait til the bitter end to find the “strength in sisterhood” aspects, I’m out. The narrator was too much of a self righteous drag to follow, honestly. I just kept getting such Katniss from Hunger Games vibes, I couldn’t stomach her lack of personality and self righteous indignation.

What a thought-provoking story!

In 1971, Josie Morrow (Girl One) was born through an experiment, using only her mother’s DNA. After Josie, eight more babies were conceived without any male DNA. Dr. Bellanger, the mastermind scientist, resided with the mothers and their babies in a commune called The Homestead until a suspicious fire burned the commune, killing Bellanger, one of the mothers and her daughter.

Fast Forward to 1994. Josie’s attending the University of Chicago, studying the science that brought her into this world, when suddenly her mother, Margaret, goes missing. As Josie retraces Margaret's footsteps over the past few weeks, she uncovers secrets about the origins of the nine “miracle babies.” She discovers extraordinary abilities that lie within each of them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sci-fi thriller - tense, emotional, violent, and unforgiving. The book had mystery and magic - a bit of an all-female X-Men vibe (or should we rename it X-Women). I loved the theme that women are better together than they are apart! Girl Power all day, every day!

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a free copy of the audiobook in change for an honest review.

Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy is labeled a thriller but has many supernatural vibes. Josephine Morrow is labeled “Girl One” since she was the first baby born without DNA from a male. She is one of nine babies who were also part of this experimental program. When a fire destroys the compound in which these mother/baby pairs lives with the doctor responsible for the experiment, mother and daughter pairs start to move away and lose touch.

But when Mother One, Josephine’s mom Margaret goes missing years later, she embarks on a road trip to find her mom. During her journey her past is brought to light and discovers are made. Josephine is able to link up with other miracle babies on her journey of discovery that shocks them all.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book, even though the first half was slow going. It should have been more interesting with the premise of the book being what it is but it did take a while to connect with the characters and follow their individual stories. I did like that the female lead character was strong and how she went on an inner journey of understanding and peace. The story eventually picked up and I enjoyed where it lead. Somehow the ending felt dragged out and rushed at the same time for some reason that is hard to put my finger on. Overall, the concept was interesting and I would recommend this book to others.

I received the audio book edition and loved the narration. I felt she did a wonderful job expressing the multiple characters in unique ways.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio book in exchange for an honest review.

Well, this was a fun ride! GIRL ONE by Sara Flannery Murphy is an entertaining and unique novel that I think most of you will enjoy.⁣
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This was a very well written novel with the protagonist as a bad-ass, strong female and an illustration of a powerful bond of sisterhood. I also liked the feminist approach where you have nine girls who have been conceived without the help of any male. Cool!⁣
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What wasn't my favorite is that I felt the story dragged on a bit too much. Even though I was well aware of it before jumping into this read, I’m realizing I am not a fan of supernatural elements in my thrillers because it's just not my thing (and this is also a huge reason why I don't care for fantasy books), but I can appreciate it FOR those who do love it, if that makes sense. So, if it's YOUR thing, then I think you'll really like this book a lot.⁣
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Overall, I think this was a good read and recommend this to those who enjoy a slow-burn, supernatural thriller.

A huge thank you to @mcdbooks over at @fsgbooks for my gifted copy!

This is a combination of the Marvel Superheroes and Wonder Woman….or in this case “Women”.
   In a commune 20+ years ago there were experiments conducted by a doctor that resulted in 9 baby girls that were conceived without the benefit of a male contribution. Josephine, the main character is Girl One.
   These young girls and their moms stayed on the commune until a tragic fire that resulted in the end of the experiments and the loss of a mom and her child. The rest of these little families all moved on to live independent lives…..but their notoriety followed them. Some of the girls tried to live quiet lives in the background, one capitalized on her fame, other mothers guarded their daughters like a jail warden.
   What they eventually discovered was that they all had a special “gift”. Having not seen each other for years they didn’t know about each other’s skills until a road trip in search of a missing mom brought them to light.
    Their road trip became wearying. The “journalist” who accompanied them for the story is too amenable and the reader discovers why in the end.
   A Sci-fi story w religious undertones always makes for a good story.

Science fiction is not my favorite genre, but I've been trying to step outside my box more and give the genre more reads. This one was a good choice.

Josephine (Josie) Morrow is Girl One in the novel. She is considered a "Miracle Baby" and she's the first one of nine of them, called so because they were all "virgin births" as their mothers conceived without male DNA...thank science. They were raised on what was called the Homestead, which as I read the story gave me a cult-like feeling. A fire takes place and destroys the Homestead and they all end up scattering to different places across the states, so the sisters (the Miracle Babies were all girls) lost touch with one another.

Josie's mother, Margaret Morrow, goes missing and Josie is bound and determined to find her. In her search for her mother, she also looks for and finds her sisters. And she learns that someone (or more than one) seemingly wants them dead. Josie thinks she knows who and why, but it's quite the journey to discover the answers she is looking for. They also realize that they are all gifted with different abilities. I was really invested in whether Margaret was still alive or had died in a fire that was deemed arson.

Dr. Bellanger was in my opinion like a Dr. Frankenstein which was mentioned late in the book so I guess I was right on. I immediately thought of him as a "mad scientist" but he also had written Josie letters that made her feel loved, so I actually had conflicted feelings about him. By the end of the book all the conflicts I had were resolved.

I thought that the pacing of the plot was pretty good and the narrator of the audio book did a very good job. She did well giving the different people their own voice, which sometimes is difficult for me as a listener to differentiate. The narrator's pacing, tone, and power in her voice helped me to recognize different characters as well.

I like that this sci-fi book was different from anything else I've read and I recommend it to others whether or not you're a sci-fi reader.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Firrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with both an e-copy and audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fantastical story about an experiment based on the "Homestead" in which women would have babies without male DNA. They would mysteriously impregnate themselves and have little girls. Nine baby girls are born and live together until one night a fire breaks out and kills the man behind the study. Josephine was girl #1 and when her Mother comes up missing she sets out to find her tracing her way through the Homestead families all the while someone is watching her. No spoilers but I do recommend this book. Thanks to #netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

Josie, Girl One, was the first of nine girls to be conceived without male DNA, basically they were clones of their mothers. They were known as the “miracle babies”. The nine mothers and nine daughters lived on a commune in Vermont known as “the homestead” with Dr. Joseph Ballinger, their creator. They all lived there until a devastating fire took two lives. After the fire, the mothers and daughters went their own separate ways, across the US.
Josie, now 23, comes back to the small town to find her missing mother. She is joined with a reporter, Thomas, who assists her in her search for her mother. Along the way, they track down all of the other miracle babies in hopes that they have information. Secrets are uncovered during their journey and Josie finds out how much her mother sheltered her life.
As the story went on, this got a little to sci-fi for my liking. The virgin births I can get behind, but what happens later to each of the nine miracle babies, seemed too far out there for me. I thought the story was just OK. I wanted to know what happened next, but there were parts that dragged on and it seemed too unrealistic. There was a definitive difference between the male and female characters of the book. If you like sci-fi, you will probably like this book.

I really liked the premise of this book. I like the mix of thriller and sci-fi. I thought it was unique and compelling. I liked how the book touched upon the social implications of female DNA only reproduction and I thought the societal closed-minded reactions seemed realistic.

Josephine was a slightly frustrating main character, as she continued to idolize her clearly problematic "father". Though, I thought that made sense considering her character and I appreciated her arc.

I think the middle of the book dragged a little and it probably could have been shorter. I actually wish I would have read the print version rather than audio, because the length was a challenge in audio format.

I received an ARC of the audiobook from Netgalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review. Josephine (Josie) Morrow is known as Girl One, the first of 9 babies, all girls, conceived without male DNA. When a protestor started a fire that burned down the Homestead, where all mother and girl pairs had lived, it claimed the lives of a girl and Dr. Bellanger, the scientist whose work is responsible for this miracle of conception. The group of women and children scatter across the US. Years later, Josie is studying to follow in Dr. Bellanger's footsteps when her mother goes missing. With the help of a journalist writing a book about the Homestead and 9 mother daughter pairs, Josie sets out to find her mother, and ultimately the truth behind the fire, her mother's disappearance, and her past.

This book was riveting from start to finish. The incredible audiobook narration by Jesse Vilinsky helped immerse me in the story. There were twists and turns from beginning to end, and there was no way I could have predicted where the book took me. Josie is a compelling character, who grows immensely throughout the story as she keeps finding more pieces of the puzzle. The side characters add to the rich tapestry of the narrative. The premise in itself was fascinating, but Murphy took it places I could not have predicted. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sci-fi thrillers, especially with a feminist twist.

I believed the hype and ended up totally bored by this sort of dystopian novel that was neither thrilling nor science-y. The comparisons to Margaret Atwood were intriguing, but did not deliver. A great idea but poorly executed.

We basically just spend a LONG time following a young woman looking for her missing mother. We meet a lot of people related to this virgin birth (parthenogenesis) thing that happened and find out some vaguely interesting stuff along the way. Oh yeah, and virgin birth equals weird supernatural abilities, apparently.

3.5 rounded up because I loved the concept of this book but man did I find it dragged in a LOT of places and I really struggled to keep reading. The idea of a group of women living a commune style existence and having 'virgin' births (no sperm required) was really neat. The novel starts after things have broken down and the commune has been disbanded. The main character is looking for her mom and trying to get to the bottom of what happened. Along her journey she meets her other sisters, finds some of the other mothers and discovers some secret abilities she didn't know she and her sisters possessed. Part science fiction, part suspenseful mystery (with parts that were way too long). This was just an okay read for me, I had such high hopes but it didn't quite live up to the Orphan Black/Margaret Atwood marketing (IMHO). Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this one!

The main character's story was really interesting and it got me from the beginning. While it did lose it me a bit in the middle, I made my way through it and really enjoyed it. The premise is a little sci-fci which I don't generally enjoy, but it's down to earth sci-fi rather than like deep space ailens or something, so it's definitely do able for non sci-fi readers. I think it's best marketed to fans of Orphan Black.

First, I want to say that I enjoyed the narrators voice very much for this book. Now, the story is a bit less interesting. It started out really good, but then at around chapter 24, I just couldn’t listen anymore. There’s not much interesting going on, and it’s a very predictable story.

This was so unique! I have never read a book with this plot and I was absorbed from the beginning. I found this book to have many twists and turns!

I really enjoyed the narrator as well! She read the book with such conviction and excitement! I feel that she fit this story very well!

This was only okay for me. The premise was super interesting but I couldn't quite connect with the characters or their motivation.

The Short Version: An excellent Sci Fi novel set to burn the patriarchy down in one fell swoop. A novel that reminds you of the power of well written science fiction, entertaining and thought provoking in equal measure, with just a few minor stumbles along the way.

The Long Version: I received a copy of the audiobook version of this novel thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio in exchange for an honest review.

In the 1970s, Josephine Morrow, Girl One, was a miracle baby. She was the first of 9 virgin births to mothers who lived at a retreat in Vermont called The Homestead. That was until The Homestead burned to the ground and killed the doctor, Joseph Bellanger, who helped bring her into existence. Now, years later, there's been another fire, this time at her mother's home. Her mother has gone missing, and in a search to find her, Josephine will discover the truth about her mother, The Homestead, and even herself.

This was a firecracker of a novel that reminds me of the best Sci Fi I've ever read. It poses big questions about ethics, religion, science, patriarchy, ambition, and motherhood but wraps them up in a well paced action filled mystery story that makes you forget you're exploring such profound themes. I had the same feeling listening to this as I did when I first read The Island of Dr. Moreau. I really struggled to put this audiobook down and was fully wrapped up in the emotions Josephine felt as she hunted for her mother.

In her journey, Josephine reconnects with the daughters of The Homestead. Each girl is a reflection of her mother and reaction to her at the same time, and one of Murphy's strength is clearly in her constructing of the female characters. The main ones all have definitive arcs and for the most part they are fully realized with their decisions fitting nicely with those arcs. Even the smaller female roles pack a punch in their brief appearances. This novel is fiercely feminine and unapologetic about it.

The pacing of the novel was very well done also, and I didn't feel any real lag as the story progressed. I was interested in the unraveling mystery, trying to figure out the twists before they were revealed, though I didn't succeed in guessing the twists...another good sign.

The prose is well written and mostly effortless, with the exception of an overuse of the word ersatz, but everybody has those few favorite words I suppose.

The last major win for this audiobook was the narrator's performance. It was a huge boon the atmosphere and experience. She really heightened the emotion and tension during all the big parts of the novel and provided a much richer experience overall. She also provided nuance to each character voice, keeping them easy to track, even as the cast burgeoned to a large size. Really really good job by the narrator.

There were some cloying drawbacks to this title as well however.

First, the plot, while well paced, felt a little arbitrary. Josephine was unraveling the mystery of her past she was sheltered from, but as the novel progressed it didn't feel like one clue led to the next in a logical order, it felt more like the author saying "let's have her go here and learn this little piece, then she'll go over here and learn this little piece". It didn't take me out of the story really, but I felt tugged along a little bit here and there,like I was struggling to be fully immersed.

Also, the depictions of men in this novel were a little reductive. I get this book is about female empowerment, and patriarchy, and the naked ambitions of men, etc... but at times I felt it pushed things too far. Every man in this story, with the exception of one character who was barely a bit character, was a cruel, violent, conniving, controlling, abusive jerk. I accept that I have not lived the female experience, so I may be speaking a little out of turn in my reactions to the characterizations of men, especially powerful men. I also accept that there are undoubtedly PLENTY of men like the ones in this book, out there roaming the world. At the same time, I felt the book was lacking a counter balance that would have punched up the depravity of the villains in this novel.

Lastly, the ending was a huge mixed bag for me. It was emotional and tense, I mean I got literal goosebumps a couple times listening. Problem was there were also several times in the last couple chapters where I wanted to chuck my phone against the wall because the characters were being insufferably STUPID. There were obvious solutions that seemed to have been ignored solely to keep the stakes high. The ending was really well written as far as what it evoked, it just felt forced, like real people would make better decisions.

Overall this book was a very solid 4 out of 5, and a strong recommendation to all Sci Fi lovers and anyone who wants to burn the patriarchy to the ground.

Component Ratings
Concept/Idea: 5 out of 5
Protagonist: 4.5 out of 5
Antagonist: 5 out of 5
Supporting Characters: 4 out of 5
Character Development: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.5 out of 5
Pacing: 4.5 out of 5
Narrator Performance: 4.5 out of 5
Dialogue: 4 out of 5
Ending: 3.5 out of 5

I enjoyed Girl One! I would describe it as The Grace Year meets crime thriller. The story was unique and though some of the suspenseful moments had me questioning what might happen next, it never came across as predictable. I had some issue with the narration of the audiobook, but only the tone of voice used throughout. The speaker was very clear and easy to understand, but too much emphasis was placed on the thriller aspect. Even background information was given an intense tone that turned me off. I think I would have enjoyed this book much more reading a paper copy. All in all an enjoyable story that kept me questioning. I would recommend for any fans of the sci-fi genre, feminist stories, romance, queer romance, and even mystery/suspense. Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. Review posted on GoodReads.

Girl One: A Novel by Sara Flannery Murphy
Narrated by Jesse Vilinsky
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Publication Date: June 1, 2021

Girl One is a standalone novel by Sara Flannery Murphy. It is a work of science fiction brilliance with a great mystery! As a fan of Orphan Black and other like works, I loved Girl One! I really hope there will be a follow up!

I found this to be so fascinating! The story was fast paced with lots of twists and turns and unexpected happenings! I enjoyed that it was set in the 1990s. The story felt more plausible in a time before cell phones in every pocket and instead, with home phones with answering machines and pay phones still in existence!

The narration by Jesse Vilinsky was great! She gave each character such dimension!

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves genetics based fiction or someone who loves a great mystery! This is a great read and is one you won't soon forget!

I'm so grateful to Sara Flannery Murphy, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.