Girl One is a fast paced twisting story that gripped me from the beginning. The narration is really well done with a range of accents that help distinguish the many characters Girl One meets with throughout her search for her mother.

While it starts out with a fairly simple premise the story become more complex with each passing chapter and I couldn’t wait to see what we would discover next. As we follow Josie we learn along with her about her past and the true nature of what went on at the homestead. The writing is so visceral and emotional that it really make me feel like a part of the story. I found myself so invested in Josie’s search for not just her mother but the truth about herself and the other “miracle babies”.

On the surface this story is a thriller, but it also touches on themes of power and womanhood and autonomy. I love a story that is rooted in reality but also takes things just a little past the bounds of our world. The characters felt very real even though they were caught up in a supernatural dilemma.

I highly recommend Girl One, it would be the perfect listen for a summer road trip.

Wow, what an incredible read. This book is detailed while also keeping up a fast pace, with twists and turns I didn’t see coming. It’s a wonderfully entertaining book that I’d happily gift to any of my female friends (and I likely will). I only wish there was an epilogue. 4.5 stars.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook and thought it was beautifully narrated. The story was a little different from what I typically read, which was refreshing. I am not sure of the designation, but I was expecting it to be for an adult audience, and it seemed a little more YA or maybe New Adult.

Interesting title and blurb in my first from this author. It’s a fifteen hour audiobook that helped me stave off boredom from my tedious job.

What did I like? I’m not sure what I was expecting from this story but it wasn’t what I got. Audiobook was exceptional with a narrator that could differentiate voices pretty well. I enjoyed listening to it and fifteen hours is a long dedication.

Would I recommend or buy? I’m not really sure what category this story fits as it has many facets. Some I liked and some I did not. Really more of a fence book, I found it interesting but the enjoyment wasn’t there. The audiobook was really great though.

I received a complimentary copy to listen to and voluntarily left a review.

This book seemed right up my alley. The subject matter, the plot as described, seems like something I would devour. Yet, I couldn't really get into it. There were times I would start to get invested in the characters and then it would meander again and my mind would wander. I even went back and forth between the audiobook and reading and I would realize I had read or listened to pages without internalizing anything and have to go back. I think it was to do mostly with a lack of connection to the characters. They were all over the place and not very likable. I liked the idea. I liked parts of the action. The book overall was OK.

This book was such a wild ride. It combined some of my favorite elements into a very unique and intriguing story. I love plot driven books so I didn't dwell too much on character development and sometimes got lost in the cast of 20+ characters but that didn't stop me from really enjoying this story. I was hooked until the very end! When I finished, I had several particular friends in mind to recommend this book to.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio and the author for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

***spoiler thoughts below***
I really wished for more about the second settlement and almost thought that Fiona was in charge of it all with the way Mathias addressed her when she asked him to leave. I feel like there is some great material for a behind the scenes on Fiona's life and what will happen next with the girls and their powers.
******

This is a story about girl one & the concept of truly independent women.

I enjoyed this, because I’ve been missing both Orphan Black & Black Mirror- and it’s reminiscent of those while still being original. My only complaint is a character plot line that didn’t seem to be tied up- it essentially just went nowhere after an abrupt exit. Tbf, given the themes that may have been a purposeful artistic choice.

Thank you so much Netgalley & Macmillan audio for this Alrc!

This is definitely NOT what I thought I was signing up for when I requested to read this book. This is your stereotypical white feminist style story that excludes BIPOC and operates within a binary that excludes nonbinary people. I also thought this book was a dystopian novel based off of the comp titles and not a story that takes place in the 90s. Either way, not for me.

I requested this one because it might be a 2021 title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book is not my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one rather than push myself to finish it only to give it a poor review.

The promotion for this book promised "Orphan Black meets Margaret Atwood in this twisty supernatural thriller about female power and the bonds of sisterhood" and I should have known better.

Girl One is Josephine, the first child conceived by parthenogenesis (asexual, single-parent reproduction) which, with scientific interference as is required in humans is basically just human cloning. That's where the Orphan Black reference comes from. They reference Margaret Atwood seemingly because it's a story about women that contains male violence and male ego fragility.

It's a fine story that's well-written, but it's a little bit shallow; there are all these references to scientific process that are never explored and as the reader who has no experience with human cloning and only a passing knowledge of parthenogenesis it didn't feel developed. The fact that Josephine is constantly referring to Joseph Bellinger, the scientist who ~figured it all out~, as her father (she's even named after him) really undercuts the weight of the premise.

Ultimately, the book felt more like a treatment that was published in development rather than something that was entirely fleshed out and completed. It's certainly worth reading but it's not nearly as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be. There are also some very loose threads at the end that are very frustrating.

The narrator for the audiobook is Jesse Vilinsky and she's just fine. A little overwrought occasionally, but it didn't detract from the story very much.

I received a copy of the audiobook for free from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

I was lured in by the comparison to Orphan Black, but was instead greeted with the epitome of white feminism. Within the first 30% of this book we see no queer or BIPOC characters. We see an almost aggressive dismissal of single mothers and/or raising children without father figures. There was so much cringey rhetoric about upholding "American family values" - not to mention the male characters constantly talking over or for female characters.

I understand that the book takes place in the 90s - before social media, before having the internet at your fingertips, before so much social justice reform - but this book is being published in 2021, where your audience has different sensibilities than the characters. These discussions should be happening, even if they're not said flat-out. Instead of dismissing the people who say she should have a father or she would have been better/smarter/whatever if she'd had a biological father, Josie just aspires to be like the only father figure she ever had.

It's just so... Shallow. Also - how many times does one need to use the word "ersatz"? I'm pretty sure I heard it in this book more times than I've ever encountered it in my entire life up to this point.

The audiobook narration, however, was fantastic. The narrator dug into regional accents and changing pitch and tone between characters so it was always very clear who was speaking and how they felt about what they were saying. It gave the story an element of performance.