3.5 stars. The Big Door Prize answers an interesting question: what would you do differently if you knew your life would change today? The small town of Deerfield, Louisiana is very predictable. The same people do the same thing day in and day out. Until a mysterious machine arrives at the local grocery store. This machine takes a sample of your DNA and tells you what you are capable of doing with your life. This causes people to start acting strangely and change professions all based on one readout from this machine. Tis causes people to have more confidence and believe in themselves, and at other times causes people to question everything they know and to question if they are enough.

This book was written from multiple points of view and was very interesting to think about. What would you do if a readout from the grocery store told you what you were capable of? Would you change everything or continue as normal? Very good, thought provoking book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Good storytelling and above average writing will keep the reader engaged in this quirky tale of a southern town where your destiny can be measured at the supermarket in a Photo Booth like machine that swabs your dna and reimagines your future. An interested premise that will appeal to many.

In the Southern town of Deerfield, Louisiana a machine appears in the local grocery store that is supposed to tell you your life’s potential with just a swab of the cheek. I immediately loved the premise of this book and the author wrote the story in an easy to follow way. The story focuses around a few main characters who I liked, but there was something lacking in the character build in general. The story, although interesting, didn’t seem to grab me the way that I had hoped for, but overall the book was good. The book did bring up some concepts for me to think about in regards to my own potential and ability and if a book makes you think about your own life, in my opinion, it’s a good book. I originally would give this a 3.5 star rating, but will up to a 4 star rating because I think the book was good, just not great.

The Big Door Prize was a good book, but left me wanting more from it. The concept of a machine in a local grocery being able to swab your DNA and tell what your real potential is for $2 sounded like a perfect Sci-Fi story, but very little focus was put on the machine and it felt like more of a magical realism love story. I also felt as though I were waiting for the big moment to happen but it instead continued throughout at a steady pace without any real momentum. I did like the unique aspect to the storyline and I thought the main characters were well developed. I think perhaps my expectations for the novel were a bit off, it is much less about the machine and it’s capabilities and more about the human reactions and emotions. It is a love story with a lot of heart and a feel good message. 3.5/5⭐️

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for gifting me this DRC. The Big Door Prize will be out on August 31.

The book begins and ends by asking “how can you know that your whole life will change on a day that the sun rises....”. We can never know what our destiny is - it’s all in the hands of God.

When the DNAMIX machine shows up near the service desk in the local grocery store, nearly everyone falls under its spell--who doesn't want the possibility of a different life? Who is behind the machine's arrival? Could it really tell people just who they should be? Douglas, high school history teacher and celebrated whistler, thinks he wants to learn the trombone and has lined up lessons, but everyone in town is changing their lives and their plans because of that thing! He doesn't understand how anyone could fall under its spell or be tempted to waste $2 to be told you're not doing what you should be in your life--he's especially knocked off-kilter when the DNAMIX says his wife should be royalty--and she seemingly believes it. Douglas's interactions with the town's priest, mayor, and students (and his nemesis the town photographer) help to tell the story of a town that's inspired and turned on its head.

I read about a third of this, but it didn't capture my imagination. I set it aside and didn't finish it.

As other people mentioned, I wanted more about the machine and was really taken in by the premise, but it ended up revolving around a married couple and a teenager and their stories. I didn't feel particularly interested in any of it. I think I was supposed to find the townspeople's new interests/hobbies amusing but I just felt annoyed as this kept bumping along. I also didn't really like the writing, especially the beginning and ending; it just didn't do it for me.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.