I tore through this book in two days! It is great to have a young adult dystopian in the classic sense to hand to my teen readers. It definitely gives off Handmaids Tale vibes (the TV show especially) but was fresh enough to keep me guessing. The writing was clean and direct, a refreshing change to the heavy, descriptive YA books that typically come across my desk these days. Can't wait to share it with my patrons.

The Chaperone is the debut book by M Hendrix. The feel of this book is a YA Handmaid’s Tale. The story follows the life of Stella as her chaperone has died out of blue, and her coping with the arrival a new chaperone. The United States as we know it no longer exists, or so we think, as it is now deemed “New America”. New America has a stricter set of rules to help keep young girls pure, controlled, and constantly prepping to become a wife and mother. Stella is a strong lead character and goes through a rewarding journey to find out the truth about New America and her family!

This book is very action packed and I loved that the chapters were short! I couldn’t put it down, and felt like I was there with Stella cheering her on! I found it interesting how the author spoke about purity culture, as I had experience with that growing up. Especially how the girls were held to such a high standard as opposed to the boys who were held to basically nothing. Sadly, that’s an area where life imitates art in many cultures today. While there were several sensitive topics brought up, I thought the author did a great job of staying objective and giving many different views. I was rooting for Stella and was thrilled to see such developed character growth! In fact, upon finishing this book, I wanted more! I hope the author has plans for a second installment, because I am ready to see what’s next!

Dystopian fiction is always hit or miss for me, but this was definitely a hit! Seventeen-year-old Stella and younger sister, Shea live with their parents and the girls' "chaperone" in New America where girls are not allowed to be on their own or even be alone with boys. Of course when they graduate from high school they are expected to marry quickly and have children; it's a dream world, right? Fortunately Stella is unhappy when her chaperone dies unexpectedly and a boy she doesn't even like proposes marriage. What's a girl to do when her parents are so encouraging? If you are already incensed, this book is for you! It builds slowly but its intensity is smoldering and I raced through it!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Love dystopian worlds, especially thought-provoking ones! The concept of this book mirrors the turmoil and division that is happening in today's society. It's terrifying to envision just how far the US will plummet in infringing upon a person's rights and freedoms. Stella's journey to get out and escape is fast-paced and leaves you turning page after page. I felt that her decision to re-enter New America felt rushed and the last part of the book ended rather abruptly. Hopefully this means a sequel is in the works. The short chapters in this book and the quest to fight back against governmental power and control will appeal to teens. I would like to thank Goodreads and NetGalley for offering ARC copies of this book.

A wrinkle in time
The Allegory of the cave
I capture the castle
A room of one’s own
A room with a view
The house on mango street
Darius the Great is not Ok
The Outsiders
Of mice and men
Deenie
Lord of the Flies
Their eyes were watching god
Bless me Ultima
The diary of Anne Frank
In the time of butterflies
Love in the time of cholera
Incidents in the life of a slave girl
Uncle Toms cabin
Omelas
The collection poems of Langston Hughes
Fahrenheit 451
Dante’s inferno
The scarlet letter
The lottery

Is there any point arguing with him? Then I remember something Sister Laura said. She told me to make my own attack rather than be put on the defensive.
Mr. Russell turns away like he's done with me, but I keep going. "It seems like you don't want to call on me because I'm a girl, Mr. Rus-sell." Someone gasps out loud. Nearly everyone else, including Levi, gawks at me like my head's on fire.

This is what it feels like.
This is what they talk about in books.

The story has a secret story within itself
The topic that we’re all familiar with it, maybe sick of hearing in a way it’s kind of like the handmaid‘s tale without the graphic content
It’s a fun look into another reality, and I hope the next book comes out quickly and more badass

I never knew how much I missed dystopian ya books until I started this one. I think I read over 250 pages in one sitting. I was enthralled. I find stuff like this so fascinating because, unfortunately, I can see situations like this happening in the future.

I think the one things that prevented me from giving it five stars was that I wanted more. I loved the relationship between Stella and Sister Laura but I wanted more situations of them building relationships. I also loved the relationship between Stella and Mateo. Again, I wanted more. I understand there is only so much hidden, super secret moments to be had but I live for those situations.

I’m intrigued for more and I hope there will be more.

Could dystopia make a comeback? I think with this book it could. For those that wanted to enjoy the Handmaid’s Tale but maybe found it inaccessible, this book is a good jumping off point.

The Chaperon by M Hendrix had me captivated from the start to the very end! Set in a post-apocalyptic world, New America, where females have no power and are basically alive just to become pregnant, Stella is one of the good girls. She has a chaperone she loves, Sister Helen, and abides by all the rules set before her. But when Sister Helen dies? is murdered? Stella's world turns upside down and Stella starts to learn of what might exist beyond New America. Given a chance to escape, Stella takes it and must be deprogrammed. She's horrified to discover what she was blind to. She wants to help others. She wants to create change. Stella's next journey will be even more dangerous than getting out - getting back in.

A super strong debut novel from M Hendrix!! 4.5 stars. I didn't love the ending...maybe a sequel is in order?

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for an advance copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

If you liked The Handmaid's Tale, both book and series, then you are going to love this one. In the Handmaid's Tale we read about the young women who are forced to be surrogates for the high ranking officials and in The Chaperone we see a different women's perspective in the same type of society. This time we are introduced to the young women who are assigned a chaperone, once they enter puberty, to guide and train them to be pure and submissive. The Chaperones are by their sides constantly, even living in the family house, leaving the girls without any privacy. The girls are led to believe that they have some control over their futures which is far from the truth. Stella must decide if she will follow the rules or fight against them in order to shape her own future.

This book is sure to be loved by readers of Dystopian fiction, Woman's Right advocates and anyone just looking for a good book to settle in with.

Review: Oh my gosh! I really hope there is a book 2!!! This one was so good!! I always lost track of time while I was reading it! M Hendrix is a new author for me, but she has definitely piqued my interest! I don’t typically like governmental/political reads, but this one was more of a thriller in the sense that you didn’t know what was going to happen next! The chapters were really short, which is something I love. The book really captured me and made me want to continue reading! It is just in the POV of Stella, and I would love to learn what happens next in her journey. Just OMG! Thank you @sourcefirebooks and @netgalley for this ARC!! This has been my best read this month by far!!!

This was such an unsettling but thought provoking story. It’s so relevant to what is happening in today’s society. To think that things like this could actually happen is terrifying.

All girls in New America must have a chaperone until they get married. They are taught to be obedient, quiet and afraid. They say it is for their safety and Stella believes that…until Sister Laura comes around. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Stella’s journey. It was thrilling to see her realize that things weren’t as they seem and then feeling the need to do something about it. She was brave and selfless.

I wish this book would have been a little longer. To me, the world building wasn’t completely fleshed out. It seemed like we just skimmed the surface. I wanted to dive deeper into New America. Instead of being told things about the country, I wanted them to be shown. Especially when it came to the history, Minutemen and resistance.

Overall, I did have a good time reading this and I will pick up more from this author.

This was SO deeply stupid. Handmaid's Tale for babies, general dystopia for babies. It was perfect, no world building JUST vibes

An eerie, futuristic view of America. Comparable to "The Handmaids Tale".
Thank you SourceBooksFire for the eArc!

Wow. I’m still shivering even as I sit here writing this review. The Chaperone is basically the young adult version of The Handmaid’s Tale and it eerily touches on way too many current issues that could lead to the events in this book. It’s a dystopian nightmare and a fantastic read. I devoured it in one sitting and will recommend it to literally everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Chaperone by M. Hendrix is a thrilling, dystopian standalone YA novel. It reminded me of the Handmaid’s Tale meets a spy novel.

The Chaperone follows soon-to-graduate Stella Graham whose beloved chaperone has recently passed away. Chaperones are women who fortunate growing girls in New America are followed and monitored by. Obedience is key in this dystopia world. Stella gets assigned a new chaperone and she finds her life rapidly changing by Sister Laura. What all will her new chaperone change? How will Stella change in the process?

The novel was fast-paced and exciting. It featured short chapters which was a nice change from what I typically read. The character Stella was interesting and I enjoyed how she changed throughout the novel. There is some romance but it not the main theme of the story by any stretch.

I give this novel 4/5 stars and recommend to YA lovers out there looking for a dystopic world novel. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review this arc.

The premise to this book sounded very promising and I was very interested to read it! Unfortunately, once I started I immediately felt myself not as interested. The world building was very limited and it just did not keep my attention. This book really just skimmed the surface or the dystopia complex and it was hard to remain interested in how it ended. This ended up being difficult to finish because I just didn't care about the character motivations.

Stella lives in New America where the priority is to protect women, supposedly from harm, but it seems more likely to protect them from living. Until marriage, Stella has a chaperone, her personal guardian. Women do not go to college, they do not have a career, they get married and have children. If they do not marry they can train to become a chaperone. Stella’s chaperone dies and the new chaperone changes everything for Stella. She is expected to marry a man she finds repulsive and longs for freedom. Amazing story!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Chaperone is a dark feminist tale strongly reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid Tale. It has a strong teen lead, who leaves a sheltered life in a New America where girls marry at 18 (through arranged marriages) and produce babies while boys go to college. The Chaperone is the story of her political awakening thanks to two Chaperones assigned to her, who open her eyes to different realities.
Some of the events during her escape stretch the imagination, but the surprise ending gives a satisfying twist to the plot.

I picked up a copy at NCTE and my students ripped it from my hands before I could read it. I couldn't keep this on the shelf with 3 students reading the entire book in a day. So, I had to get a copy for me to see what it was all about. I get it. I get why they are enthralled with it. It's a little bit like The Handmaid's Tale.

Students love the struggle for power and control in society and the action of the story.

Wow. This book was a dystopian novel for a new generation, and resonated with my own anxieties and fears as well. M. Hendrix set a great pace with the story, and I was absolutely riveted. A non stop read of 2023 for me, I devoured it in 2 sittings!

New America. Stella Graham has never known anything different. She has been told her whole life how dangerous it is to be a girl, and believes that to be the biggest truth of her gender. Girls and their families can be shunned for impropriety, and they must be protected at all costs. That's why, when a girl becomes a young woman (menstruates for the first time), they are sent to a government school to keep them away from tempting men. Or, if their family can afford it, they are assigned a Chaperone-a woman who is there as their constant companion, and guardian to help guide them into the world and ultimately, towards motherhood.

But things are not as they seem on the surface in New America, and Stella is beginning to see through the cracks. Maybe it isn't girls who are in need of protection after all...