This book got me out of a reading slump that had me struggling to enjoy reading and talk about books for about a month. It was so interesting and unsettling I sped through it once I picked it up.

The main vibes of this book are: climate change, dystopian, white/corporate feminism, queer characters

As a women in STEM girlie who remembers joining the tech workforce and finding tons of “feminist” groups all about taking up space and reclaiming our power at the office, Jacqueline Millender, the billionaire wannabe feminist thought leader, really reminded me of the somewhat hollow versions of feminism I’ve seen in tech that so often only focus on already wealthy white women. Her character was really frightening in so many ways, and I think her chilling take on what was happening on earth was what made me love this book so much.

The other main characters were all pretty solidly on the other side of things when compared to Jacqueline. Well, at least by the end of the book they were. While Jacqueline was incredibly wealthy and had this really flawed view of feminism, other characters like Ava, Shelby, and Olympia tried to correct course and keep the future of humanity going in a positive direction with a more inclusive view.

Anyways, I really loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys dystopian books or books that explore what might happen as the world gets more and more uninhabitable due to climate change. Folks who are interested in the dark sides of white feminism would also really enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

I refuse to spoil this for any future readers. Please just prepare with tissues for a devastatingly beautiful heartache of a novel. Wow.

The premise of this book drew me in, and kept me reading. I enjoyed the different perspectives to see how the world was faring over time. I also thought the character of Jacqueline was fascinating. I felt like the pacing worked, but I do wish I had got more of certain perspectives. Overall, this was an interesting look into human psychology and the things that humans will do to survive as well as the things humans will do to hold onto power. But more than that, this book truly showed the resilience of the human spirit. If you’re looking for a unique climate change science fiction that explores feminism, then this book is for you.

A dystopian fiction novel taking place after when the final tick of the doomsday clock strikes midnight, so to speak. Climate change has ravaged the world, and the only safe place is Inside. One Inside in particular has been generously invested in by a billionaire girlboss, who claims to be an activist for both feminist and the environment, and the Inside under her control will build a new world free from the inequality of the Patriarchy. Yours For the Taking is a layered book, looking into the reality of the effects of climate change, power x oppression x capitalism, and exclusionary “white woman feminism.” I truly can’t believe this is a debut novel. I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely recommend it. 4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book was interesting - it was VERY ambitious for a debut fiction novel. However, it didn't live up to my expectations. First, this was advertised as an adult novel, but both the characters and the overall tone felt very young adult.

Overall, I understood that this book wanted to make a statement about gender, climate change, and power, but something about it really bothered me that I just can't put my finger on. It just was not an enjoyable reading experience for me.

As always, I appreciated the sapphic, trans, and non-binary representation here.

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pace of Yours for the Taking held steady at a medium fast pace.

POV: Yours for the Taking was told in 1st person, 3rd person, and 2nd person POV.

Trigger/Content Warning: Yours for the Taking has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

Transphobia
Confinement
Grief
Death
Emotional Abuse
Mental Illness
Misogyny
Suicide
Medical Trauma
Death of a parent
Pregnancy
Gaslighting
Classism
Ableism
Bullying
Panic attack/disorders
Self-harm
Rape
Slavery
Toxic Relationships
Violence
Forced Institutionalization
Medical Content
Kidnapping
Lesbophobia
Pandemic/Edemic
Body Horror
Suicidal Thoughts
Abandonment
Refugee Experiences
Workplace Harassment
Depression
Drugging
Eugenics
Loss of autonomy
Climate Change
Sexual Content: Yours for the Taking has moderate to graphic sexual content.

Language: There is moderate to graphic swearing in Yours for the Taking. Also, terminology and language will be offensive to most readers.

Setting: Yours for the Taking is set in a dystopian New York City.

Age Range: I recommend Yours for the Taking to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

In 2050, the world is ravaged by climate change. When a reclusive billionaire/women’s rights advocate decides to build climate-safe, domed cities, it is a ray of hope for most people. Ava is one of those people, and when she is selected to live in the Manhattan Inside, she is thrilled. But, when her girlfriend, Orchid, isn’t selected, Ava is forced to journey to The Inside alone. Once settled, Ava learns of a program that will guarantee her better meals and rooms. But, doing this program would mean doing something she never planned–becoming a mother.

Jacqueline Millender is the reclusive billionaire/women’s rights advocate who pitched the idea of The Inside Project to donors. She wants to make a perfect world where women and men run equally. Or does she? There are secrets hidden from her donors and the people who run the day-to-day administration of The Inside Project. These secrets can make the project (and Jacqueline’s lifestyle) crash and burn.

Shelby is a young, bright transwoman who wants to make an impact in the world. Horrified by the effects of climate change, she hears about Jacqueline and her life as a women’s rights advocate. So, when Shelby becomes Jacqueline’s assistant, Shelby jumps at it. But Shelby soon learns things aren’t all sunshine and roses with Jacqueline or what she wants to be with The Inside Project.

Olympia is a promising medical student on the verge of graduating when Jacqueline offers her a job as the head of her health department. When she is forced to accept, Jacqueline shows her a different side of The Inside Project than what is projected to the world. Only Olympia’s actions prevent Jacqueline from doing something that could ruin the project. But Olympia can only stall for so long.

How will Shelby, Ava, and Olympia unite to bring down Jacqueline? What is so horrible that they will lose everything to prevent a more significant catastrophe?

Main Characters

Ava: I liked Ava the best of all the main characters. Her core values at the beginning of the book were the same at the end. She was sweet, and she loved her daughters. But, she knew, deep down, that something wasn’t right with The Inside. She was my favorite character in the entire book.

Jacqueline Millender: I liked what she initially put forward at the beginning of the book. She was building safe havens for people during the climate crisis that they were experiencing. But, slowly, cracks started to show in her facade and what she was doing. By the middle of the book, she disgusted me (what she had Olympia do to Ava and the other Inside residents was criminal). By the end of the book, I pitied and didn’t like her. I want to believe she was drunk on power, but with everything revealed about her family and herself, I think not.

Shelby Silver: Shelby rated second on the characters I liked. She went into the job with Jacqueline with rose-colored glasses. Even I could see how she was treated as early as the chapters where Olympia got recruited. Once she got on the ship (after the bedbug debacle), she was treated as less than a person. In the end, she is the one who brings about Jacqueline’s downfall.

Olympia: Olympia, for me, was a morally gray character. She followed Jacqueline’s orders until she started to develop a conscience. But until then, Olympia was willing to do whatever it took to cover up what Jacqueline was doing in that Inside facility. I liked that she finally found her backbone, stood up to Jacqueline, and ended what was happening. What Jacqueline suggested and what Shelby found out was the straw that broke her.

My review:

I am going to be very blunt here: If you do not like feminist books that are centered almost entirely on queer, lesbian, and trans people, then this book might not be the book for you. The author laid the “men destroyed everything, so the women need to fix it” on very thick in this book. But, you know, in a way, she’s right. Our climate is changing, and the powers in charge sit there, twiddling their thumbs. And yes, they are 85% men. I’m not saying that an entirely matrical society would be different, but anything that will slow climate change would be welcome.

The main storyline is wrapped around the four main characters, climate change, and takes place over twenty-two years. It was well written. As mentioned above, I found it very heavy-handed with the “men are destroyers” angles. I also wasn’t expecting it to go the way it did with any of the main characters. The author interconnected everyone, and she did it very gradually.

The storyline with Ava, The Inside, and her daughters brought tears to my eyes. I felt so bad for her, and I wanted at least something to go right for her (at the beginning of her storyline). The way Orchid left her was horrible. Then she went through the added trauma of bearing children, going through pre and post-natal depression. She was happy while Brook and July were with her but lost when they left.

The storyline with Jacqueline brought a terrible taste to my mouth. I didn’t like her initially, but I figured she was building these safe havens for people. But then, the author took her character and added these layers to it that made me disgusted. Over the twenty-two years that she ruled over her fiefdom (and yes, it was that), she suggested such horrible, vile things that I truly hoped Olympia wouldn’t listen to her. She got everything that was coming to her and then some.

The storyline with Shelby was sad. She adored Jacqueline and would do anything to help her. It broke my heart to see how she was treated, not only by Jacqueline but by other people. She was so sweet. I was also in awe of Shelby’s resourcefulness. She, along with Olympia and July, worked together to bring Jacqueline down.

The storyline with Olympia was sad, but I felt that she made her bed for most of the book. At the beginning of her storyline, she was forced into the position (someone doxxed her). But, after that, she participated in everything Jacqueline asked or wanted. It wasn’t until the death of one of Brook and July’s friends and the coverup that she realized that maybe what she was doing wasn’t good. I mentioned that Olympia was more of a morally gray character, and I believe she was. Olympia starts acting like the human and doctor she is by the end of the book. And that began by fessing up to Ava about what was going on.

There isn’t a happy ending in Maybe Once, Maybe Twice. The book ends with a maybe. I’m not too fond of books that end with a maybe. I need to know what happens to people. I hope they end up where they are going, but the implications could be better.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Gabrielle Korn for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Yours for the Taking. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Yours for the Taking is a dystopian look on climate change, feminism, gender equality, class equity, and it’s like holding humanity up to a magnifying glass. Does that seem like a lot of topics to tackle? That’s because it absolutely is - almost too much to cover!

I was SO drawn in by the synopsis, and I truly appreciate what the author is setting out to do. Korn is addressing many serious, prominent questions that are relevant to today: how scarily bad climate change is getting, how there are still undeniable inequities between sexes and genders, the polarizing racist views of a certain population of people, and the disparities of poor people that ultimately benefit the mega rich. But unfortunately when so much ambition is put into a book, there will ultimately be other aspects of it lacking - in this case, the character development is what suffers.

You feel nothing towards these characters because of how large scale the plot is. All the characters’ feelings, although intense, end up coming off as very superficial because of how little is done to get to know them and see them as real genuine people. And usually I LOVE a story that spans across decades, however, you see almost little to no character growth or progress overtime, which is the whole point of using such a vast amount of time. BUT since we’re playing with the concept of the Inside and how this alternate reality doesn’t give people the opportunity to grow or mature or have stakes in life or risk anything and be actual adults LIKE I GET IT BUT ITS SO… The premise seemed so on the nose with real issues but then the story took off and I feel like we got really out of touch with all these people introduced. The dialogue was okay, the character dynamics were okay, the pacing was okay (a bit slow because the chapters felt a bit long for my taste) but I will definitely be looking out for Korn’s next work because the ambition and the love (for people, for writing, for humans) is most absolutely there.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the electronic arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

A dystopian, sapphic, thought-provoking story that I am still thinking about. Deep discussions of climate change, feminism, queerness, gender structure, politics, corporate greed, patriarchy, etc covered through multiple POVs. A great societal reflective piece for anyone who loves dystopian stories and a provocative future forward-thinking story.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Yours for the Taking is a dystopian, apocalyptic novel that centers around the idea of an all-female, or non-cis-man, society. Though this book started out a little slow for me, by the time we got to the introduction of the Inside, I was hooked. Climate disaster is something that is, unfortunately, on the horizon (and already happening) and I think this one does a good job of capitalizing on that very real fear.

I liked that this story incorporated nuance into its understanding of gender and other disparities. We see nonbinary representation through Ira, and Olympia provides insight and takes a stance against JM's white-washed version of feminism. All in all, I thought Yours for the Taking had solid writing, a great story, and stayed interesting throughout. I gave this one a five-star rating because I enjoyed it, would recommend it to a friend, and would read it again.

This story offers a captivating examination of empowerment and self-discovery in a dystopian setting. Korn offers a novel viewpoint on negotiating life's intricacies by fusing together personal tales and perceptive remarks. The book is a must-read because of its captivating tale and honest tone.

I am a fan of dystopian novels, and when I saw the description of this one I thought it was right up my alley. I have to say, the beginning was a little slow for me. Maybe it was essential groundwork to understand the characters in their outside lives before Inside was started, but it wasn't super compelling for me. I almost wished there was more background on what the earth was like and what their lives were like? They talked about the heat, storms, etc, but I think what was missing was how we went from present day to 2050.

Once the people moved Inside, the book became a lot more compelling for me. From the halfway mark I couldn't put it down. There's some great themes surrounding power, feminism (what makes a woman anyway?), struggle being essential to self growth, and more. For me, I did not resonate as much with the discussions around feminism and sexuality, but for anyone interested in those themes, and LGBTQ+ writing in general, there's a lot woven into the book. I found the short chapters with Orchid and the people outside were perhaps not necessary? They did give me Station Eleven vibes though.

The end was a bit of a let down for me. I turned the page thinking there was more....but that was it. There was a lot left unanswered, but I guess the book needs to end somewhere?

Overall I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes futuristic and dystopian literature.

I am teaching a class on feminist speculative fiction this year, and I’ve been lucky enough to be immersed in a lot of fictional utopias and dystopias. Yours For the Taking is one such novel, and I can see myself teaching it in another iteration of the course. In the vein of other feminist speculative work, it interrogates our current systems and asks what kind of future we would like to live in…and what kind of future we might be building right now. I found it a compelling and propulsive read, and highly recommend it to my fellow lovers of the genre.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

The early reviews of this book insisted it was best to go in blind, so I did. Coming out, I still feel pretty blind. At its base, it's an interesting, well-written dystopia about a all-female dystopian/utopian community engineered by a sort megalomaniacal Gwyneth Paltrow. On that alone, I enjoyed reading the book and had plenty of good laughs at some of the polite, well-spoken feminist disagreements. Despite an accelerated timeline and rather distant tone, the characters still contain enough depth to be interesting and dimensional-ish. It's not a total disaster.

That said, the Korn doesn't stick the landing or the feminism. There's a moment, a couple parts in when the characters have just entered the Inside, that really strikes a strong chord and develops true horror based in following flimsy feminist rhetoric to the extreme. I was so excited to see this horror develop and deepen... but it all sort of petered off into bland virtues of smooth, peaceful revolutions based on love and instinctive motherhood.

Instead of examining weak principles and non-inclusive politics, the novel becomes about Evil Gwyneth Paltrow and how permanent, solitary incarceration of one evil woman is the appropriate response for a generation of eugenics. Yours for the Taking offers entertainment, but no depth of thought and an ultimately bland and forgettable dystopian experience.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Gabrielle Korn for an ARC of this book!**

Ava and Orchid believe their love is strong enough to transcend anything: space, time...and even a rapidly eroding climate. But in 2050, the third factor in this list has started to overtake all else, as their homebase of Brooklyn has passed dangerous and is quickly becoming uninhabitable. Billionaire and self-proclaimed visionary Jacqueline Millender has the possible answer to their problems: The Inside Project. In it, women (and only women, we soon come to find out) will live under a dome of sorts, protected from the unsafe air and the ugly ramifications of a world decimated by men...but just how HONORABLE are Jacqueline's intentions?

Shelby can hardly believe when Jacqueline reaches 0ut to HER to be her personal assistant, and jumps at the chance to be second in command to one of the world's most powerful and influential women. Olympia works on the medical side of the house, and she too is honored to work for Jacqueline at first...until Jacqueline's visions for her own personal progeny come to light, and Olympia begins to wonder exactly WHAT she has signed up for...and if it's too late to escape. As the three perspectives converge, all of the women in Jacqueline's 'orbit' come to one terrifying conclusion...but with the world literally crumbling around them, can they band together to work against the climate crisis? Is their little slice of paradise on the "Inside" really a paradise? Or are they simply cogs in a devastating machine, with wheels TOO far in motion to be stopped now?

This book is marketed as queer and dystopian, and in many respects, these descriptors are accurate. The MCs are entrenched in a lesbian relationship from the very beginning, but the book quickly becomes less of a true love story and more of a semi-thesis on the pros and cons of a man-free society, with a disjointed and at times eye-roll worthy plot that tried to tread a LOT of ground...and ended up simply dancing around ideas instead. We bounce from the climate issues, to the pros and cons of 'traditional' feminism, queer relationships, men and the patriarchy and more...but Korn never gives ANY of these ideas full credence and room to breathe...and subsequently, the book suffers because of it.

This is also supposedly adult fiction...but it reads INCREDIBLY YA to the point where I actually stopped and looked it up at one point to confirm that this wasn't the case. The "women" in the book read more like teenage girls, with bubbling insecurities, wanton lust, and a lack of focus and determination you'd expect from much younger people. This became especially difficult when some of the characters had children of their own...and once said women hit their teens/twenties, it became even harder to tell them apart from their parents, who were theoretically FAR older (at least, I hope so).

Which brings me to another one of the book's issues...a timeline that never seemed to end. By the end of the book, some of the characters are literally OLD WOMEN and they certainly did not start off with their AARP cards in hand. With characters who gave me such minimal emotional investment, especially, I did not need to see their lives progress over such a LONG period of time, and it made a plot that already felt slow become interminable. I also am not a fan of timeline jumps in general unless they a) make sense and b) are easy to follow, and in this case? I'm sad to say BOTH boxes were marked.

To cap it off, one of the most distracting and odd things about this book was the dialogue. It felt cheesy, unnatural, and often felt like an info dump about different characters and their motivations. Over and over again we were told WHAT to think about characters rather than being inspired to feel something about them and form a unique opinion as a reader having an individual reading experience. One character in particular is SO one dimensional that by the end, I started to roll my eyes each time they popped up in the narrative: in the words of Radiohead, there were No Surprises here.

Basically, there are some interesting concepts and theses buried under a subpar plot and overshadowed by lackluster characters here. If you want to go down the rabbit hole of your own thoughts and speculation about the dystopian picture Korn paints here, and the pitfalls of a women-only society...this is your book. For me, however, the only thing that felt like it was MINE for the taking was a generous helping of disappointment.

3 stars, rounded up from 2.5

If there’s one topic that simultaneously scares me to death and enrages me, it’s eugenics. Combine eugenics with the additional evils of capitalism, and I’ll get sick with anxiety. So, mix eugenics, capitalism, and the type of feminism practiced by the likes of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (you know, the kind where only cisgendered, rich, smart, childbearing, white women are the ones truly deserving of equality) up together in a part and that’s what terrifies me about Yours for the Taking.

This book is largely a conspiracy thriller set in a dystopian future that deals mainly with LGBTQ and women’s issues within a psychological context. That’s more or less the construct we’ve got going on here. You can read about the plot of the book in the blurb, but know that the blurb isn’t quite as clear as it seems. The narrative structure for the book is from multiple POV’s played out in third person: Ava, Jacqueline, Shelby, Olympia, and more all have chapters told from their perspective. It is a linear timeline structure, which is very nice because between the plot and the multiple narrators it would definitely feel unnecessarily complicated to manipulate the timeline.

While the book is very well-written, I did feel at times that the book did veer from its seeming mission to aim for scathing social commentary on non-intersectional feminism, transphobia, and queer erasure into the territory of being almost satirical or too on the nose. If you’re going to write satire then you need to lean all the way into it for the whole book. However, the terrors of eugenics were portrayed all too well, as were the horrors of mind control.

My most common complaint that resounded in my mind again and again as I read this book came from my geography degree: The premise that anyone would build a shelter to house the chosen ones of North America for the unforeseeable future–possibly forever–on the island of Manhattan in a world after global climate change has melted the ice caps makes absolutely no sense. The island of Manhattan is unstable. It’s mostly made up of infill dirt. It’s largely an artificial island. It was a swamp before it was colonized. If a shelter like the one in the book were to be built, it would have been built on the mainland, not on Manhattan Island.

Other than that, it’s an excellent book that asks great questions about nature versus nurture, the patriarchy, feminism, parenthood, sisterhood, and where will humans go when the tide finally rises.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. This review was written without compensation. Thank you.

File Under: Conspiracy Thriller/Dystopian Fiction/LGBTQ Fiction/Psychological Fiction/Women’s Fiction

Unfortunately, I am not going to finish this book. I got 22% through it before putting it down for good. It was very hard-hitting on the societal issue of gender, and, as someone who already subscribes to the belief that gender is a construct, it got redundant and annoying rather quickly. Almost every character is either a POC or queer (sometimes both) and the only white cis woman is the one trying to force her ideals onto others, and the POC and queer characters must educate her about her misguided ideals, which I think perpetuates the concept that white cis women are not responsible for their own education, which is definitely not the case. It's possible I'll pick this book up again in the future, as I feel like I was just getting to the action of the plot, but honestly it's not likely.

In so many ways, 2050 feels so far away and yet doesn’t. Author Gabrielle Korn brings us to the not so distant dystopian future where climate change is rapidly affecting the world and guaranteed survival is not a guarantee.
This book is about gender dynamics and about reclaiming female power. Though set in a dystopian landscape and in the future, it is not such a stretch to feel this narrative personally whether you feel you fall somewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum or not.
Overall, this book will suck you in with good pacing and character development. Most of the characters are also feminine and focused on surviving in a world that’s been destroyed by the ravages of wars and climate decimation. I didn’t expect to enjoy this sort of sci-fi dystopian book so much. Usually there feels to be an aspect lacking, but I feel Author Korn developed a fascinating premise and world to dive into and to contemplate on.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publishing company for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book for review and reading. My honest review is that I hope this book finds a strong audience upon its release and makes its voice heard.

I really wanted to enjoy this title. And for the most part I did. I love the premise. I am enamored with setting. And it has a rich character development. Unfortunately I struggled with connecting to the characters. It almost felt like social issues were tied to a character for its inclusion. But it wasn’t woven in with the characters beyond development. Great language and well written, but just couldn’t buy in with that one thing.

Yours for the Taking
Gabrielle Korn
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dystopian, Queer
What I loved most - ended with hope.
Realistic dystopian examination of gender selection - women, intelligence, purposefully selected. A very biased selection by one woman with a massive agenda. Told over decades to allow for plot building and experiencing life in the dome. No outside windows - totally cutoff from the outside world.
Smart. Terrifying. Very creative. Great read!

Yours For The Taking is a futuristic climate fiction novel about a billionaire’s plan to rebuild society in a weather protected structure of mainly women.

In 2050 the earth is suffering from the dramatic effects of climate change and a billionaire oil heiress and feminist author (Jacqueline Millender) uses her wealth to become the New York director of a giant weather proof sealed community called “The Inside Project”. Only a small percentage of applicants are accepted and Jacqueline uses this new utopia to push her own narrative of wealth, privilege and feminist ideals. She tinkers with the residents personal freedoms, bodies and minds while the storms rage outside and earth slowly becomes inhospitable. But a group of women including a doctor and Jacqueline’s own daughter begin to realize that the Inside is becoming just as messed up as the world they were trying to escape.

In this science fiction novel Gabrielle Korn explores the idea of how a narrow idea of what’s “best” for people could leave them with no rights and no voice. In this planned world every job, outfit and apartment is chosen by one woman in advance and the occupants blindly follow because the air is pumped full of mind altering substances. The first generation born into The Inside will struggle with mental health issues because they have never faced any of the obstacles and disappointments one encounters when they achieve and fail on their own.

I enjoyed the characters and the “what if” plot of Yours For The Taking. It makes some interesting points and still manages to keep up a nice pace and entertain.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️