tl;dr note: You should get back together with your ex, because life is short and the world might basically end.

This is a post-climate catastrophe dystopian journey that swings between our present point of climate crisis to a future where civilization has dissolved and there’s now a return of tribal bands/communities. It’s shown through the perspective of several interconnected queer characters.

Honestly, this book was a surprise. Some climate dystopian novels really tread the line of being overly simplified or extremely over-explained. I think this slots close to the middle, where the science is vague enough, yet it doesn’t gloss over the nuances of what catastrophic climate disaster would entail, especially since it’s used as a plot device.

This was a fun story to unravel! I listened to the audiobook in one sitting at 2x speed without issues. Gail Shalan did great work to keep the narration engaging. It didn’t drag anywhere and after the characters were more clearly identified in the narrative, it was easy to follow. My only note the character development could have be stronger, especially for the found family dynamic in the end.

It’s 2041, and the U.S. is a dangerous place for a woman traveling alone, with deadly storms, wildfires, and rising political tensions. Still, Kelly’s on the road, desperate to reunite with the daughter she left behind seven years ago for a cause she no longer believes in. Meanwhile, Ava and her daughter Brook have spent 22 years as unwilling participants in The Inside Project, a climate change relief program, and are now on the run. Their paths cross with someone from Ava’s past, setting them on a journey through the wilderness, just as up North, worsening weather drives a settlement away, leaving two people to unravel a shared mystery.

This book is highly politically driven and I really resonated with this book a lot. It's a bit of a slow burn, but I think this book takes on serious issues dealing with climate change and the political actions of corruption and greed. I think if you have been triggered by the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, this book would also trigger you as well but also give you the urge to continue to fight for human rights and climate change action. This book is the follow up to the author's last book, but I didn't read that one nor had any issues following this one. The non-binary and LGBTQ+ representation in this book was a great addition to the storytelling. I really enjoyed the audiobook of Gabrielle Korn's writing style and would definitely be interested in seeing what this author has for readers next.

There were multiple sections of this book missing from the audiobook. I only know this because I won a giveaway of the print copy ARC so I was following along. It made the audiobook very disjointed and I feel badly for anyone who only listens to this version of the audiobook because there is so so so much missing that leaves context and important events out of the story. I enjoyed the full story but I can’t say I enjoyed this audiobook for this reason. This dystopian novel feels a bit too real in the face of our current world. Climate change deniers, men’s rights activists, and the patriarchy still run rampant in a dystopian world. The book touches on cults and the rich that horde information that could save the whole world and the entire population. But somehow love still shines through and thrives in a world like this.

This audio kept me HOOKED!
The TWISTS! GASP out loud! Shook me. Loved the ending.
Excellent found family, leaving home, dystopian and queer.
At times the timeline confused me - and keeping with all the characters. I could have used a graph lol.

Thank you so very much to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Gabrielle Korn. This book is for sure one of my favorites of the year! Maybe it's the parallels to reality (yikes), or to some of my other favorite dystopian novels, or maybe it's the focus on climate change and F the Patriarchy vibes... but whatever it is, I loved it. This is one i'll definitely recommend to everyone I know!

"The Shutouts" alternates between multiple time periods as a group of people grapple with catastrophic climate change and a government conspiracy that keeps humankind from addressing the problem. Human civilization is no longer life as we know it, and small microcommunities (some might say cults) crop up in response to the crisis. The conflict between "tribes" is inevitable.

This is a tough book for me to rate, because I came into it not realizing that it was the second book in a series. Perhaps because of that, I often had trouble keeping track of the characters and how they related to each other. The time jumps were a little difficult to follow on audiobook as well. As is common of speculative clifi fiction, there's a meandering, slow pace to it as the characters nomadically journey from one place to another. It did fine as a standalone, but I would recommend that readers start with book one if possible. There's strong repesentation for nonbinary and LGBTQ, which is always a win in my book but may be jarring for some readers who are not used to they/them pronoun use.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Gabrielle Korn for an advance copy for honest review.

“The Shutouts” by Gabrielle Korn is a dystopian queer novel set in a future America. The climate and politics are tumultuous as the characters grapple with their environment, relationships, and safety.

I really connected with most of the characters in this book. I felt like I really got to know them and that made the stakes higher for me. I loved the queer representation and how things were explained for readers that may not be as familiar with the queer community. This book is a sequel, but could definitely stand alone as well since the author does a great job at succinctly catching new readers up to speed. I’d still recommend reading the first one though, since it might help with understanding the connections between characters more deeply. Overall, this is a solid book with solid writing and an amazing cast of characters.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Shutouts revisits the dystopian world of Korn’s debut novel, Yours For The Taking. Captivating and thought-provoking, both interconnected standalones follow characters on the fringe of society as a near-future America experiences climate collapse.

In The Shutouts, Korn delves further into the emotional aspects of her characters, as the story has a more poignant tone compared with the thrill in Yours For The Taking. Korn weaves together multiple narratives across two timelines, adding perspective and depth to her dystopian setting.

A memorable and prescient piece of fiction— this is a standout dystopian novel about survival, corruption, queer identity, and climate crisis.

I highly recommend the audiobook! Gail Shalan adds melodrama with a powerful performance.

So I picked the absolute worst (or best?!) week to read Korn’s newest queer dystopian novel following fringe groups of people attempting to survive a world destroyed due to climate change. The best way to describe the fantastic prose across dual timelines (2041 and 2078) is claustrophobic with an undercurrent of horror. The government’s refusal to slow down climate change in tandem with corporations who stand to benefit from societal collapse was just way too relevant to today, as was the rise of extremist ideologies threatening queer people and women’s rights. Korn does a great job creating characters that included a wide span of ages, genders, and sexualities. I particularly enjoyed the way Korn highlighted how the climate crisis defined and changed relationships; parenthood, friendships, neighbors, and lovers. Part of the novel was epistolary, revealing flashbacks and establishing mystery that propelled the plot forward. There is danger, action, character growth, and hope. I didn’t realize this was a second stand alone book to follow up Korn’s Yours For the Taking, and now I plan to go back and read that one as well!

Thank you to MacMillan audio for my complimentary audiobook; narrator, Gail Shalan, did a wonderful job capturing the diverse characters as well as the intense sense of danger. The audiobook had my heart racing and my attention complete captivated.

After reading Yours for the Taking, I was on the fence about this author and storyline. I was hopeful that this sequel/stand-alone novel would offer more of what I like and look for in dystopian fiction by giving us a glimpse at the characters surviving outside the dome or in space. There was little connection between the two books with some subtle references to such things as Shelby from the first book being the sister of one of the shutouts but I looked at this book as more stand-alone.
Unfortunately, I just didn’t think that this book delivered a really entertaining dystopian tale. The dual timelines didn’t really add to the story and the characters were too numerous and underdeveloped in my opinion. The book wasn’t all bad - it moved along and I enjoyed the relationship struggles but it was just “okay”. I really wanted more action such as conflict between the people in the dome and the shutouts and more dangerous situations to overcome. I listened to the audio book version and the narrator was good but listening rather than reading may have made the characters more confusing.

What an engaging story. I enjoyed Gabrielle Korn’s book, and was thrilled when I discovered that the second one was coming.

I listened to the audiobook, and was engaged throughout. The narrator was fantastic, however I wish I could have seen how some names were spelled (I’ll read the book and find out).

While the novel was character driven, the plot didn’t disappoint. I appreciated the time spent building the world within the story. There were multiple timelines and despite worries that it would be hard to follow on an audiobook, it wasn’t. I enjoyed how the various storylines came together, and I was not disappointed with the ending. I’d recommend this book!

The Shutouts is what I think of when I hear the phrase speculative fiction. It's a solid take on what it means to be human in a time of struggle, potentially in the near future. I had not read the first book, but still found myself able to follow along with the strong world-building and I would feel confident recommending this to patrons. As mentioned in the publishers notes, there is queer rep--bonus points!!

Saga continues from Yours for the Taking. People are still facing climate crisis full force, lakes are evaporating. soil is still contaminated. Underground lifestyle is one to stay, but is it? Because humankind tends to show cultish behavior especially when they feel threatened. The kind of collectives started in Yours for the Taking will lose some its avid supporters in The Shutouts.

Although I liked the premise of this audiobook, I found that between some of the pronouns used (especially they/them - I often got lost, trying to figure out who exactly they were talking about) and the timeline that was continually moving forward and backward in time, it was a little bit hard for me to follow.

I suspect my difficulty with the pronoun use would probably be a nonissue for someone who is more well-versed in using they/them pronouns. I also think that for me personally, a physical copy of this book may be easier to follow the audiobook version.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started this book as an eARC and wanted to switch to audio. This narrator is so good at capturing this story. My complaint is that the audiobook and print don’t match up. In the contents for this in the NetGalley app, it looks like chapters are missing because the numbers skip. It’s also shorter than the length that’s listed in audiobook purchasing platforms. I will be going back to the print so I can read the full story.

i would like to preamble this review by saying i was a fan of gabrielle korn's book yours for the taking, which is a predecessor for the shutouts. that said, i don't necessarily think that you have to consume the first to enjoy the second, but yours for the taking gives you a better idea of the world that our characters are living in - ravaged by climate crisis, only certain individuals were selected to join climate-resistant pods.

the shutouts brings us to two timelines - the first set in 2041, 9 years before the original book took place, and following kelly, a mom to orchid. in 2041, it's evident that the world is dying, both by apocalyptic storms, wildfires ravaging the nation, and everything's exacerbated by politicians who are trying to advance global warming as fast as they can in order to thin out the population thanos-style. kelly wants to help expose the government's plans by lending her hacking skills. unfortunately for kelly, that means leaving behind her young daughter orchid.

in timeline two, we jump thirty or so years and into a climate-ravaged country. ava and brook have left the inside project, now taken over by men who use women in the program for nefarious purposes and ava and brook as lab rats. birth is discouraged to the point birthdays are considered tragic events and spare babies are left outside to die.

ava and brook plan to hunt down july, ava's other daughter. for me, i found this timeline to be the most difficult and confusing to follow. though i appreciate also the author including nonbinary and trans characters as well as a lot of queerness, i also found some comments to be a little strange and borderline offensive. for example, a cis afab character tells a nonbinary afab person that "being raised as a girl isn’t the same thing as being one". there wasn't a lot of nuance to this comment and it felt random and strange.

within kelly's narrative, she's writing letters to her daughter and makes a strange comment about sex, saying that it was necessary she learn that it was the only way humans can connect. it just felt like a bizarre way to shoehorn sex into the narrative (this is a running theme within this book, a lot of unnecessary sex) and almost felt a little ace-phobic. additionally, kelly recounts a very toxic polyamorous relationship within someone within her group of friends. i'm not really sure what the point was, but it was a weirdly toxic example of polyamory. some of these choices were just bizarre to me and i was much more interested in focusing on the plot than how korn chose to discuss relationships.

4.5⭐ (audio) Shalan does a lovely job with this, bringing the characters to life and drawing us into the story.

5⭐ (story) The year is 2041, and it's a dangerous time to be a woman driving across the United States alone. Deadly storms and uncontrollable wildfires are pummeling the country while political tensions are rising. But Kelly's on the road anyway; she desperately needs to get back to her daughter, who she left seven years ago for a cause that she's no longer sure she believes in.

I do not understand how this second in the series surpassed the first, which is one of my favorite books of all time. (Okay, I'll admit a lot of books fit that bill, but I loved the first in this series. Be sure to read it first to enjoy this one to the max!)

Excellent writing. Fantastic character development. Fast paced drama every step of the way. There is no time like the present for a climate-induced dystopia to take the reading (educated!) populace by storm. The only thing I can think of to criticize about this book (and it's not really a criticism of the book as much as of society as a whole) is that it's very queer—which I LOVE, don't get me wrong—but I think it limits the market, and more people should read this wonderful book!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced audio copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This audiobook did not match the e-arc and so I unfortunately did not finish it. I was so frustrated with the lack of matching, as this happened the last time I read the other book in this series or rather in the same world.

This is a pretty decent fantasy for readers who are new to the genre, or readers who don't have time to commit to a really long series. But I'm neither of those readers, so it was just an okay experience for me.

It hit all the story beats perfectly, utilizes all of the typical tropes found in fantasy (chosen one, heeding the call to adventure, etc.), had characters you could root for and were fleshed out, etc. It did all of those pretty well without truly subverting the established conventions in fantasy. The whole dead sorcerers being used as power generators was giving The Matrix, but I wasn't too put off by how unoriginal it was.

I did love the multiple narrators used in the audiobook. All three were very well done and made each character their own, which was why I enjoyed this book more than I probably would if I only read it with my eyes.

There's definitely an audience for this, and that doesn't include me, so take my review with a grain of salt.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for this arc.

3 stars!

Thank you to Gabrielle Korn and Macmillan Audio for an ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

The Shutouts is a queer speculative novel about various interconnected characters over several timelines dealing with the onset of massive climate crisis, government conspiracy, and the dissolution of human civilization as they know it. It's got non-binary representation, religious cults, anarchy, and a whole lot of walking. I'm a little all over the place on this one. Literary speculative fiction can be a little hit or miss for me and I certainly didn't dislike it, but there were a few questionable choices. There is a type of reader who will really love this, and I am unfortunately not one of them.

First, the things this book does well. I liked the world a lot, and how the changes between timelines showed the clear progression of political destabilization and climate crisis. The writing is solid, I didn't love it at the start but it makes sense for this kind of story. Some elements of the plot, particularly surrounding the radicals in 2034 and later The Inside Project, were interesting and I looked forward to getting back to those perspectives so I could see what was happening next.

Now, the things I didn't love. The issue with some of these books that jump around to different POVs, particularly when those characters aren't interacting with one another, is that the reader doesn't get to spend enough time with any one character to actually care about them or understand them. Most of the characters I felt pretty neutral on, but I liked Kelly and didn't like Max. A lot of the better plot aspects are abandoned to describe a lot of aimless walking and sex. I take particular issue with the sex scenes, not because I don't like sex scenes in books (I do), but because as mentioned we don't get enough time with each character let alone with their partner to feel any chemistry and so the sex scenes just come off really uncomfortable since you hardly even understand who these people are or why they interrupted plot developments to show them smashing.

Clearly, this was not the book for me, but I know it has an audience because some of my friends love books exactly like this. If speculative litfic is your jam (particularly if you liked Beautyland or In Universes which I think are very similar in tone), I do this you will like this.

Happy reading!