The vox story pdf

Why take such drastic measures? Anyway, prepare for salty comments and venomous curses in my updates! View all 19 comments. Sep 22, Justin Tate rated it really liked it. This novel depicts a chilling dystopia, or as Mike Pence might call it: a visionary blue print for America. The author does a great job of setting up the world with thinly veiled references to our current political climate.

Either figuratively or literally. After the initial se This novel depicts a chilling dystopia, or as Mike Pence might call it: a visionary blue print for America. After the initial setup, the story transitions more into a typical race against time thriller. The premise is fantastic, but the espionage was cheesy and not particularly well written.

Overall: what probably started as a symbolic anti-Trump rant turned into surprisingly effective allegorical fiction. I wish the author had spent more time on the final third of the book, though, because it left a lot to be desired. Still a solid, quick read that kept me turning the pages.

View all 6 comments. Jun 14, j e w e l s rated it liked it Shelves: books-bejeweled. In this frightening precautionary tale, women are restricted to speaking less than words a day. Painful electrical shocks will be dealt from the Fitbit style wrist counter you're wearing. The premise is strong and all too real in this alternative reality where women's rights are slowly chipped away by a strong tide of religious fundamentalism until finally, we quite literally lose the language needed to speak up for ourselves.

After the Pure Movement takes hold in political offices nationwide, women lose their rights to hold jobs or bank accounts. Girls are not allowed to study science in school. Females are effectively shut out of society by taking away our words. What happens when the country's leading linguist happens to be a woman and is called out of her forced retirement by the President himself?

What does he want from Dr. Jean McClellan, a mother of four and our fearless narrator? Well, that my friends is the story. I desperately wanted to love this book. I had almost too much hope that it would be more powerful or meaningful than it ultimately is. The execution of the story gets so bogged down with technical, boring details that the whole plot feels, ironically, mansplained.

Artemis left that same taste in my mouth. I really can't offer much explanation for it either. The good news: I seem to be in the minority and if you are intrigued by VOX , I would not dissuade you from going for it. VOX is initially eye-opening, but for me, it just doesn't sustain the suspense or believability factor. VOX is scheduled to hit the shelves on August 21, Thanks to NetGalley for my early copy. All opinions are my own.

View all 18 comments. Women, even babies are fitted with a leather wristband that limits the words spoken in a day to a hundred. The first time you go over, one receives a small shock, strength of shock is increased with each transgression. Books are locked up, only able to be accesse 3. Books are locked up, only able to be accessed by men. No jobs, home in their new responsibility, duties of a wife and mother. The LGBT community fares even worse.

This is the pure movement in the US and no one who transgresses is spared. I found this chilling because I can actually see this happening, have seen men on TV who I can imagine loving just such a scenario.

The importance of language, speech to snow individuals we'll bring, forming personalities. How can you watch your young daughter not able to vocalize, tell you about her day? For Jesn, it is torture, but a situation arises, and unwillingly Jean is temporarily repreived, because the men in charge want something from her.

Can she take advantage, make a difference? Well, that is the story, a quick moving one I was fascinated with. History has proven that with the wrong people in charge, anything and everything can happen. Can it happen here? ARC from Netgalley. View all 32 comments. Upon reading the premise of Vox, I knew it would have a place on my reading list because of its timeliness and the bravery of the author in taking on this fictional topic. If you have not heard already, Vox is set in the United States at a time when a new president has been elected, and a mandate has been declared by the government: females may only speak w 4 thought-provoking and brave stars to Vox!

If you have not heard already, Vox is set in the United States at a time when a new president has been elected, and a mandate has been declared by the government: females may only speak words a day.

If they go over their allotment, they will receive an electric shock from a band installed on the arm. In a place founded on freedom, women and girls no longer have theirs. Since women can no longer talk, they can no longer work. Girls are only taught math in school, and reading and writing is for boys only. The ramifications of this are overarching, and the author does an impeccable job delineating it all. The main character, Dr. Jean McClellan, is a married mother of four children; however, only one of her children is a girl.

How far will Jean go to demand a voice for her and her daughter? Vox has a strong start. The writing is flawless, and the set-up of the premise feels completely authentic. I was anxious at times wondering if something like could actually happen. The pacing was stronger in the first two-thirds, but I was invested in what was happening, terrifying as it was, so that did not keep me from reading on.

The ending was completely satisfying. I could see this as a movie, and I think it is a wonderful choice for book club discussions. Now that I know more about what comprises a dystopian novel, Vox checks all the boxes. Thank you to Berkley for the physical ARC. My reviews can also be found on my blog with my book pics!

View all 43 comments. Sep 13, Lucy rated it really liked it. This is what has happened to America after an all-right christian fundamentalist group has taken over. Under the influence of a "pure" movement, women are fitted with "bracelets" that count how many words they speak in a day.

Women are allowed a maximum of words a day and are given severe consequences if they speak over this. They are not allowed to read, or to write or to sign. This is a society where women are completely stripped of their rights to work, to speak out, and to their own autonomy.

In addition, women who 'fornicate' with men outside of marriage and engage in pre-marital relations are first punished publicly These poor women are then sent to convents for hard labour and have their "bracelets" at zero words a day Dr Jean McClellan is a witness to all of this and experiences the harsh changes to society. She herself, as an expert in neuro-linguistics, knows the importance of language in the development of children's brains.

She witnesses how the "pure" movement was slowly introduced into schools, changing the way young people think and behave; she witnesses how her daughter barely speaks anymore in fear of the consequences. She realises this needs to change, but without a voice, where can she begin? This book teaches the importance of using your voice, women's representation in government and society needing to be noticed, the need for equality across the board, otherwise, if voices aren't used, change can hardly happen.

This book offers a stark reality of what might happen without women's voices, without protest or discussion, or without those protesting on women's behalf The frightening part is how a society is easily brain washed into thinking the "pure" movement is the only truth and there can be no resistance or critique, something Dr Jean McClellan faces when she's afraid her own son might report her.

This novel was a completely compelling and unputdownable novel! It is disturbing and an uncomfortable read and will leave you thinking: What if? It also questions the reader to evaluate themselves as to how they use their own voice I'm giving this 3.

Also, while I really enjoyed the very scientific parts of the novel I've done modules on neuroscience, language and cognitive psychology so it was easy for me to follow and relish in this re-learning experience I can understand why this aspect may not be appealing to others as some parts were very science heavy.

If we must learn, let us ask our husbands in the closeness of the home, for it is shameful that a woman question God-ordained male leadership. View all 22 comments. Aug 30, Jenny Reading Envy rated it it was ok Shelves: reviewcopy , ebooks , netgalley , read This one didn't really work for me, but I am giving it one more star than I feel to compensate for my current state of mind - I'm not really feeling into dystopia at the moment, and that isn't this book's fault.

I also haven't been able to stomach the second season of The Handmaid's Tale. It's interesting to me how many people are bailing or rating this low because the bad guys are Christians.

I'm seeing a lot of "not all Christians" rhetoric here. But to those people I would say, look around! W This one didn't really work for me, but I am giving it one more star than I feel to compensate for my current state of mind - I'm not really feeling into dystopia at the moment, and that isn't this book's fault.

Where are the Christians in the actual world, while citizens are denied passports , children are separated from their parents I don't even need a link for that one, votes of black people are overwhelmingly suppressed compared to other populations and there is a marked increase in hate crime?

Oh, that's not your fault, you say? Have you spoken up, have you done anything? See, that's the underlying premise of this novel, the part that I feel is most effective. The main character is a scholar, aware of situations in the news, but not convinced she herself can or should do anything, and by the time she does it's too late.

And by then women's voices are literally being taken away. And those who claim to be Christians in power silence those who are in their same group, even if they wouldn't have been radical - they quickly get on board so as not to lose the upper hand. This was far too familiar of a feeling. Being radicalized is not exclusive to one religion.

If you're going to pull a notallchristians, double check your beliefs and actions against verses like James Another reason to keep this at an okay rating rather than lower. It's obviously causing a reaction. There is a chilling moment which I can't quote exactly since I had an uncorrected proof, where the comment is made that the final decisions were made about taking voices away WHEN they started marching.

The rest of it felt too far-fetched to even work as a dystopian novel. Jean too easily goes back to her work when she is needed, doesn't seem to worry at all about surveillance, and doesn't seem to worry about the power her male children have, even after her son's girlfriend gets TAKEN AWAY for having sex with him.

We know from actual history China, Germany about children turning in their parents. I mean come on. And more disappointingly, that's not really how the characters suffer a downfall, so even if they would have been incredibly stupid to do those things, I would have felt the book was better if they had received consequences aligned with that stupidity I would understand that.

So while I engaged with this book as described above, it definitely wasn't what I would have hoped for. Thanks to the publisher for providing access to the title through NetGalley.

Aug 22, Felice Laverne rated it liked it Shelves: dystopian , full-review , women-s-fiction , netgalley , reviewed-on-amazon , read Somewhere along the line, what was known as the Bible Belt, that swath of Southern states where religion ruled, started expanding. But the corset turned into a full bodysuit, eventually reaching all the way to Hawaii.

And we never saw Somewhere along the line, what was known as the Bible Belt, that swath of Southern states where religion ruled, started expanding. And we never saw it coming. Hmmm, what a concept. Some crossed the border into Canada; others left on boats for Cuba, Mexico, the islands. The plot of Vox is simple. Who are trapped in America stripped of their jobs, their personal finances and their words. Once at the forefront of her field and on the verge of finding a cure for disease of the brain, she is now reduced to being confined within the four walls of her home, counting her words for the day and making dinner.

You need to be taught a lesson. It was as if Dalcher started out with a lofty idea but could not sustain it and, instead, resorted the love affairs and gorillas yes, gorillas to tell the story instead. Lackluster is a more accurate one. The premise was enticing, the title is arresting, and the cover art is just enough — minimalist in a way that highlights the words snatched from these women. There was an unexpected plot twist surrounding one of Dr. What I appreciated most about this novel were those few moments where Dalcher snuck in the truly disturbing and uncomfortable, mostly through moments between Jean and her six-year-old daughter, Sonia.

And our little Sonia lived up to that duty in several satisfying moments in Vox. The ending is a jumbled hot mess, a series of unlikely though convenient events. I hate quickly summed-up bow-tie endings that feel rushed, like a six-year-old hurrying to tell mommy all about their day. To me, they are the ultimate cop-out and proof pudding of lack of true skill and finesse as a writer. The Goodreads description of this book made me think Vox would take more time to explore and lay out the events around the breakdown of American society to the point that women become voxes.

For the most part, all of the deterioration of American society has already happened at the start of the book though we do get snippy interior commentary on it from Jean , and we follow her around watching her days as she copes with it. Better luck next time.

View all 20 comments. Instagram Twitter Facebook Amazon Pinterest I'm very upset about all the people who read this book and walked away thinking, "Not all Christians! Not all men! I'm not saying that to be mean. I honestly believe that as a fact. History is full of people who have covered their ears when people say things that they don't want to listen to.

Look at all the Instagram Twitter Facebook Amazon Pinterest I'm very upset about all the people who read this book and walked away thinking, "Not all Christians! Look at all the people who continue to furiously support Trump, despite the fact that he's proved time and time again that he is not only a bad politician, but also a bad human being, with his efforts to use his station to alienate our allies and twist the laws for his own personal gain.

It's a perversion of both justice and democracy, and yet the people who support him really seem to believe that they have the moral high ground. How does this work? Is it that cognitive dissonance grows stronger as the evidence mounts, because it's easier to believe a lie than that you've made an egregious lapse in moral judgment? I wonder. With VOX, Christina Dalcher explores a concept that has explored many times: what happens if a bunch of radical extremists seize control of a nation and oppress them with brutal savagery in the name of a greater good?

The heroine is a woman named Jean who used to be a neurologist, and now she is a housewife. She feels the rub of her imprisonment every day, from men who actively oppress her like the president , to men who passively and cowardly support the status quo like her husband , to men who embrace the new laws in blithe ignorance because it tells them what they want to hear like her son.

I have never wanted to punch as many people as I did while reading this book and actually had to step back for a week because it was making me so upset. VOX starts out more strongly than it ends which I'll be getting to later , but the premise is a striking one: Christian fundamentalists have taken control of the country with something called the Pure Movement.

Men are the glory of God; and women are the glory of man, subservient and secondary in every way. Those in power have managed to achieve this by affixing counters to every woman's wrist that monitor how many words they speak a day. The limit is , less than a Tweet, and speaking more than the limit delivers a painful electric shock that becomes more powerful with every word spoken past the limit, eventually becoming lethal. This seems a little silly, the idea of a word counter that looks like a FitBit.

But certain types of men are always trying to silence or discredit women. Just last week, for example, I answered a question about science that someone asked, and one of the men reflexively said, "No, that's wrong! Someone at the table looked up the answer, and, of course, I was right. Did this person apologize to me? They just shrugged, as if to say, "Well, even a broken clock is right at least twice a day.

The universe created in this novel doesn't really feel like such a stretch if you think of how many people in the world long for an idealistic version of the s when women weren't allowed to express themselves or push the boundaries of gender norms, and minorities were kept safely out of sight. The second half of this novel deals with some interesting science. Interesting in the fact that it does kind of feel like one of those cheesy, less popular Michal Crichton novels, or a Dan Brown novel, in that you find yourself suspending more disbelief than you'd like while also pondering the realism of the literary equivalent of a cackling mad scientist looming against a lightning-strewn backdrop.

At the same time, there's a historical precedent of performing unspeakable medical practices against the oppressed, so this isn't as comfortably fantastical as some might like to believe, either. And sometimes, taking the reductio ad absurdum approach works in literature because it forces us to realize that our reality is almost absurd as the satires that are created to rebuke it.

What does that say about us, I wonder? Reading VOX is almost guaranteed to upset the reader, but if you find yourself growing angry at the women - or the author - of the story, you should probably ask yourself why.

View all 24 comments. Apr 09, Mohammed Arabey rated it it was ok. But what if women were limited to just ? May be it's just me who felt the pages novel annoyingly too long.. The idea is really great, but the writing style with overuse of unnecessary medical details, unbelievable coincidences, some flat characters or the lack of feeling them, presenting the Adultery as if it's fine for the main 'mother' And the too much of line and scenes that ends with expect that didn't happen or something like this..

That really made me disappointed.. The story has its scary moment of how men may behave about that, even the closest ones like sons.. Well, I needed this story, this strong crazy serious idea and plot to be in a story that much stronger and faster View 2 comments.

After sitting down with Vox it became immediately apparent to me that my feelings were going to be drastically different with this title.

The stories are similar in the generalist of comparisons but Dalcher has brought the idea into this era in time to make it easier to relate to.

Vox opens introducing readers to Dr. Jean McClellan who has been downgraded from her status as a leading doctor in her field of study to nothing more than a housewife cooking and cleaning and caring for her four children. With flashbacks into the past readers are given a look at how this world could have possibly come about where women are closely monitored and punished if they dare to speak more than words a day. With a husband and three sons you easily see the comparison to how males are treated to how Jean and her young daughter are treated.

Writing styles aside between these two books Vox still wins hands down as my favorite for giving a reader the hows and whys to the world peppered throughout the story.

As Vox goes on it really felt as if the author gave voice to the little questions that would plague me all the while weaving a tale that captured my attention and gained my sympathy to the character.

And then when finished I will just say the outcome was also a lot more satisfying this time around too leaving me to rate Vox at 4. I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

View all 9 comments. Apr 16, Trudi rated it it was ok Shelves: the-big-letdown , dystopia , arc , , love-the-premise , twss , netgalley. Ah damn. I had such high hopes for this one. There's some good ideas contained therein, but none of them are really developed, and a lot of the themes just seem too heavy-handed and on the nose. There is no subtlety, no allegory, the author is using an anvil Ah damn.

There is no subtlety, no allegory, the author is using an anvil in heeding her warnings painting in big giant billboards -- do you SEE? The book did get me to think about how all of humanity might be improved if everyone was limited to a hundred words a day. Because seriously, people are the worst and say the stupidest shittiest things non-stop. A copy was provided through NetGalley for review. View all 3 comments.

Jan 10, Susanne rated it it was amazing Shelves: edelweiss , five-star-reads , buddy-read. Powerful and Terrifying! Set in the United States, all women have been silenced. Their lives are completely restricted. We are now only allowed to speak words per day.

The limitation is controlled by counter on our wrists that will zap us every time we go over. For each infraction, the penalty is more severe. No one is safe. Except the male gender, that is. We are no longer allowed to read books, use phones or send text messages and we are no longer able to work, thus ha 5 Astounding Stars! We are no longer allowed to read books, use phones or send text messages and we are no longer able to work, thus half of the workforce has been cut.

Jean McClennan was a cognitive linguist in her former life. Now she is a housewife who wears a wrist counter. Obedient to her husband Patrick. She has four children, one of whom is a daughter named Sonia who also wears a wrist counter and who speaks less than anyone.

McClennan vows that someday, somehow, she will fight for her family and especially for her daughter. Admittedly, it is horribly scary and at times, my heart caught in my throat and was beating so fast, I had to put the book aside and remind myself to breath.

Truthfully, I, for one, cannot imagine not being able to speak, send text messages or read! Some more than others of course - simply because some are so realistic and could actually happen - much more so than a horror story or a mystery.

Thanks for keeping me entertained throughout. This was a buddy read with Kaceey! So glad we finally got around to reading this. Published on Edelweiss and Goodreads on 1. Jan 09, Elyse Walters rated it it was ok Shelves: fiction , sci-fi-fantasy , mystery-thriller-crime , feminism.

Read by Julia Whelan. I heard some disturbing words about this novel That I took an intentional stand to skip it I seriously had no intention to read it as I say. But between a conversation about this book with a friend over the phone AND Julia is great! Blaming Christians for controlling everything is ramped: one dimensional anger - bitterness - and resentment - just got old and annoying. Tons of stereotyping!

Twitter , Chardon Schools. Kindergarten Teacher , Chardon Schools. I picked up my holds from fairfaxlibrary this weekend and discovered Vox Books. With the push of a button many popular and inclusive texts now have a read aloud option! This is such a good idea. I got a bunch for my class! They require zero WiFi or additional technology. Twitter , Fairfax Library. Great way to sneak reading in while in the car! Parent , North Canton Library.

Help Desk Login. Print book, meet audio book. Request a Quote or Demo. VOX Books titles. Visit our store for more details. Follow us. Each hardcover book comes with a full audio recording. The all-in-one design means that VOX Books are fully portable. No CDs, batteries, computer, device, or internet connection are required. Readers simply push a button to listen and read. Titles come with both a speaker and an audio jack, so both individual and group learning are supported.

An enlarged and improved speaker provides greater volume and clarity, while a safety feature automatically lowers the volume when earbuds are plugged in. The high-capacity battery charges quickly and lasts up to plays. A new battery life indicator shows if the battery is low or fully charged. Great overall design, with the player in the center of the cover, makes VOX Books sturdy and easy to shelve.

Standing Order If you are interested in receiving the newest books and the best prices, take advantage of our Standing Order subscription. It most likely originated on the forums for the game Team Fortress 2 before making its way to Reddit and 4chan, where it became a meme used to mock and demean trans people who spoke earnestly about their experiences and identities. On that level, it has plenty to say even to cisgender people. After all, if all gender is on some level a performance and it is , then it can be co-opted and perverted by the state.

We are constantly trapped by gender, even when we know we are trapped by it. We need teams and groups and identities, not just to belong to, but as mental objects to manipulate and wield. If we tried to hold 10 million unique experiences of gender in our mind they would sift through our fingers and roll away. Such a conversation around gender is not particularly conducive to those who are figuring out their gender in public, as all trans people must do eventually.

Which is to say: That conversation is not conducive to people like Fall. Because we need the boxes to argue over. I do not want to be in a box. I want to sift through your fingers, to vanish, to be unseen. To wit. Fall was channeling that ironic reclamation, but readers were quick to jump to their own conclusions. Many only read as far as the title before assuming Fall was either transphobic herself or a trans person intentionally using the meme to make a point.

She had never published fiction before. She was a blank space, upon which anyone could project their worst fears or biggest hopes.

They were publicly critical of the story on Twitter. But a lot of trans women adopt an online pseudonym before coming out publicly, including me. To come out as a trans woman in a transphobic patriarchal society that views our existence as a curiosity at best is rarely something done all at once. It requires baby steps, like becoming used to a new name that starts to feel like home. A few people insisted to me that the controversy began with honest but negative readings of the story by people who felt Fall had missed the mark, before mutating into something worse.

One unstated assumption made here is that only trans people should write about trans experiences, and therefore, Fall should have identified herself as a trans woman directly in the bio attached to the story.

This notion is admirable on the surface but fails to account for the many ways in which trans artists explore and experience their gender in what they create. But Isabel was not that.

She was accused of being an alt-right troll or a Nazi. Only when things had gone too far did the good-faith criticism start to roll in. Barb is Korean. But in her telling, the good-faith criticism came after the attempts to prove she was a bad actor. By then, the damage was done. The mess very quickly turned nasty and personal, and it was happening where Fall could see all of it. I would read it; I would go straight to the worst things. If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help.

The International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.

Befrienders Worldwide. One criticism above all got to her: that Fall must be a cis man, because no woman would ever write in the way she did. And because this criticism was so often leveled by cis women, Fall felt her gender dysphoria the gap between her gender and her gender assigned at birth increasing.

Now, in a bitterly ironic twist, the same was happening to her. Where do you feel dysphoria the hardest?

In the closet. That was when she asked Clarke to take down the story. Twitter is really good at making otherwise unimportant things seem like important news. There were discussions of the story on forums and in comment threads all over the internet, but it is the nature of Twitter that all but ensured this particular argument would rage out of control.

The delineation between paranoid and reparative readings originated in , with influential critic Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. A reparative reading seeks out what might be nourishing or healing in a work of art, even if the work is flawed. Nothing can do everything. But Twitter is a platform that rewards divisive opinions, which are more likely to drive engagement hearts, retweets, and the like.

So, many influencers with the biggest reach on Twitter are also people whose core identity is expressing divisive opinions. And the people elevating those paranoid takes were almost all cis. Once a Twitter conversation takes off like this, it becomes very difficult to stop, which leads to stranger and stranger levels of binary thinking and gatekeeping. I found two tweets posted within hours of each other where one insisted Fall must be a cis man and the other insisted she must be a cis woman.