Review: Deliver Me by Kate Jarvik Birch

Goodreads Summary:

One People. One Union. One Future.

Wynne’s entire life is dictated by the Union: the clothes she wears, the books she reads, even the genes she inherited. And like every other girl in the Union, Wynne dreams of being chosen as a Carrier on her 16th birthday—one of the elite selected to carry the future generation within her womb. Wynne and her best friend Odessa are certain they will both make the cut, but when Odessa is chosen and whisked off to a life of privilege, Wynne is left behind to work as an assistant, delivering perfectly planned babies for the Union.

As Odessa slips deeper and deeper into the role of Carrier, Wynne begins to see the Union for what it really is: a society that criminalizes the notion of love, and forbids words like mother and family.

For the first time in her life, Wynne is faced with a choice: submit to the will of the Union, or find a way to escape and save Odessa before she is lost forever.

Publication Date: April 15, 2014

Although I’ve never read The Handmaid’s Tale, I know of the plot. Deliver Me has similar themes and readers will be horrified over the things Wynne and the rest of the women of the Union must endure. It was a good read with an ending filled with possibility.

The dystopian society where best friends Wynne and Odessa live is terrifying. Women are groomed to become carriers of the next generation and those not chosen are assigned jobs as servants. Wynne is not chosen as a Carrier, but her best friend is. The novel then follows Wynne on her respective journey away from Odessa.

The world building is fairly good in Deliver Me although I would’ve liked more about how the society came about. With such cruel practices, I also thought there would be more about a resistance movement. Wynne is unhappy, but I would’ve liked more about her emotional turmoil.

Wynne was a relatable narrator and I felt for her as she tries to make sense of her life away from Odessa. Wynne is fairly naïve and it takes her a while to see things for what they are. She grew as a character and I was happy with her transformation by the novel’s end.

The plot moved at a good pace and there was a lot of tension when Wynne found herself going against the rules of the society. The conclusion was open-ended and I’d be curious to read a sequel about Wynne and Odessa. I was left with a lot of questions and I’d like to see how things could play out.

Overall, Deliver Me is a good debut with thought-provoking themes. I’d recommend the book to fans of YA dystopians.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!