I saw this in the library and my brain immediately decided that this is what I feel like reading. I mean, sometimes you're just in that dystopian mood. The concept is definitely an intriguing one (and not completely unbelievable given governments' growing concerns about health and healthcare costs), but I was a little disappointed. It felt a bit exaggerated. At some times it felt like certain events shouldn't be able to happen because they are monitored while at other times the monitoring feels like too much to be realistic. It was an okay read overall, but it wasn't really what I was hoping for. ( )

‘The Choice’ by Claire Wade is set in an alternative world, one where sugar is banned, exercise is compulsory and every supermarket visit is preceded by a weigh-in. It is a Big Brother world where a new government, initially intent on preventing sickness and encouraging healthy living, has gone OTT and taken control of the smallest details of people’s lives.
Olivia used to be a baker before the changes. When she lost her shop, she lost her reason for living. And so she subsists, making the best of the meal plans approved by Mother Mason, chivvying her friend Alice to keep to the rules and stay out of trouble, and worrying about the effect all of this is having on husband Danny and their two children. And then she gets a glimpse of a fightback. Is Olivia brave enough to join the protest, or will she play safe to protect her family? Of course she fights, in the only way she knows how. It starts in a small way, baking cakes for the local protest group to raise money for the cause. But then her rebellion gets way out of hand and she is faced with shame and condemnation.
The premise for this novel is fascinating and it reads as a freely-written novel, by which I mean the writer let the story flow and go where it wanted to. This adds to the excitement but it also left me feeling vaguely unsatisfied [like one of Mother Mason’s dietary-approved snack bars]. This is a hugely ambitious subject to tackle – one which, in the real world, we are struggling to address – so perhaps it is not surprising that the ending fades away with a lightweight conclusion. But the middle section is a rip-roaring read of domestic fightback. The passages in the detention centre and the shame box are great group scenes and this is where the novel is strongest.
I was left feeling the absence of a male voice – the key characters are all women – and longed for a deeper exploration of a challenge facing modern society with slightly less about cake ingredients. If you like ‘Bake Off’ you will probably love this!
Claire Wade won the 2018 Good Housekeeping Novel Competition
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )

Oh my word, this book is brilliant; it's completely unforgettable. I would have read it in one sitting if my eyes had obeyed the order to stay open. Perhaps I should have threatened them with Mother Mason.

The Choice may sound like a bit of a horror novel at first glance: a future without sugar. That's right, NO CHOCOLATE! Claire Wade has very cleverly chosen to set her novel in a future that is very easy to imagine. With reports of people getting fatter and lazier in real life, it's absolute genius to have characters wearing health monitors that, among other things, determine whether they have done enough steps to watch TV. I actually think I might apply this rule to my own sedentary lifestyle. Claire Wade may very well have changed my life!

The novel is set in Norwich and London after the people voted for a new government, led by Mother Mason. Mother knows best, after all, but this mother rules with an iron fist and nobody voted for a regime ruled by fear and shame. With cameras everywhere, Big Brother really is watching here and makes no secret of the fact. Anybody caught breaking the rules, and when I say anybody I actually mean any woman, will get banished to the Shame Box or even worse will be sent into the Societal Evolution Programme, never to be seen again. A group of people want to 'Cut The Apron Strings' and bring down Mother Mason and the main character, former baker Olivia, must join the rebellion if she wants the freedom to be able to bake again.

You could be forgiven for not recognising this as a debut novel as Claire Wade's exceptional writing comes across as very accomplished. There's a paragraph where she describes chocolate in the most sublime way and I think I must have had a smell hallucination as I felt like I could smell it as well as taste it. Honestly, I was almost drooling. While I'm talking about the standard of writing, I was delighted to see one of my favourite words 'claggy' being used to describe a cheesecake. With so much mouthwatering food being described, it's no wonder I gained a few pounds whilst reading it...over Christmas...eating lots of chocolate and cheesecake!

There's so much more I could say about The Choice but it's a book that everyone really needs to read to experience it for themselves. It's a very thought-provoking and empowering book that reminds us to stand up for what we believe in and to have the courage and conviction to not follow the crowd. Although I haven't yet read The Handmaid's Tale (shock!), I think The Choice will inevitably be compared to Margaret Atwood's masterpiece and will not be found wanting.

The Choice is an exceptional debut with an imaginative and powerful plot that had me hooked from start to finish. It's both unputdownable and unforgettable; a simply magnificent book! I think a lot of people will be talking about this book for a long time to come. Fantastic feminist fiction that is very very highly recommended.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. ( )