Mary is stuck in Section One, living with three hundred women in a crumbling hospital. She wonders what life was like two centuries ago, before the Cleansing wiped out all the men. But the rules—the Matriarch’s senseless rules—prevent her from exploring the vacant city to find out.
Taylor’s got a dangerous secret: he’s a boy. His compound’s been destroyed, and he’s been relocated to Section One. Living under the Matriarch means giving up possessions, eating canned food and avoiding all physical contact. Baggy clothes hide his flat chest and skinny legs, but if anyone discovers what lies beneath, he’ll be exiled. Maybe even executed.
Mary’s never seen a boy—the Matriarch cut the pictures of men from the textbooks—and she doesn’t suspect Taylor’s secret. If she knew, she might understand the need to stop the girls from teasing him. If she knew, she might realize why she breaks the rules, just to be near him. Then again, she might be frightened to death of him.
Taylor should go. The Matriarch is watching his every move. But running means leaving Mary—and braving the land beyond the compound’s boundaries.
Jacque’s Review:
Review: The Only Boy by Jordan Locke
I’m not normally a reader of dystopia stories. I usually prefer my futuristic stories to be a bit more space scientific but when I read the blurb for The Only Boy, I thought I would give it a shot. I actually found myself pleasantly surprised. The concept of an all-female society is not an original idea (Hello Amazons!). Even a male hiding amongst women posing as one to survive, still not an original concept. However, it is the spin author Jordan Locke has written that makes this book unique.
First off, the story is told in complete first person POV alternating between Mary and Taylor. If not done right it can be very confusing and can ruin a whole book. I’m happy to say this is not the case here. At no time did I stumble trying to figure out who was speaking at the time. See their separate perspectives, experiencing their thoughts and feelings, was eye-opening. To see how Taylor feels having to lose it all then having to hide what he really is can be gut wrenching at times. Mary feeling the constraints of her world to have her eyes slowly open, getting what she wants but not necessarily easily accepting it…yes I can see myself feeling those same emotions. There is a romantic story underneath all this sadness and tragedy. As their story evolves and the truths come out, I felt myself caught up in their world.
Author Jordan Locke did a fabulous job of creating this new world – no small detail is left to chance. There was no sugar coating here. No detailing that went into describing this new world was missed. The lack is surviving animals of all forms is a interesting point I never would have thought of. The silence from no bugs is not something I would have thought of but makes perfect sense seeing that the male population has died out. I think that’s what kept me to riveted – the detailing.
Between the details and the characters, in my opinion I would say the author has created a wonderful book that is very much worth reading. Die-hard fans as well as readers new to dystopic stories will enjoy The Only Boy. I look forward to reading more from this author.
I received this book from Stephanie’s Book Reports in exchange for my honest review. The opinions and rating of this review are solely mine and in no way was I compensated.
Stars – 4
Leave a Reply