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Q

By: Christina Dalcher
Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
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Summary

 IN THIS WORLD, PERFECTION IS EVERYTHING

‘Terrifyingly plausible’ Louise Candlish
‘Devastating and brilliant’ Woman & Home
‘Thought-provoking’ Alice Feeney
‘Shocking . . . A powerful tale’ Cosmopolitan
‘Timely’ Kia Abdullah

Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s new elite schools. Her daughters are exactly like her: beautiful, ambitious, and perfect. A good thing, since the recent mandate that’s swept the country is all about perfection.

Now everyone must undergo routine tests for their quotient, Q, and any children who don’t measure up are placed into new government schools. Instead, teachers can focus on the gifted.

Elena tells herself it’s not about eugenics, not really, but when one of her daughters scores lower than expected and is taken away, she intentionally fails her own test to go with her.

But what Elena discovers is far more terrifying than she ever imagined…

©2020 Christina Dalcher (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Dystopian Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Political Science Fiction Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Espionage Exciting Scary Emotionally Gripping
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Critic reviews

"Like all the best dystopian fiction, Q takes the reader just a pace or two beyond where we're already at. This is a sharply written and terrifyingly plausible tale of an education system where less than perfect is a life-threatening condition.... I devoured it in a single day." (Louise Candlish)

"Shocking and a powerful tale exploring themes of survival and superficiality." (Cosmopolitan)

"Christina Dalcher is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. It's a master class in dark dystopian fiction, clever, thought-provoking, beautifully written and terrifyingly believable." (Alice Feeney)
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I need to stop reading these dystopian novels as they just depress me. Well written, well narrated but oh so very dark. Perhaps you could see beyond this authors imagination but I have lived long enough to know that anything can happen, has happened and might well happen in the not-too-distant future. If this novel is anything to go by, then I can only hope I am not here to endure it.

Not a world for me

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This is a sober read. It's fiction but it.isn't far from the truth as it might be and we should.all.know that. The scenario of girl, wife, mother and how the main character ended up is a very credible story line and even more chilling when you begin to see the building blocks she laid for her own demise. Careful what you wish for is the learning here.

Chilling in its reality

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Absolutely brilliant, gripping from start to finish. A timely reminder of how society can slip into something evil

wow!

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Up there with 1984, Handmaid's Tale, Brave New World, and the author's other excellent dystopian novel, Vox, the book explores the consequences of revering perfection (or the top 2%) and how quickly we can fall. Drawing on lessons from history (some more well known than others), the story is fast paced, chilling, and deeply human. I think she nailed it.

Up there with the big guns in this genre.

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Really enjoyed this book. It has left me with a sadness. Enjoyed the narrator’s voice.

Thought provoking

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