Q: An explosive thriller from the bestselling author of VOX

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It is truly crushing when a book you have anticipated ends up being a disappointment. I really enjoyed Vox, the previous release from this author and I liked her brand of contemporary dystopia; close to current society. An amazing read . . . thought provoking and made me eager to know what is coming next from this brilliant author.' From what I can tell, this one is set in the modern era. So to have such a contained secret involving so many people's children in a world full of cell phones and the omnipresent social media...I just felt like there needed to be more of an explanation behind the how-this-can-happen. Read, weep, sigh, read, scream, drink few glasses to cool down, read, scream more: That was my survival formula for this book!

The origins of the Q system (which the book spells out with chunks of thudding exposition, because like most American political writing this book has zero subtlety) lie in the searing hot-button topic of...the public education system, something that Americans are famously passionate about. We’re told that all classes of society--the conservative rural poors, the “champagne communists” (whatever those are) of the big-city penthouses, and the normal people who live in suburbs--rose up with one voice to demand that the government enact the Fitter Family Campaign’s sweeping reforms, such was the public furore over public school performance. When the villains want to push a new aspect of their agenda, like making the state schools boarding institutions or moving them far out into the boonies so the kids will never see their families again, all they need to do is invoke the dread spectre of classroom overcrowding and all dissent immediately vanishes. It doesn’t help that her husband is one of the creators of Q and this school system, their relationship is broken and the interaction between them is a joy ( as its so awful ) I am quite happy to announce I am part of the Blogger Takeover for Q by Christina Dalcher. Many thanks to Izzy and the HQ Team, for sending me an ARC copy of this book! Elena Fairchild is a teacher in a futuristic world where her own children are in the school system. Her husband Malcolm works for the department of education and is instrumental in overseeing change. The current system uses a standard measurement to evaluate the potential of students called the Quotient (Q). It is a standardized test score where each student's progress is calculated and measured. Those achieving high Q’s attend top tier schools with rewarding futures, and those with the lowest tests Q’s are sent to a federal boarding school. I have too strong a survival instinct. Always have.Elena Fairchild is a teacher at an exclusive "Silver" school - where the best of the best students go.I was initially going to pass on reading this because of my bad experience with VOX, but I was interested to see how (and if) Dalcher's writing and storytelling had developed.

The book also points out how often we, as people, are willing to turn a blind eye to something until it affects us personally.To say that Christina Dalcher’s writing astounds me is not enough. The fact is, I cannot do this novel justice. I simply adore her writing. A follow up to “Vox” - I had no idea what I was in for reading “Master Class” all I can say is that it was worth the wait. They call your number “Q” which identifies who you are, what you are capable of, which school you may attend, where you could live, what the ideal occupation you could focus on. As a summary your Q is your path finder. Suddenly passionate to find out the truth behind these schools, Elena takes off in search of answers knowing that it will lower not only her Q points but also that of her entire family and in doing so will destroy everything she once held dear.

When I read the plot I just knew this was a book made for me, and reading it I understood my instinct wasn't wrong. It begins as a way to make things fairer. An education system that will benefit everyone. It's all in the name of progress. It features the same bland, first person POV, from a mother of a nuclear family. Highly educated and very middle class. No deviation at all, to the point that they could have been the same character. So this quiet brilliant, provoking story is not only about the criticizing the political system and scaring us about probable balance changes, it is also about Elena Fairchild who is brilliant teacher, exampled citizen of the system with her high Q point.Did this latest thriller have the impact that Vox provided? For me...no. But Christina Dalcher is a brilliant novelist and I'm still looking forward to her next release. For a dystopia to work it needs to either be so far from possible that it's basically fantasy or close enough to possible to be believable. This one failed both ways, although it was supposed to be some sort of cautionary tale of what could happen. Plus, there was such a corniness to it all. I mean, come on, they were taking people's children away and sending them to "farms"? So, they recommended that you have a last great day with them before they have to go. Take them to do all their favorite things and see all their favorite people! Thank you again to the publisher, Harper Collins, for sending me a free copy of Q and giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts on it, particularly after my 1 star review of VOX. I am sad to be giving this one the same.