Book: The Measure

 Book: The Measure

Author: Nikki Erlick

Pages: 368

This is my 72nd read for the year

This is the story of what would happen if you knew when you would die.  One morning, everyone all over the world wake to a box on their porch that contains a single string.  The string inside - short or long - determines the length of your life.  Not what is left, but your whole life from beginning to end.  People don't know what to make of this strange arrival.  The boxes and strings cannot be destroyed.  Some people decide not to look.  Others cannot help it and quickly turn to the scientist who start to figure out what the string lengths mean.  At first they are able to narrow your life ending withing 2 years.  Then within a month.

Thus starts people deciding what they are going to do with their strings and what they mean - short or long.  The people with short strings start to form support groups.  People decide how they are going to live given the time they have left.  However - trouble also starts to arise when panic sets in with people who only have a small window of life left.  "Long stringers" start to tout that "short stringers" are dangerous.  Military and some jobs start to state that they must know the length of your string before you get certain jobs or can join the armed forces.  Short stringers are discriminated against in all aspects of life, and a small group of people decide to fight back.

This was a pretty good book.  I liked the concept and since these dystopian type books are part of my favorite genre, I was drawn to give it a try.  It is a thought provoking book for sure.  What would you do with this box if it showed up at your door?  Would you open it?  Would knowing change how you lived the time you had left?  The type A personality in me says I would definitely look.  But then my anxiety about knowing would make me think I shouldn't.  It would be a hard call.

The book is a bit cheesy in times, but not enough to deter my enjoyment of the book.  And the message is clear about discrimination and unity in tough times.  Overall a good read.

Stars: 4.5