Oh my goodness how I loved this book. Possibly the most emotive subject ever for parents - vaccination - and a particularly timely issue in general right now - this book was gripping, powerful and very sensitively written. Carefully examining every aspect of the subject without ever becoming preachy, the storyline is fast-paced and brilliantly conveyed. I thought it was brilliant.
With grateful thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Emily Edwards for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. A really well handled book on a topical and very divisive subject. It handles the issue very well and presents both points of view. Totally compelling and very hard to put down, a highly recommended read!

I received a copy of the book by NetGalley but the opinions in this review are my own.

I absolutely loved The Herd. It is certainly a topical subject being about the right to choose to be vaccinated or not and the reasons, valid or not, behind refusing to get vaccinated. For the first time in a long time, I actually wanted to know what was coming next in the story and I kept talking about it during the day. In the end, I appreciated that there were no real bad guys in the story and that we were made to actually appreciate and consider each character's reasons.

Would definitely recommend it .

I really enjoyed this book and found it very interesting to see both sides of the argument for vaccinating children. Emily has done a fantastic job of writing about a subject matter which is extremely sensitive. I really enjoyed the style of the book and the different perspectives also of the people stood outside the Court. Well done Emily.

This was a very emotive and thought-provoking look on what can be a very devisive subject. Also a particularly timely subject at the moment too!

The story follows two families who are best friends and neighbours, but when one small lie has devastating effects on one of the families, their friendships, and lives are ripped apart.

I loved how this book showed both sides of the debate very fairly and no matter what your own views, it will definitely get you thinking. Fast-paced and with palpable tension throughout, it is definitely a page-turner!

A really interesting look at an often devisive topic which has all the more importance given the last couple of years. The Herd gave me low level anxiety throughout, the tension of the families involved in this story is gripping. I felt sorry for, & rage towards, all the adult characters at some stage of this book.

Structure wise I particularly enjoyed the drip feeding of the court case at the centre of the novel & the short, punchy chapters from their different view points.

Although I'm still not sure how I feel about the conclusion of this book I did enjoy the final scene & felt that was the perfect way to end it.

A fantastic book. A real emotional wringer. A compassionately written story opening with a court case. A topical subject of vaccination. One little lie has lead to a rollercoaster of events. A story telling two sides. Even though you will have opinions towards one side you are drawn to both parents dilemmas. I will be recommending this to all my friends.

This was so thought provoking and I really needed to digest this whilst reading. My children were babies during the whole MMR debate back in early 2000's so I had fully researched it. It was interesting to note that the dialogue was still going on.

Both sides were very emphatically written and I would fully recommend this book, I won't deny at times I was moved to tears.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

The Herd is only the second book of fiction I've read regarding the debate on whether to vaccinate your child (the first being Melissa Hill's Keep You Safe).
The Herd is timely, as the issue is currently front and centre in the media, and deals with the issue both emotively and with grit.
Are you at fault when a decision to protect your child backfires? Can you be blamed if something unforeseen and completely disastrous occurs, when your only intention was to shield your child from harm?
This is the premis of the book and pits two families against each other.
Bryony and Elizabeth are best friends. They are also neighbours and their families lives are inter-linked, with happy days full of fun and friendship. Until a disastrous situation occurs, which blows the whole MMR vaccine debate wide open.
This is an excellent book. It doesn't shy away from the issues and balance is maintained throughout. We are given sub-chapters where unrelated individuals and experts have an opinion on the issue. This may be fiction but it feels real. I want all my friends to read this so we can discuss it at length!

I received a gifted copy of ‘The Herd’ by Emily Edwards in return for my honest review.

This book follows friends Elizabeth and Bryony as they live with their families in the same street of Farley.

The women have been close for years, and even though they are complete opposites it seems to work well for their friendship. As with any friends some of the ways they decide to bring up their own children differs, but this shouldn’t matter. Should it?

Elizabeth sends an email before her daughter’s birthday party making an unusual request from her guests. Bryony doesn’t feel she can answer honestly so she bends the truth, to not cause a rift in their friendship.

After a life changing series of events following the party, their friendship is torn apart.

Will they reconcile their differences? Is anyone at fault for what happened?

This book left my mind reeling and blown away. It is a very thought-provoking book and has a storyline based on a long-debated issue.

Everyone who reads this will have their own opinions, some probably very strong views. In my mind it should be down to the individual how they want to bring up their kids, as everyone does it differently and has their own beliefs and values.

You can tell that the author has completed a vast amount of research and manages to pull it off with the book having an impartial view, no matter what the characters views are themselves.

This book will certainly stay with me and will make me think a little differently about this issue in future.

Overall, a current and thought-provoking drama, which will leave you mind blown.

This book will be a great book club read this year. Lots to discuss and will be a popular read with the vaccine topics going on just now.

Two best friends have different views on vaccines and will soon turn the town upside down. The author looks at both opinions of the friends and the views of their inner circle. Nobody wins, but friendships are lost.

The book is a very easy read, fast paced and makes you want to read more and more.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy in return for a review.

This is an emotional story about two very different best friends who have opposing views on vaccines. The book deals very sensitively with both views, with the relationship between the two families tumbling down when the issue can’t be ignored.

I couldn’t put it down. Although I don’t agree with one view myself this book dealt very well with helping me to empathise with that character. It very carefully doesn’t take sides. It’s a book I’ll definitely be recommending.

Wow what a brilliant and fitting book for the times we are living in.

At first I thought do I want to read about about pro/anti vaxxers as is it such a contentious subject, but I’m so glad I did! The story is gripping and fast paced and full of twists and turns.

A really great story that kept me guessing right until the end and well deserving of 5 stars.

I really did not enjoy this book!
I expected a lot more, and I was left very disappointed. (although I'm clearly in the minority based on the reviews already on this book)

On the face of it, the book sounded right up my street, but the when reading it just felt very flat. The main debate focusses on the idea of vaccinations, and I was expecting this to be symbolic for something else, or at least something that delves a little deeper than just vaccinations - but that was it. It didn't go deeper, it didn't strike up and conflict in my own opinions, it didn't stand for anything else. It was just a simple argument, written simply.
I also think this book should have a trigger warning.

Too basic, not enough deeper thinking in this for me.

This is one of those books which I would give far more than 5 stars if I could. Elizabeth wants the parents of her daughter’s friends to verify their child is vaccinated before they can come to her daughter’s party. This is because little Clemmie has not been vaccinated due to having childhood convulsions and her way to avoid catching illnesses such as mumps, measles and rubella is to rely on herd immunity. However, Elizabeth’s best friend Bry, and a few of the other mums, are anti-vaccinations for children, all with their own reasons. When one of the parents at the party is deliberately vague about their child’s vaccinations, there are devastating results.
This is a brilliant book. I read most of it in one day, then took a whole day to read the last 10% as it was so good I didn’t want it to end. The court case, with its repercussions, is tense and exciting. I thoroughly recommend this book.

I got The Herd by Emily Edwards from NetGalley for free for a fair and honest review.

The Heard by Emily Edwards tells the story of two mothers who have opposing views on vaccination, however for different reasons did not end up vaccinating their two daughters for measles.
This would have been fine if it had not been for an outbreak of the illness in the town.

Normally when reading a novel some of the books I read will have a tiny link with what is happening in the real world. I may even choose to read a book that somehow has a link with the real world such as The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
However, the Heard is a story which the writer says she got from a discussion when she was pregnant in 2019 before the pandemic and people hesitating to have vaccinations.
The Heard as a novel is one of those which has a lot going for it, for example, with the main subject of the story being both a discussion on should we get vaccinate children to prevent, illness which had such an affect on our parents’ and grandparents’ lives but are almost non-existent in developed countries.
However, it does this in such a way that you have sympathy with both mothers and the decisions they have made based on their opinions of vaccination due to their upbringing. This review will not go much further into the reasons, for their choices as it will be going into some minor and even major spoilers.
Just enough to say that both mothers came out as caring parents just trying to do the best they can.
I do have some minor niggles with the story which did influence my opinion.
The first and main point is the focussing on the measles and its relationship to Autism based on the now former member of the medical profession. The now discredited report that was written never said that it was not this one vaccine that was supposedly the cause of the problem but its combination with the mumps and Rubella vaccines.
In fact, in that report, he wanted the vaccines to be done individually.
Another point of view is that this whole novel was centred on the decisions of the mothers and the fathers were left out of the crucial decision to not have this vaccine, I know this was used as a plot point.
But as a farther of a child who was born at the hight of the (discredited) MMR report who was just as involved in the making of the decision as the mother, I felt a little put off by this point.
Which lead the ending which I felt was a way of a dramatic point in the story but added a dimension that was hinted at but felt like the writer adding to the story an issue that deserves a novel on its own. Rather than a key point all though only hinted at during the novel.
What I did like about the story was the use of Ladybirds being used as a metaphor for the spread of measles in the area was very poignant.
All in all The Herd by Emily Edwards, apart from being a novel about our times is one that is a pleasure to read and I would highly recommend it,

This was such an interesting read, especially during these times where vaccines are now part of life. Every parent wants to do what’s best for their children and no one should judge them for this. I felt for both sides while reading this book and hearing their story. A very good read.

I found this book very easy to read, a real page-turner. When I started it I wasn't sure whether i would like it or not but I persevered and I loved it 5 stars fr the herd. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review it.

A very moving novel about how two families bring up their children and their views on vaccination. I couldn’t put this book down. A storyline that is very timely although not about COVID.

Everyone has their own thoughts and views on vaccinations. I tried to put myself in the lives of the families thinking what I would do in their situation. At times I felt like I could be one the families in the street.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC

The Herd by Emily Edwards explores the thorny topic of vaccination. Two families - Elizabeth and Jack, Ash and Bry - live on the same street and spend a lot of time together with their children, until one summer during a Measles outbreak, everything changes. The author acknowledges the weight of decision-making born by parents today where for every argument there is a counter argument, whilst managing to remain impartial on the divisive topic of vaccination. An interesting, thought-provoking novel with a solid storyline and relatable characters.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.