This book was so sad to me. What a way to treat the elderly.. It did get me to thinking about how we treat the older generations and how often they are seen to have little to no value. Shame on us. This book was very well written and very atmospheric, I could see the rooms as I read, that is always good to me. To be pulled into the story with all of your senses...great job. And, finding out the reason behind the writing of the book made it hit even harder...ugh!

Thank you Netgalley and Myron Ward for gifting me the ARC of the thought provoking book. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily and without coercion.

America is experiencing a collapse in fertility rates. The scapegoat is "Solo Agers," elderly people who never had children. They are rounded up by the government, using SWAT teams, and given a one-way trip to "retirement havens" (prison).

In sewer tunnels, one female doctor performs secret retinal modifications to help people avoid the regime. Each life she saves gets her closer to freeing her husband, and get them both to Indonesia, where Solo Agers are not considered criminals. The FBI is on the case, and in the sewer tunnels, this one doctor becomes an unintentional spark of resistance.

This is a short novel, about 65 pages, but it belongs on the same level as The Handmaid's Tale. It is very dystopian, very plausible and very much worth reading. I look forward to future books in this series.

Although this is a short read, the book delivers! I was drawn in by this story – one that has a potential for a desperate future. In a society where we have a growing number of those retiring and lowered birth rates, this story takes these current-day facts and weaves them into a dystopian outcome for the future where those who are elderly and had no children must be sponsored by a person of a certain age. Dr. Reese, the main character, guides the reader through her story – one that is at times written as a diary, and at others, presents interactions that are charged with emotion and action. Throughout this short story the reader is presented with interesting characters, some who are very likeable and others who are instantly unlikeable. These various characters, coupled with a story that is fairly deep for one so short demonstrates the talent of the author, Mr. Ward. Although this was an interesting and enjoyable reading experience, I would like to see this story set into a series of novels that explore the lives of Ben and Stephanie Reese. I think they would be really captivating stories that reveal a darkness in our society that is not always able to remain hidden and one that at some point is fully revealed.