One by Eve Smith

Hello, everyone! I'm late for my tour stop for Eve Smith's latest, One. 

Huge apologies as this was a very anticipated title in my TBR!

In the future, climate change and other crises have resulted in mass shortages of resources. Only the UK's one child policy has worked in curbing this and making life generally better for all its citizens. 

Or so they'd like you to think. 

Kai is one of the enforcers of this one child policy. As an enforcer with the Ministry of Population and Family Planning, it's her job to make sure families stick to the policy. But when a 50% match to her own DNA is flagged and quickly disappears, she has two weeks to find out what's going on. 

So first off, if you're a fan of Black Mirror, this is most definitely a book for you!

And if you couldn't tell:

A. the one child policy is not the great thing for change it's chalked up to be. 

and

B. this is definitely a bit of a bleak read in terms of a pervasive THIS MIGHT ACTUALLY HAPPEN ONE DAY feeling!

Kai is all about the rules. In her world you have to be, unless you want to live on the dangerous fringes of society and/or be punished. And her whole life it's seemed her parents are the same.

Until Kai learns she has an illegal sibling. 

As you might expect for someone who is so staunch about the rules and has a job enforcing them, the discovery doesn't sit well with her. But she has limited time in which to do anything about it. 

As you might expect, this scenario is pretty much the only thing that can force Kai to open her eyes to the reality that is her society. 

Eve Smith has a knack for putting together stories that are highly disturbing looks at very potential real world threats. As with Off Target, I found myself both completely sucked in and more than a little unsettled. 

Smith is such a great talent! And again, this could easily be a Black Mirror episode. Which isn't a bad thing considering the show forces viewers to consider, even just for a little while, the outcome of certain policies, technologies, and powers. 

One is a lot to consider and a lot to take in! I have to say, though, that I truly do love Smith's writing and highly recommend each of her books!