Girl One Book Review
We travel across the country with Josephine Morrow, a few of her parthenogenesis sisters, and a writer Tom. They are on a quest to find the missing "Mom One" and learn about the past. In this book review of "Girl One" by Sara Flannery Murphy, I discuss plot holes, pacing, and why it's propaganda.
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Summary
Girl One took place during the ’70s; inside an experimental commune called “The Homestead,” nine mothers donated their bodies to science with Dr. Bellanger to create “virgin births”. Margaret Morrow is “Mom One” out of nine other women; each successfully bore a child without male DNA.
A few years after the ninth birth, a fire broke out at the commune - all the women fled, and most came out alive. The girls grew up separated; some gravitated to the limelight, while others hid in the shadows. One day, Margaret went missing, so her daughter Josephine tracked her down across the county, encountering all her estranged sisters' homes. Each visit brought her closer to her mother and the truth about The Homestead.
Book Review
I read this with my book club, and it was another clunker. Girl One had so many plot holes. Although the book is labeled sci-fi, it can easily fall into fantasy and thriller because the girls garner supernatural powers.
Sadly, their superpowers were a major flaw in the story; Flannery fails to display why the girls get specific abilities, nor does she describe their timing.
This book has a lot of feminist ideas that yet again vilify all men. I'm utterly repulsed by the hateful trend in modern-day stories sending this message.
The romance was a disaster.
Josephine refers to the other girls born from parthenogenesis as sisters. So, I was blindsided when Cate (a sister) became the romance because the author never gave any insight nor hinted at a budding romance between them. Flannery set up Tom as Josie's romantic interest, and it was believable based on their actions and her inner dialogue about him within the story.
I also never understood why Cate had such hate for Tom (when the romance shifted, it made more sense because she was jealous). However, Cate was written like a vile woman who simply hated all men yet was heroic in that philosophy. Yes, she was skeptical of Tom's intentions in aiding Josephine, but there wasn't a single moment when Cate addressed him as a human, only as a man who sought to ruin.
The only thing going for this book was the pacing. It flowed well, especially with Dr. Bellanger's letters peppered into the timeline. Although pieces of the plot were confusing and never wrapped up, I wanted to see how it concluded. I didn’t have expectations for the ending, and once I got midway through, I predicted the author’s message. This book was overall unfulfilling and yet another piece of propaganda.
