Review: The Meadows, Stephanie Oakes

The Meadows was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and… well, let’s face it, I had expectations. Plus, with a STUNNING book cover like that, I had even MORE expectations. Let’s see if they were met, shall we?

The Meadows by Stephanie Oakes
Published by Dial Books on September 12, 2023
Genres: dystopia, young adult
Format: Paperback
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"A story of pain, injustice, love, resistance, and hope, this glorious book will lodge inside you and make you feel everything.” —Helena Fox, award-winning author of How It Feels to Float
A queer, YA Handmaid’s Tale meets Never Let Me Go about a dystopian society bent on relentless conformity, and the struggle of one girl to save herself and those she loves from a life of lies
Everyone hopes for a letter—to attend the Estuary, the Glades, the Meadows. These are the special places where only the best and brightest go to burn even brighter.
When Eleanor is accepted at the Meadows, it means escape from her hardscrabble life by the sea, in a country ravaged by climate disaster. But despite its luminous facilities, endless fields, and pretty things, the Meadows keeps dark secrets: its purpose is to reform students, to condition them against their attractions, to show them that one way of life is the only way to survive. And maybe Eleanor would believe them, except then she meets Rose.
Four years later, Eleanor and her friends seem free of the Meadows, changed but not as they’d hoped. Eleanor is an adjudicator, her job to ensure her former classmates don’t stray from the lives they’ve been trained to live. But Eleanor can’t escape her past . . . or thoughts of the girl she once loved. As secrets unfurl, Eleanor must wage a dangerous battle for her own identity and the truth of what happened to the girl she lost, knowing, if she’s not careful, Rose’s fate could be her own.
A raw and timely masterwork of speculative fiction, The Meadows will sink its roots into you. This is a novel for our times and for always—not to be missed.
"Evocative prose and worldbuilding shot through with equal parts melancholy and hope" —PW (starred review)“Timely and gripping, [with] a new revelation always around the corner” —Kirkus Reviews"Atmospheric and unsettling . . . Belongs in every collection" —Natalie C. Parker, author of the Seafire series“Extraordinary” —Helena Fox, author of How It Feels to Float

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS: (click to reveal)

conversion therapy, parents’ death, physical abuse, violence, gaslighting, emotional abuse, self-harm, suicide, homophobia, transphobia, cultural erasure.

There are no spoilers in this review.

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I ENJOYED…

☂️

• The Meadows is a very atmospheric, compelling queer YA dystopia. I immediately was drawn to the way the story was told, immersed into this futuristic world where only the best and brightest are sent out to school, special places to burn brighter. The way the world was imagined and told was compelling, incredibly intriguing and realistic, as well. While it’s set in a futuristic world, we could so clearly see the parallels with our real world. Honestly… it was terrifying.
• The story’s carried by Eleanor, split between her time as a teenager at the Meadows and as an adult. As a teenager, she discovers the code of conduct of the school, creates strong friendships and discovers some dark secrets. As an adult, she’s working as an adjudicator, trying to make sure her former classmates stay in the right lane. I just loved the way the story was told. These two timelines gave the story momentum, suspense and really made me keep on going, to see what was really happening and what would happen, next.

• This book isn’t easy to read, at times, nor is it straightforward. Eleanor’s journey isn’t black and white, she’s such a complex character struggling with her feelings, what really is happening and what’s the right way to act, as well. I felt for her, really wanted her to be okay. I found Eleanor’s story powerful because of that: the way her uncertainty painted the story in different shades of gray. It was the same way for each character in this story. Everyone’s complex and I loved that.
• The Meadows is a powerful, terrifying tale dealing with some tough topics such as queerness, societal gender norms, conversion therapy and so on.

OVERALL

☂️

If you’re looking for a unique, powerful, queer YA dystopia, I highly recommend The Meadows. I know this book will stay with me for a little while and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

FINAL RATING : 4 stars!

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Did you read The Meadows, or do you want to? What’s a book that blew you away, lately? Let me know in comments!

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