Master Class

by Christina Dalcher

[Kim Deister]

From the moment I began reading Christina Dalcher's first book, Vox, I've been a fan. Master Class just solidified that. This book was dark, with implications that are absolutely chilling to consider.

The world of the book is easily imaginable as our own, which adds to the feeling of horror. It is a perfect example of how an idea that can sound positive in the beginning can then morph and become corrupted until it has become something else entirely. It is terrifying because it shows just how easily something like that could and does happen in our own reality.

In Master Class, the US has created a system much like the social credit system that China is developing in the real world right now. It started out as a system based on education, with tiered schools based on ability and performance. Teachers, too, are tested monthly. At first, that is the limit of the "Q" number. Education.

But then that number becomes the center of everything. The wrong people come together to corrupt its significance in ways that are virtually unimaginable. And that is when the story becomes truly horrific. The capacity for humanity's ability to be evil is astonishing.

It is a story about family, about what it means to be a family. It's about love. It's about freedom, the freedom to be yourself, and about equality. It's a story about empowerment, about having the courage to stand up and speak against the atrocities of life.

But most of all, this is a novel is a cautionary tale. A reminder of how easily one can begin with good intentions and then fall down the rabbit hole to something much worse. It is utterly brilliant as much as it is terrifying.

my recommendation: This is an important read, a life-changing read. It is chilling, thought-provoking, and brilliant. I HIGHLY recommend this book, as well as her first book, Vox.