Christina Faris (books_by_the_bottle)'s Reviews > One of the Boys

Thank you to PRHAudio, Berkley and Janice Cowie for the complimentary audiobook!

How far would you go to protect your son?

Bea and Antonia are sisters. Antonia had her son tested at birth, to ensure he didn’t have the “M” gene, which has been shown to cause propensity for violence in boys. Bea refuses to have her son tested, on the belief that his life should not be determined by this test. Both of these women would do anything to protect their boys, even if it means there are devastating consequences. Antonia works for her husband’s clinic, where boys can be medicated and “managed” if they possess the M gene, and public places (such as schools) can refuse M positive boys. Bea and Antonia both think they know what is best for their sons, as any mother would, and do everything possible to ensure they have good lives.

Wow wow wow! What a truly chilling story. As a mother of boys myself, I could feel my heart in my throat for many parts of this story. I can understand both Antonia and Bea’s perspectives, why they did what they did, and wanting to make their sons’ lives the best they could be. I loved how this book explored nature vs nurture; for instance, are you destined to behave a certain way because of your genetics? Or is the environment you grow up in truly what makes you a monster? While the mothers’ love was fierce and warm, the undertone of this story was cold, borderline dystopian, in the way boys were automatically discriminated against if they possessed the M gene. I really appreciated how the author really made me think, just because you COULD do something (ie: have your child tested), SHOULD you do it? Or is life going happen anyway? Does the good (managing the behavior), outweigh the bad (the side effects from the medication)? Overall, this was such a truly entertaining, thought-provoking story that will stay with me for a long time. Clare Corbett and Joshua Akehurst brought the audio version perfectly to life.

“One of the Boys” releases July 18th! This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.