Who Runs the World?

This post-apocalyptic novel is really on the edge: of interest to Young Adults (who seem to have a fascination with post-apocalyptic worlds; I think we should consider why that might be), but also to older humans of which I am one. The protagonist is a young woman, and the world-building stays pretty simple, concerned with the basics—this isn't Brave New World. But it's well done and fine for teens and even younger. The world depicted is in the near future, populated mostly by women after a disease, that kills all men but only men, has swept the globe. In the country depicted, the surviving men have retreated to strictly segregated small enclaves since the women may still transmit the disease. Our technological society didn't survive this event. Women live in communally-run agricultural homesteads and are working their way back slowly: solar gliders, some biotech, looking for a genetic solution to give men immunity to the disease. They've formed governing structures for the homesteads and regions and on up.One of the fascinating aspects of good speculative fiction is, If [this] happened, how would things change and why? which leads to questions like, Why do we do x, y, and z in the way that we do? What are the pros and cons of this novelist's solutions? What are the roles of tradition, biology, economics, and what is "human nature" really? And you, Reader, what do you think should be universal standards and what shouldn’t, and what are your personal preferences and why? How might you change?Maybe the popularity of post-apocalypse fiction among the young indicates some degree of insecurity about the future, like my generation had about nuclear war, but a lot of it is just that kids will ask Why? and Why not? until they get shut down one time too many. They start with the stuff closest to them and with luck by the time they are teenagers they are wondering why the rules of society can't be different in some way. Fairer, safer, more adventuresome, some way different. This is a good thing! From us, the parents and elders, kids deserve to have their inquiries taken seriously and encouraged, not shut down. Give a kid a fish, she'll eat for a day; teach her to think and she may surprise you with a new design for a fishing lure or a boat. This book has great starting points for discussions between readers of different ages.

This science fiction YA book should be everything that I love -- post apocalyptic, matriarchy, and a strong girl who put her moral courage ahead of her safety. Yet it felt off on several levels.First, a lot of pages are spent on a mere matter of days of time. Then there is clearly some time passing but that isn't clearly marked and designated by the text.Second, the changes in the main boy (Mason) character's attitude and behavior seems a bit too fast for the confusing amount of time that has passed. He believes what he has been raised to see as monstrous females too quickly. He is willing to make choices that didn't make a lot of sense.Finally, I just had a lot of questions that came up as I read that were never answered. I wanted to see what River says to the ruling body of their world. I wanted to understand what was going on a bit better because what Mason reports seems bizarre and illogical in the world as we see it through River and the village she lives in. It is fine to leave your readers with some questions, especially if you plan a sequel, but is that the case for this book?

I have so many mixed feelings about this book; it was interesting & I wanted to know where the story would go... but, I really didn't like the main character & I didn't like some of the things about this female-run world. Who Runs The World is definitely thought-provoking & leaves you pondering things you never normally would, but I wasn't engaged in the book like I am with others - I was a viewer of this story, I wasn't a part of it.

Overall, I ended up DNFing (not finishing) the book. I stopped at page 78. I won't be supplying a rating nor will this review be following the usual format. I don't think that it is fair on the author to comment on something that I have barely read. The first 78 pages were weird and confusing. We were kind of just thrown into this world without knowing much. We know that all men int he world have died and that the woman have come together. But that is it. I felt like we needed a little but more world building in the first couple of pages. I feel that with this world building, the book would be a lot better. It would eliminate the confusion and the shock of being thrown into this world. Nothing really happened in the first 78 pages. Yes. The main character, River, meets a guy. She has no idea what or who he is. But that situation is just super confusing. I don't know if it is intended or not but the guy just came out of no where.One thing that I did like was the author allowed the reader to write their name in on the dedication page.Thank you to Pan Macmillan South Africa for supplying me with a copy of this book.

When your half term read is actually so bad you can't believe you wasted time reading it.A story of a world 60 years after a virus has wiped out the male population, women are using IVF to conceive, sending male babies to sanctuaries to survive, raising girls in the new society. Sounds great. Reads like a man-hating (all men rape and murder), 12 year old (every time something is scary, it is all written in capitals) has had half a go for their English homework.Such great potential, but ultimately in 338 pages of utter drivel. The author has written in the back that she didn't know where the story was going. And that is (frustratingly) very obvious. A huge disappointment.

A friend recommended this to me and raved how much of an easy read it was and how relevant to our current circumstance of having a virus.I am 5 chapters in so far, the post-apocalyptic world is captivating. About two generations before the book begins, a virus kills almost all men and boys, and the remaining men/boys are put into "sanctuaries" where they can be protected from the virus and also produce sperm to keep the human race alive. I was immediately drawn into the world itself which is all female, hence the title. In the beginning the teenage girl River encounters an escaped boy on a road near her village, and everything she has ever known or believed is thrown into question.I am enjoying it so far and will surely complete and revise my review accordingly. I have heard lots of other concerns regarding how men are portrayed in the book being unjust.

I got this book with a view to previewing it for my 12 year old daughter. What I found was a really interesting, thought provoking yet easy to read story about what could happen for our grandchildren \great grandchildren in the future. The ideas of gender and gender roles is explored in a really interesting but easy to follow way for a teen or young adult but also as a parent to 4 daughters, it opened up a dialogue with myself that I haven't had before. Highly recommended as an conversation starter around gender ideas, identity and roles with our young people.

ordered this book as was mentioned on my kid's summer reading list. would not want to upset author but would be worst book i have read in a veeery long while. would not recommend to anyone,specially for kids

My 10-11yr old liked it.