A Girl Called Fearless by Catherine Linka (review)

In this dystopian novel, careless tampering with chemicals in meat and unchecked greed has led to the death of almost all women (barring mostly vegetarians and girls who were very young at the time). Avie grew up in this reeling, shell-shocked world of men who have placed iron restrictions on the remaining girls, marrying them off at increasingly young ages to the lucky few wealthy or powerful enough to buy them. Despite her belief that her her father is too kind to sell her off, the fifty million bucks she’s worth proves too much temptation, and before she knows it, Avie is forced to choose between marrying an almost cartoonishly evil political candidate who wants her to be exactly like his dead mother (right down to the headbands) or running away to seek asylum in Canada. Mixed into all of this is a blooming romance with Yates, an old friend with whom Avie has always secretly kept in touch, and for whom she has always harbored strong feelings. The concept of a nation mourning multiple generations of women (other countries had long since banned American meat) is gripping, and the action flows at a steady and satisfying pace, propelling readers through to the cliffhanger ending. Unfortunately, the romance is contrived from the start, and it’s uncomfortable in that Avie really only knows one boy; additionally, the success of the elaborate underground net-works offers so many convenient chances to buck the system that the ostensibly all-encompassing dominance over women seems pretty subvertible. Even so, there is something achingly vulnerable in this novel where almost everyone seems to search in vain that will likely linger with readers.