The Virtue Season

By Author / Illustrator
L.M. Nathan
Genre
Dystopian
Age range(s)
14+
Publisher
Scholastic
ISBN
9780702330926
Format
Paperback / softback
Published
04-07-2024
Synopsis
The world didn't end all at once but drip by drip... Manon Pawlak has just turned 18, a debutant at the start of the Virtue Season: a process that will result in a match with a suitable genetic mate. Her best friend, Agatha, has been decommissioned, forbidden to partake in the season and unite with the boy who has had her heart since they were children.
When Manon's mother wades out into the waters of Penn Vale with stones sewn into the lining of her coat, Manon's genetic purity is called into question and she's forced to rely on the fisherman's son, Wick, to keep her secret. But as they dance, the truth about their world starts to unravel, and Manon finds herself at the centre of it all. And the council is watching.
Bridgerton meets The Hunger Games with shades of The Handmaid's Tale and 1984. As romantic as it is sinister and completely unputdownable. This is L.M. Nathan's debut YA, almost 10 years in the making and inspired by the countryside of rural Lancashire. Featuring the ever-popular BookTok tropes of #forbiddenromance, #friendstolovers and #forcedproximity and themes of a woman's right to choose, a woman's right to her own body, totalitarianism and how true love endures in even the darkest of places
"An utterly compelling dystopia...A simply stunning debut." - Kat Ellis, author of Harrow Lake. "The must-have book of the season for those who enjoy their dystopia wrapped in romance." - Bex Hogan, author of Viper. "Immersive, beautifully written and achingly romantic, I state my preference for this gorgeous dystopian debut." - Sue Cunningham, author of Totally Deceased.
Reviews
Rachel
The Virtue Season is a story about survival, about injustice and about the pressure society can put on friendships. 18-year-old Manon has spent her life waiting for the moment for her turn in the virtue season. A process that will pair her with a suitable genetic mate. Her feisty personality rails against this, not least because her best friend Agatha is not allowed to join in and unite with the love of her life. Things worsen as Manon's mother wades out into deep water, forcing the authorities to question Manon's genetic purity and Manon herself to discover that she is a part of a very corrupt society.
I had very mixed feelings about this. The ideas behind the plot are both credible and terrifying in equal measure, if they are considered as a metaphor for some of the awful things occurring around us today. However, I found some of the storylines difficult to engage with, especially the relationship Manon has with Wick and Tommy, and I would have preferred the chapters written from Agatha's point of view to be more regularly spaced through the story.
Overall I found the whole book quite unsettling, which is what I think the author wanted.
336 pages / Reviewed by Rachel Bolton
Suggested Reading Age 14+