Book Title: Donate
Book Author: Emma Ellis
Series Name: Eyes Forward
Book Number: #1
Genre: Thriller, Dystopian, YA
First Published: 24 October 2023
Donate was one of the many books that featured in my social media feed. It always gripped me each time I saw the ad. So, eventually, I decided to give it a go. I’m not sorry that I did, it was quiet entertaining, and quiet frankly, psychologically scary.
Synopsis
The world population is at 20 billion and resources for food and housing are limited supply. Mae discovers she is pregnant at the worst time. The government has decreed no child can be born without someone willing to sacrifice their own life in return.
Mae has a choice: allow someone to sacrifice themselves for her child, or keep her pregnancy and her unborn child a secret. But in a world where machines are watching, and where people are turning in their neighbours, secrets are hard to keep.
Plot
The plot of the story was interesting straight away. Naturally, there’s some exposition to set the world, but unlike other dystopians, the exposition wasn’t overpowering and didn’t feel unnecessary. In fact, because the story starts as the new law is put in place rather than a hundred years later (or something), the exposition fits perfectly into the book’s storyline. The reader is learning about this new world as it is developing, and so it doesn’t have to be told, it can be shown.
From the get-go, you worry about Mae, her partner and their unborn child. As the story progresses, you feel Mae’s anxiety and uncertainty, and you really want her to be able to find a solution for this child that she is carrying.
Alongside the pregancy narrative, there is also the narrative of extended lives. A drug that kind of acts as an elixiar. From what I understand, it kinda reincarnates the user so that they can start again at a young age but with the memories of before. Many of the senior citizens take this drug and are unwilling to die for an unborn child and this makes hard for Mae.
World Building
I would say there isn’t much world building that is needed for Donate. It’s set in a world where there’s so many people that skyrises are everywhere and currancy is based on your social understanding. If you’ve ever watched Black Mirror’s episode, Nose Dive, it’s like that… but without the rating part. Jobs, education, behaviour etc all add to the point system which affects where you can eat, buy groceries and more. It also seems to be household based. Mae and her partner are in the same band.
I found all of the things that happen in the background to be realistic that it’s terrifying because I do see a future where this could possibily be something that could happen one day. Robots that act as spies and a government that uses pregnancy and children as a reason to why there’s not enough housing and food (and not, say, someone’s 400 year old grandmother who is on their 5th life), people are attacking pregnant women, even ones who are legally pregnant.
Why do I see it as realistic, you ask?
What’s happening in real life politics now
One of the reasons I feel this is realistic is because of civilalisation now. It doesn’t matter if you are in the UK, the USA or anywhere else in the world, the ruling government choose a class to blame. In the UK, it’s people who are disable, or people who are on welfare benefits. By the sounds of it, the same is true with the USA. Immigrants also seem to be blamed in both countries and also in the rest of Europe.
These blamed groups are often subjected to hate crime. Between 2011-2012, only 1753 disabled people reported being subjected to hate crime. Nearly ten years after the introduction of PIP, that has increased to 14,242. An 712.59% increase. During this 9 year period, disabled people have been blamed for the lack of funding in the country. We’re still blamed, although the shift is changing to imigrants once more.
So I can honestly believe that a civilalised nation would suddenly turn on pregnant women, attempt to kill them and the baby they carry. I think that’s why I found it psychologically scary. It’s not just a world that could exist… it’s one that does in one form or another.
The only thing that is not realistic is that every nation agreed on how to reduce the population together. But then, it could be that Britain has become like North Korea and not told the real world’s views.
Characterisation
I thought Mae was really drafted out. Throughout the novel, you’re aware she’s keeping a secret (different to being pregnant). She’s ashamed of it that not even her partner is aware of what it is. By the end of the first book, you learn what it is and I think the reveal is handled really well too. She’s relatable and I found, reading it, I could feel her emotions as my own.
Pasha is also well-drafted out. He’s a risk-taker and not in a good way. He uses up all of their savings without discussing it with Mae first. He donates his sperm to his brother who cannot have a child of his own. Donations of sperm are not allowed and can risk society killing any of Pasha’s future children. This puts Mae’s child even more at risk because the baby is the younger half-sibling and the older child is classed as legitimate because the brother and his partner managed to register the pregnancy before the law was in place.
I think, as the story progresses, Pasha’s risk-taking will come to a head and Mae will need to decide on whether their relationship is sustainable and good for their child.
Overall thoughts
This is well worth the read. It’s dark and scary but because it’s a world that could exist in the very very near future. It really makes you think about society and how we treat others, especially in the rise in hate crime for minorities.