The Measure by Nikki Erlick

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

Nikki Erlick's debut novel The Measure was published in 2022 and quickly became a New York Times Bestseller. It is an Amazon Editor's Pick for Best Science Fiction and Fantasy and a pick for the Today Show Book Club. It deals with bullying, chronic illness, death, toxic relationships, violence, medical content, grief, a car accident, death of a parent, murder, pregnancy, outing, war, and injury detail.

All across the world, people wake up to find a box waiting for them. Inside the box - a note saying that the box contains the measure of their life and a string. No one knows where the boxes came from, no one understands what the strings are for. But every single person over the age of twenty-two received one and as more people turn twenty-two, they wake up to a box of their own. Soon it is discovered that the strings tell you exactly how long you will live. And just like that, you are faced with a decision. Do you want to know? And once you do, what do you do with that information?

I devoured this book. What a simple concept, one that does not require intense amounts of set up or world building to get you thinking. A plot that is not too outlandish while being just far enough to keep you feeling safe. The allegory here is not buried very deep, it gets you thinking about the different ways that discrimination presents and how we can change the way we think to combat it. It contains an ensemble cast of characters that you grow to care about deeply and although there are several POV characters that you switch between, they did not feel undeveloped or one dimensional. Similarly, it has several secondary characters that you become attached to and through which you see many chance encounters that delight you when you recognize them but do not detract from the enjoyment of the story if you do not. The writing was well done, it never felt sluggish and kept me interested throughout the length of the story. And while you know who is going to make it to the end and who is not, it doesn't make the ending any less impactful.

What an incredible first book. I'm giving The Measure by Nikki Erlick 5 stars. I loved it and I've already put her second novel, The Poppy Fields, on my list. There's nothing I love more than a good ensemble and this one nails it, walking the line of not shortchanging the characters while not becoming too long either. So would you want to know - just how long is your string?

For more from Nikki Erlick, check out her website at https://www.nikkierlick.com/

Pairs well with oatmeal and being groovy.

My favorite quote (there's actually two):

"It's possible to regret something, or at least wonder about something, while still knowing it was the right choice."

"and even though I was given more chapters... hers were the ones you couldn't put down."