Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC! 

 

“Those who gave everything and lost, withheld everything and still lost, would hear our voice and find truth in the dark. They would understand me, her, us. The descendants of survivors.” 

 

Fans of THE HANDMAID’S TALE, you will love this! In fact, I stand in my opinion that this is the book Atwood wishes she wrote. THE BLUEPRINT explores the concepts of slavery, racism, gender inequity, power imbalances, and choice, set in a world that echoes the horrors of the past and one we could easily see again. 

 

Solenne Bonet lives in Texas, the capitol of a country where choice does not exist. After a second Civil War, Descendants of Slavery (DoS) have been restricted and forced into servitude under the direction of an algorithm and The Order—a militaristic government that’s determined to return to the United States’ enslaved roots. Black men serve the military, while Black women are sent to “learn” from upper-class white men before being assigned to a Black spouse and residence. 

 

After capturing the attention of Bastien, a high-ranking official in The Order, Solenne finds herself trapped in a game of power, desire, abuse. She longs for freedom in Louisiana, the one free state, but is confused by Bastien’s declaration of love and disturbed by the choice to leave everything she knows behind.  Through it all, she’s inspired by the story of her ancestor, Henriette, who was sold into the slavery in the 1800s and followed a similar story on her path to freedom. 

 

THE BLUEPRINT was interesting, beautifully written, and poignant in today’s political landscape. The influences of Octavia E. Butler and Atwood are distinct, but the way the novel uses race and power to drive the conflict felt fresh and timely. I loved Solenne as a main character. She makes rash decisions, is prone to tantrums, and loves deeply. I appreciated that she breaks the stereotype of the Black Women Who Has to Do It All. She’s vulnerable and conflicted for the majority of the novel and allows herself to feel her feelings thoroughly, even when they don’t lead to the “smart” choice. 

 

I liked the “triple” timeline of the story. Each section is introduced with a brief portion of Henriette’s tale, followed by flashbacks and present-day Solenne. I thought this kept the pacing interesting, as we learn how Solenne got to her current position and how it influences her decision-making, while using Henriette’s story as a guidepost for where we’re going. I wish we had gotten a little more of Henriette; at times, her story and Solenne’s didn’t quite align the way I expected.

However, I liked how the ending came “full circle” while being left open to interpretation—we aren’t given all the answers, as both Henriette’s and Solenne’s fates were open-ended.