Fetal Position by Carolyn Huynh (Advance Review)

 

Fetal Position by Carolyn Huynh (publication date 12-1-26)

Reviewed by Kristin

Imagine if in just a few generations the global birth rate plunged. You really don’t have to imagine that; the current rate is less than half what it was in the mid-20^th century. Imagine that governments and private corporations also wanted to influence people’s personal and reproductive decisions. Again, do we really have to imagine?

In this dystopian near future scenario, Lena Do is a successful professional woman. Men no longer hold many leadership roles, as they have been found to be the weaker gender. In order to combat the “male loneliness epidemic” the United States government even arranges and financially supports dinner dates between men and women. Robot assistants are common, both domestic and in the workplace.

Amidst all the corporate grind and the grim prospects in finding a partner, Lena is burnt out. She begins seeing advertisements for a company called Hatch which promises a leisurely and well paid life to “high-value” women in exchange for just one little task—being human incubators and saving the world population.

Lena has no family. Her mother died suddenly many years ago, and Lena was one of the early embryos conceived using lab grown sperm. No father, no siblings, no cousins. No one.

Lena takes the leap and joins Hatch. The new recruits are transported to their new community in luxury, and everything looks promising. Of course they can leave at any time they wish. Consent is everything. But the utopia is not entirely as it seems, and Lena starts asking questions. As women disappear and others begin to forget their former lives, Lena fights through her own mental fog to discover the true motives of the Hatch leadership. Will she succeed? No spoilers here.

I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Atria Books for an advance copy!