[Review] The Measure by Nikki Erlick

This is a well-regarded book that has received some accolade. And while I did love the premise, I didn't end up loving the book.

This book asks readers to consider the question of what would happen if everyone suddenly knew how long they would live. It's a captivating idea with a lot of philosophical intrigue, so the start of the book definitely caught my attention. And the writing is very competent, so I went into this book excited.

However... I ended up having a couple big issues with this book. First, there are a lot of characters—8 who are allotted their own point of view. I found the frequent switching between POVs to be rather jarring. There was a moment at the start of each chapter where I would wonder, “Which character is this again?” Because there are so many characters and so many POV switches I never really felt invested in any of the characters.

My second issue with the book was the middle. The book started strong and I liked the ending; however, the middle of the book felt rather flat to me—not much rising and falling action, just kind of one note. The middle felt like a slog, and I had to force myself to keep going.

On a positive note, this book is a good reminder to savor life, because you never know how long you've got. But, for me, there was nothing standout about this book.

3 stars