Over the course of the book West tackles serious topics like abortion, rape culture, harassment, fat acceptance, break ups, and her dad’s death. Each chapter sort of builds in intensity where you are suddenly reading about her family around her dad’s death bed 150 pages after reading about how potentially Ms. Potts from Beauty and the Beast was a 103-year-old single mom. That’s to say, it’s a helluva ride. In turns it is laugh out loud funny and heartbreaking, hopeful and enraging.

I enjoyed West’s voice and writing style immensely. She’s the kind of woman who takes absolutely no sh*t although she, like any human, is a messy ball of feelings and fear on the inside. Lindy West is the kind of woman I aspire to be - outspoken, passionate, an advocate for others.

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife is basically the perfect kind of book for me. It ticks all the boxes:

- Badass woman protagonist
- Plague
- Apocalypse
- Survival story
- Diary format with narrative between
- Great characters
- Gripping plot


In this novel, a plague sweeps the world that is very deadly for everyone but almost 100% fatal to women, children and especially pregnant people and newborns. The MC takes on many names and identities throughout the novel but we never know her real name. She wakes up in a hospital ward in San Francisco where she was working as a nurse when the plague hit. The world is dying. The MC has to think fast and change quickly to survive.

I read this book in two days, and mostly at night, which was a horrible choice because Meg Elison pulled no punches. This book is graphic and terrifying. It contained many themes common in apocalyptic fiction, including roaming bands of violent men exploiting the rapidly dwindling number of women.

I enjoyed how the MC tried on different identities for different reasons. I loved the variety of social structures in this book - everything from reverse harems to religious groups to militias. The MC is incredibly competent. She can shoot, raid, plan, negotiate and heal. It’s always fun for me to watch someone like that survive.

There is LGBTQIA+ rep in this book. The MC is bi, there are gay and bi side characters and polyamory is a norm in the post-plague landscape. There’s also an interesting exploration of gender via the MC because of the things she has to hide to survive.

⚠️CW: This book is graphic. I cannot stress enough that this is not a book to take on lightly! It includes rape, assault, child abuse, pregnancy loss, infant death, kidnapping, enslavement, plague, suicide, suicidal ideation and mentions drug abuse.

Honey Girl isn’t the story of a drunken Vegas marriage, despite the description on the cover. Honey Girl is the story of a woman grappling with the direction of her life. Yes, there is a Las Vegas wedding, and yes that figures in the story line, but the real meat of this story is Grace, the main character’s struggle to achieve her “grand plan” after finishing her PhD while also trying to deal with years of anxiety, perfectionism, over-reliance on herself and unrealistic expectations from her parents and others.

I found Grace’s crisis of confidence highly relatable. When you are praised and taught to constantly overachieve, the world after school comes as a shock. Unlike Grace, I didn’t also have to deal with racism and homophobia from potential employers. The struggles that Grace faces are very Millennial, and I get that, even as an elder Millennial. That feeling of doing so well in academics and realizing that none of it matters, and that others are playing not only with a different set of rules but almost a whole different game board. Realizing that in your late twenties is a very Millennial thing.

I liked the story and characters in this book, but I wanted a little more from Rogers. I think a stronger edit might have taken this book from good to amazing. There are many side characters that need more time and space. There are messy transitions. Some of the dialogue is kind of canted and cringe-y. There are lots of metaphors that get less impactful as the book goes on. Some of the descriptions are overused (we hear how Grace has golden hair over and over again, for instance). For a debut novel, it’s very strong and I am looking forward to seeing how Morgan Rogers grows as an author.