With FullLife’s service, women can finally get rid of all the negative aspects of pregnancy. No more sickness, no more pain during child birth and no more abstaining from alcohol and cigarettes and all the fun. And the best: the men can play a part, too! Simply use the pouch and have your baby cuddled in the perfect environment for 9 months. It does not take too long to convince the people that this is real evolution, the next step that makes mankind throw away the ballast and dangers connected to a pregnancy and child birth. And not to forget: this is how non-traditional families can finally fulfil their dream of having a baby. That’s what science is for, to lift mankind to a higher level, isn’t it? But progress normally also demands a price to be paid, it never goes for free. Up to now, however, only few people know how high the price really is.

Helen Sedgwick’s novel which is somewhere between Brave New World and The Handmaid’s Tale, raises a lot of questions. First of all, how far do we want to go for comfort and the fulfilment of our wishes. It only sounds too attractive to overcome all the negative side effects of being pregnant. And of course, the line of argumentation that now men and women are really equal since women cannot be reduced to reproduction anymore is also tempting at first. Second, we see scientists who – for different kinds of reason – act against their conscience and subordinate everything to alleged progress. Ethics cannot be ignored, undeniably, but sometimes there seems to be the time and space when you can sedate these thoughts and mute them in a way. Yet, quite naturally, this does not make the questions go away.

The novel tells the story from a very personal point of view which allows the severe topic to come across in a very human way with characters who have feelings and who suffer. In this way, you get involved in what they go through, the loss, the hopes, the fears. It does not provide easy answers to huge ethical dilemmas, but it adds some perspectives and reveals that quite often, there is much more than just black and white and that it is the different shades of grey which make it difficult for us to decide on the core questions of life. Lively characters portray this dilemma in a convincing way thus the novel can take it on with the great names of the genre.

What an interesting book this is, both philosophically and emotionally. It tells the story of FullLife, a company that created pouches that replace wombs and can be carried by both men and women, secrets kept from the public and the people who are trying to investigate the issue. The concept of industrialising childbirth is not new, but what the author has done here is introduce a world that on the surface, would be quite desirable to many people. The pain of childbirth is removed and the process becomes one in which both parents can take an active role. One of the key arguments in the book is the inequality prevalent in society, due in part to the time away women must take when they become pregnant. I think that this is a fascinating area of philosophical debate and the book very cleverly leaves the issue open, drawing few conclusions. The narrative is really well paced and the characters are convincing, believable and very human. For me, this would be a great book to read in a book club, or in schools alongside other future explorations of childbirth and population control and I think that it has real relevance both now and in the future.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Growing Season sounded like it had the potential to be an interesting read but the reality was a bit of a disappointment.
A company named FullLife provides people with the opportunity to have a baby outside of traditional methods. The embryo is placed inside a pouch which exists outside of the body. These pouches mean that more options are available than just the traditional family – homosexual, one parent, single males even.
The pouch also provides an opportunity to rid society of the traditional division of labour and gender inequalities. Men and women can share carrying the pouch meaning that men and women are both able to work and take care of the baby during pregnancy.
The idea of the pouches was equality for all and a birth that was free of the risks of stillbirth and other complications.
At least that is the idea.
Then Eva and Piotr separately stumble across a secret, one that FullLife are trying to keep hidden. The secret behind why they are suddenly beginning to promote natural birth.
The Growing Season was a bit disjointed at times and felt it didn’t flow as well as some multi-narrative novels do. Also, personally I didn’t feel any sense of urgency at all to get through the book. The characters weren’t that interesting to me.
Unusually for me I was more interested in the shared past between Eva and Piotr than other elements of the plot.
The first description of the pouches gave me a bit of a jolt, particularly the idea of designer pouches.
“A couple walked past, the man’s hand cupped affectionately – though not protectively – around the curve of their unborn child. Five months, Eva thought, perhaps six. Enough that the pouch looked full but comfortable. Very comfortable, she knew. They had chosen a winter cover of fluffy red fleece. Christmassy. Festive. The last few years had been all about the accessories.”
Eva has never agreed with FullLife and spends her time campaigning for natural birth feeling that the pain of childbirth should be celebrated because it shows women’s strength. She knows something is wrong when FullLife suddenly start promoting natural births so she begins to investigate by going to one of her mother’s old contacts there.
Piotr stumbles on his own aspect of the secret whilst reporting on the soon-to-give-birth granddaughter of the first woman to give birth using a pouch.
One thing I liked about The Growing Season was the way the author tried to show a balance of arguments for both natural and Fulllife births.
One important issue she raised in The Growing Season was the way people have a tendency to blame women if they have a miscarriage or still birth. This is outlined in the quote below:
“There were all these rules, you-know pregnant women had to eat certain things, sleep a certain way, avoid pain relief, and if something went wrong…”
The main point of my review though is that although it was readable I was expecting there to be a little bit more oomph to it.

I was a bit disappointed in this title. The concept sounded great and very current but I felt that the writing didn't grab me due to a mix of too many characters that I wasn't drawn to and a plot that didn't seem very exciting.

The Growing Season is the second book I read by this wonderful but not so well know author. I loved them both and it is safe to say that I will try everything Helen Sedgwick decides to write.

The Growing season is a psychological drama disguised as a mystery novel. In an alternative past (in the 60’ probably), an external pouch that can replace the woman’s womb is invented. Due to the discovery, people that previously could not have children can do so. Homosexual couples, women that could not hold a pregnancy, older people, can fulfill their dream to have a family. Also, the pouch allows equality in the parenting roles as it can be carried by both future parents. It can thus eliminate the inequalities between sexes. In addition, the technology is advertised as risk free without any baby deaths.

It seems like a dream come true for everyone. However, not all is well. From the invention of the pouch until present there is only one company who holds the patent, NHS is absorbed by this colossus, natural birth is discouraged and almost disappears. At the beginning, there were protests against the unnatural aspect of the birth but as the technology proved more and more popular and safe, the voices have died out. Then, something happens. The company starts to advertise a new program of natural birth. Two people realize that something is wrong, Eva, a former protester and Piotr, a journalist who is employed to cover the birth of the grand-grandson of first woman to give birth via the pouch. They soon realize that babies started to die and they team up to discover the truth.

The novel is fast pace and I kept turning the pages in order to find out how the plot progresses. However, plot is not the most important aspect in the novel. The author raises numerous questions regarding the effects of the artificial womb have on the people’s psychology and the society as whole. Has the pouch really helped to achieve equality between men and women? Can it be used to control women and makes the redundant? Is it ok for a company to control almost all human births?

The novel is like a beautiful collage. The author mingles pieces of the story, mixing past and present until everything is put together at the end. The beginning might be a bit confusing but everything will come together nicely. Sedgwick’s writing is flowing beautifully; it reaches the depths of my soul. She manages to make me care for the characters and their drama like few writers can. I can feel their loss, their suffering, happiness and anger liker they were mine.

I decided to give it only four stars because of two reasons. Firstly, the beginning was a bit confusing and the transition from one timeline to another was not always smooth. Secondly, there were some consequences of the pouch invention that were not discussed. For example, if there were no birth deaths the result could be a risk of overpopulation.

A really interesting book that had me gripped from the start.... Imagine a future where both men and women can 'have' children... Well in this future they can, by the way of the 'pouch' which enables a baby to grow outside of the womb in a bag that either parents can wear meaning that a family is accessible to most people ( Not sure how this fully works as it isn't explained!). But suddenly there are complications and deaths and the 'FullLife' company who have invented the pouch have started to cover up what is actually happening. The story follows a few people who are looking for answers.
I was engrossed by the nature of this story and think it would be great for a book club book there would be some interesting discussions !

Warm, thoughtful and kind. It presents some big issues but brings a human side to give them meaning.

The Growing Season is set in an alternate version of our world, differing from ours only in the invention of the biotech baby pouch two generations ago. The pouch is an artificial womb that allows babies to be incubated outside of the human body. FullLife own the patent for the pouch and have marketed it so successfully as an end to inequality and the dangers of childbirth that natural births are rare.

Eva is carrying on her mother's work of campaigning against the pouch. She believes that the technology has moved too fast, that as a society we did not stop to think about the issues, and now we are blind to any problems that the pouch brings along with it.

Holly had the very first pouch baby and is now a poster girl for FullLife. She is about to have her first grandchild, and she loves the pouch and the freedom and choices it brings for parents.

The book takes a very balanced view of the issues and presents both sides of the argument. It looks at the benefits of allowing both men and women to be involved in carrying the unborn child, how it allows people to be parents that otherwise wouldn't be able to, and how it protects women from the dangers of childbirth.

We are also shown the other side - how it could enable domestic abuse, how it affects society in negative ways, how we adopt technology so quickly that we don't think about the side effects, or what happens when it goes wrong. It also touches on the dangers of allowing one big company to have such a monopoly on our lives, and how it excludes those who live in poverty even further.

So it's tackling big issues and could very easily have been dry and preachy. But Sedgwick makes them accessible by giving them a human face and showing how they affect people personally. Through Eva and Holly, she tells a warm and moving story about people. Their lives and families take up a big part of the book. I never felt like she was pushing the discussion about the issues or forcing an opinion on me, the story always comes first.

I thought it would be hard to read, so much so that I almost picked up something else when I was too tired to concentrate, but I gave this a go and got drawn in straight away. The writing is beautiful, almost lyrical at times and I flew through it because I cared so much about the characters.

Highly recommend this one if you like sci-fi, women's issues, ethics in technology, or if you just like stories about people.

Thank you for providing the review copy.

I love the idea of this book. I think it's an incredibly timely and fascinating premise and I only wish that more of the impacts of society had been developed within this book. As it was, I found that the characters let the story down somewhat. The FullLife world is full of potential and incredibly interesting but the characters interactions were less so, I felt a little disappointed by this book. I was hoping for an Atwood level Handmaid's Tale style book, but this suffered from having a diffused focus on lots of different characters.

I don't think there's a book by Helen I could hate. Maybe if she wrote it backwards with her left foot, while riding on a gray mare, also backwards over muddy marshes..? Yet, still. I think I'd love it too.

There's just something about Helen's style and topics that always appeals to me. When one of my Goodreads friends told me this was up on NetGalley, I did a happy dance, clapped my hands and off I went right away to request it. Although I had doubts that maybe this topic matter is not for me – I have my own psychological reservations when it comes to babies and pregnancy, it turned out to be right up my alley. I can now self-centeredly continue feeling that Helen Sedgwick writes for me.

[GIF of the fabulous gesture; you can see the GIFs on my blog]

Now that we've established that I'll read anything Helen writes, let me tell you more about the book – Helen invites us to a world that's roughly an alternate reality of ours. Everything is more or less the same, apart from one thing. Sometime between the 60s and the 70s, the pouch was invented. The pouch is an external womb, so to say – enabling absolutely everyone who wants it to have a baby – men included, infertile couples included, even gay couples included. The biggest difference from surrogate motherhood that this wonderful device brings is the fact that you can strap it on like a real belly and experience being 'a mother' while actually being a father or undesignated parent. Which makes the experience of motherhood accessible to everyone – equally. This is the biggest wonder, not to speak of the fact that women are suddenly men's equals and don't have to go through the ordeal of childbirth anymore. The world quite naturally moves towards the pouch replacing natural birth, as it's safer (practically no chance of a miscarriage, no health risks either.)

[GIF of a pregnant Schwarzenegger from the movie]

Is this new invention a blessing or a curse? Is it ridding women of their suffering, or is it taking away they only thing that was their privilege, making them redundant? I believe this question can be answered so many ways, I struggled with how I feel about it a lot while reading The Growing Season. I believe every feminist should read this book – it poses so many important questions that every feminist should think about.

In the end, you know there is something wrong when one company manages everyone's births, and won't even allow the option of natural birth, if you're not incredibly wealthy. But someone is bound to realize things are not quite alright when 50 years later the monopoly of the pouches starts offering natural birth plans again. And a former natural birth activist, a journalist and the first woman to have ever had an artificial birth baby are going to find out what it's about.

When I put it like that, it might sound like a mystery, or a thriller. But it's not – if you know Helen's writing, it's flowing and literary, it will weave strands of the story together slowly, but surely. Don't expect adventure or mind-blowing events. This is more of a "find yourself" kind of story. You might even feel lost at first, before she brings all the separate stories together, but for me, that's what makes the beauty of this book. If any of you have read more of her work, the themes of separation, helplessness are explored in this one as well. I also just love her writing and how it deals with emotional trauma, loss, grief. I can connect to what she writes so easily. And what's more – Helen's books are just so realistic – the problems don't end with the book. Life still goes on. We just have a glimpse, and leave the characters to solve their world shattering problems on their own.

[You can also read a spoiler paragraph on my blog but I'm not including it here cause there are no spoiler tags]

I strongly recommend this book! It was a great reading experience. However, you should only pick it up if you are into tough, serious topics – it's not a light read. I thank Helen Sedgwick and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review. If you're interested in the other book of Helen's that I reviewed, you can read the review on my blog: http://avalinahsbooks.space/the-comer-seekers-by-helen-sedgwick/

As a fan of The Handmaid's tale I thought the premise of this book was perfect for me. Set in a dystopian not too distant future women are no longer required to get pregnant , A pouch has been created so that babies can be carried outside of the body.
This seems to be the perfect solution offering equality to men and women and allowing gay couples to have children as well as reducing abortions (as unwanted pregnancies can be transferred to a pouch). The book covers many complicated subjects. However, as with all modern inventions their are people who are against the pouch. Activists who fight against it believing that it takes away the choices that women have and denies them part of what is it to be a woman. I would have liked a bit more information about how the pouch works but the focus is more on the effects that the pouch would have on society. It was a thought provoking, enjoyable read that, like The Handmaid's tale, is very believable.

3.5 stars
This book is set in an interesting alternate world where carrying a child is no longer something restricted by biology. The development of a high tech biological "pouch" into which an embryo is transplanted, and where it grows and develops means that men and women can equally share the work, and the joy, carrying the pouch close to their bodies over the gestation period. At first the biotechnology is hailed as a miracle, a wonder that will allow more people to enjoy the privilege of parenthood- gay couples, older parents or those who cannot otherwise carry a child to term, and all without the pain and risk of giving birth. Two generations on, it seems that all may not be quite as wonderful as people are being lead to believe , and someone sets out to reveal the truth, but at the same time learns an unexpected truth about herself.
I loved the concept of this book, it's a variation of an idea I have often joked about with friends. Unfortunately I struggled with this book, especially in the first third or so, because its very disjointed. Chapters are told from different perspectives, and at first we as readers have no idea who the characters are, making it difficult to follow at times. This was made even worse by abrupt changes in time period,when characters remember events from the past. A little more delineation would have made things much clearer.
What is clear is that the author went to great effort to present both sides of the argument, having characters both in favour of and firmly opposed to the use of the "pouch", and the impartiality of the writing means that there are sympathetic characters on both sides. All of this in turn gives the reader much to consider, and I found myself thinking about this book long after I put it down.

It's rare that I find a book as thought provoking as this. I found it opened a lot of questions regarding so many sociological questions, and had me really examine my opinions. On reading the blurb for this, I thought it was going to be a easy dystopian type read, but I couldn't have been more wrong or surprised, but I'm so glad I was.

The Growing Season is set in a sort-of-near future reality whereby the invention of 'the pouch' has made pregnancy obsolete. Men and women can finally share the load of childbearing and equally split their time between child rearing and working. The NHS has been privatised, abortion rates are low, and neonatal deaths are non existent. Within the novel itself we follow a series of women who are somehow intrinsically linked to FullBirth, the company behind the invention of the pouch, and their investigation into a series of coverups by the company following a tragedy.

These women include Eva, an activist who's mother taught her the pitfalls of the pouch, and her determination to expose FullBirths secrets to the world. I liked Eva a lot. I found that as the novel went on she turned from a full blown activist to something more akin to a figurehead, or spokesperson for the average person. She expressed so many opinions on equality and prejudice that I could relate to myself. I especially liked the comments she makes about discrimination in the work place, and how the pouch changes the problem instead of eradicating it in the first place.

Holly, another character, is shown as a matriarchal figure, the first woman to have a 'pouch birth' and at the start of the novel expecting her first great grandchild via a pouch birth. At first she seems to be a perfect example of the success of FullBirth and the pouches, but she comes to see that her decision may have been rash. She trusts blindly in these scientists, not knowing all the facts or possible side effects that could occur in her future generations. She also comes across as very shrewd. She makes a few observations near the end of the novel that resonated with me regarding the fact that men and women aren't identical. If the sexes aren't identical, surely the strive for equality in fertility and childbearing is pointless?

I really enjoyed the overall plot for this, although I'll admit at first it took me a little while to get into it as I was very confused by the lack of world building at the beginning. There is never really an explanation with regards to how the pouches work, and how women can 'move' naturally conceived pregnancies into the pouches and I would have appreciated it. However, as the story progressed, I became so involved I these woman's stories, that this lack of information started to feel less important. Especially as it brought together such a surprising number of social issues for discussion, including women in the workplace, fertility, equality, IVF, and the risk vs benefits of an artificial birth. It was such an interesting and enlightening novel, and wholly unique within its genre.

The story is interspersed throughout with logs from the mysterious 'Freida', the inventor of the pouch. I wasn't as keen on these sections as I felt they stalled the story too much, and at times I got very confused about what was currently happening and what was 'in the past'. I clearer definitive sectioning of the past and present would have made things a lot easier.

Overall, however, these was a truly unique book that provoked a great amount of internal reflection and brought to the fore a greater understanding of social issues and equality.

A concept that you can't help but want to know more about - men and women can now share the responsibility, the joys, of looking after a baby in the womb, via a pouch that can be worn by either for nine months.

This simple concept brings us into contact with several characters - the first woman to bear a child via the pouch - Holly, and her granddaughter Rosie, about to give birth to a son herself, the third generation in the family to do so. Other characters involved in FullLife come to the fore - journalists looking at the pouch and its science, men and women connected to the company and pouches, and babies produced by it.

Is there a conspiracy? Is FullLife hiding something?

In a rather intriguing book (the NHS is dead, men take pouches to work with them), the well-created world has you entranced by the concept of the pouch. I really wanted to see it, to understand its mechanism.

I did wonder where it was all leading, though I enjoyed my journey through the world, I did get a little confused at times which story we were following, who was who. There were hints of mystery and intrigue, and though all was explained, I had thought it was heading in a different direction.

Definitely one that gives pause for thought, makes you reconsider your own views on parenting and gender. Some emotional scenes that may upset.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance e-copy.

This is a psychological drama about parenthood and its implication, about different ways of pregnancy and how they impact our society. Most of the story is centered around the pouch, a new means of carring a baby, an artificial, external womb, non-dependent of genre.

Heterosexual couples, gay couples, infertile persons, older persons, people with different genetic problems who couldn’t otherewise birth a child, are now able to do so with the help of the pouch. This way, at least theoretically, the equality between women and men is at last achieved: both to carry and care for the baby they share, and to work without the impediments of a real pregnancy.

But there are still some that use the pouch to render useless the women, to oppress them. Also, the patent is used exclusively by one company, FullLife, who also took over health insurances from NHS and doesn’t (as long as I could understand from the text) offer (or promote?) natural birth plans, until some problems begin to emerge.

The book covers the pros and cons of the pouch, the different arguments of both sides, the impact it has on the society (more possibilities for some, abuse, fostering/adoptions, care homes, economical impact, etc), and also adds some personal family drama and relashionship issues, plus some mystery.

Why 4 stars? Because, unfortunately, it took me ~20% of the book to really get into it. I found the first part rather confusing, as the story goes back and forth through different characters and different timelines, which are not very well delimited and not very clear. I would have given it a wholehearted 5 had the first part been 'smoother'.

This is a fascinating and thought provoking book bringing up multiple issues of fertility and motherhood in an imagined not too distant future. The pouch, an artificial, external womb is the centre of the story's controversy. Promoted as a perfect and safe method to incubate babies from conception to birth, it has overtaken natural pregnancy in popularity. However, following a covered up still birth for a "celebrity" couple it is clear that not all is as perfect as it seems. Eve, continues her mother's search for withheld flaws in the Pouch research and in doing so discovers unexpected information about her family's past and personal trauma.  It is a well written book with plenty of topics to discuss. What I like about it is that it is not one sided in the arguments put forward supporting or against the fertility and surrogate ideas. 
I would recommend it as a Bookclub read..Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this book.

Blog review is scheduled for August 15th at 12:00pm GMT

Picking up points from Brave New World (incubation centres) and The Handmaid's Tale (maternity, fertility), this is a high-concept novel that raises some important points for debate. The scenario is that a private for-profit company has invented an artificial womb which exists outside of the body, and has taken over all NHS pregnancy contracts. It's sold as the end of female inequality due to physiology and opens up the possibilities of men experiencing 'pregnancy' as well as women: the 'womb', named the Pouch, comes with a range of accessories and is worn outside the body, then hung up at night in a birthing stand. Only babies are dying, of course there's a cover up as so much money is at stake, and an intrepid journalist and long-time campaigner are on the trail of the truth...

Sedgwick has created an interesting scenario here but the controversial topic doesn't really fill the novel. She's approached the subject in a rounded way, offering pros and cons of the science and its impact on society. There are certainly issues about the commodification of childbirth and the capitalist economy of Pouch accessories (like Kindle covers!) which come in a range of colours and textures to suit all tastes, as well as comments on the lack of government funding for the NHS and the shift to private for-profit healthcare.

My issue, though, is that once all this good stuff is established, there's very little story. A lead scientists already knows what the issue is and so do we at about a third of the way through - the rest is taken up with lots of backstories, unlikely relationships between a small cast of characters, and the search for evidence to back up what we already know. There are certainly emotive stories about babies and maternity/paternity so readers for whom this is a hot-button may like this more - for me, lots of interesting ideas and topics for public debate, but less successful as a novel.

In the not very distant future technology has evolved a "pouch". This is essentially an external womb which can be worn by a man or woman or hung neatly on a stand. It is fed with bags of nutrients and even has a microphone so you can play music to the baby as it develops. Women are free from the shackles of giving birth with a pregnancy that can be equally enjoyed by men or women. Does this mean that women are now truly equal? Shared parental leave can be exactly that. No woman needs to pause her career to give birth. People in same sex relationships can have a baby without the need for adoption or surrogacy.

Is this really what women want or do some women want the closeness of bearing and birthing a child? No more abortions are necessary as the unwanted foetus simply gets transferred into a pouch and the parents need never have anything more to do with it.

Is the technology perfect? Could it go wrong? What about all the unwanted children living in institutions which are struggling for money? Is this really a solution to society's problems?

As you can see this book raises far more questions than it answers. The whole concept is not that unlikely and is totally believable. Although the subject matter is different, I likened it to Robin Cook's "Coma" - a medical advancement which isn't far beyond our society but is it really what we want?

This book follows Eva who has been following in her Mother's footsteps and campaigning against the pouches for years. She has always been looking for the glitch in the armour of "Fulllife" the organisation which has developed the pouch and gradually privatised the NHS. On the other side we have Holly who was the first woman to ever have a baby using the pouch. Her grand-daughter is about to enjoy the birthing day of her baby. Which side is right? What is the right route for society?

I very much enjoyed this book. It raised so many questions in my own mind while I was reading it. What would I feel about this development? Would I ever trust this external womb? Do the pros outweigh the cons? Aswell as this questions, the book was enjoyable from a purely fictional point of view. The characters were interesting and all had their flaws. The plot worked well though a couple of the developments at the end didn't quite work for me. On the whole, however, it was a well thought out and well written book which I enjoyed reading. I would certainly take the time to hunt out another book by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

I had high hopes for this book, which I expected would be a gripping look at the ethics behind and consequences of human ambition, in the vein of Naomi Alderman's redefining The Power. Sadly, this book didn't live up to that potential - I felt that opportunities were missed, and although some attention was given to the moral dilemmas thrown up by the pouches, I felt that such a fascinating idea deserved more analysis.

The Growing Season is a book that looks at motherhood from every feminist perspective. With the advent of the pouch, a way of growing babies outside of a female body, heterosexual couples can share the load of pregnancy, reaching for true equality. Gay couples and infertile women can also experience pregnancy in a way they never could have before. With your male partner sharing the pregnancy, women are no longer seen as a burden, a risk.

But there's a darker side to this equality. With the pregnancy occurring outside of the woman's body, what do they need women for? Eva - and before her, her mother, Avigail - campaigned against the pouch for this very reason. Arguing for choice, for the respect of motherhood not to be taken away from women, Eva and Avigail fight for what they believe to be a woman's right. They fail to acknowledge, at least for the most part, how the pouch helps those who cannot have children naturally, until later on, when Eva manages to adopt a wider view.

The Growing Season takes multiple viewpoints into account. Women are also encouraged to transfer their unwanted foetuses to the pouch, rather than opt for abortion. This would satisfy the pro-life groups (or anti-woman, as I prefer to call them), but the issue of funding these unwanted children rears its ugly head. Many pro-life groups dedicate so much time to telling women what they can and cannot do with their own bodies, they fail to address just how the children will be looked after throughout their lives - and who will be responsible.

This is a complicated story, not least because of the subject material. We are getting closer to developing a way for a baby to be grown outside of the female body. While this is a positive step for some groups, it might not be seen as such by others. There will always be clashing perspectives when it comes to something like this, and no one of them is more right - more righteous - than the other.

Sedgwick has taken a common, relevant theme, and turned it into an engaging, dystopian fiction. It's real enough to be relatable, understandable, but still with that reassuring distance, almost like we're holding the future at arms length. Read it.