Wow ! I haven't cried so much at a book in a long time. 😭 brilliantly written I loved how all the different characters lives crossed over each other and that ending 😳 I was so invested in the story I didn't see that coming at all.

Thank you to Netgalley. HapercollinsUk and Nikki Erlick for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest Review.

First of all, the concept is insanely good. I was immediately intrigued by the pitch (and the temporary previous cover really worked for me). I feel like this is the kind of book that will divide opinions. It starts with the arrival of these mysterious boxes and each holds a measure of a human life. How crazy is that? Here comes the but. I have to admit, I gave myself a couple of months (more than that even) before deciding to DNF it. I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it - definitely give it a go - but it seemed like after the boxes arrived, nothing was really happening. It kind of was and it wasn’t (this makes no sense, but this is the only way I can explain it). I guess I had these Station Eleven and How High We Go in the Dark expectations because of the similar themes/genre. I might get back to it in the future, but for now, I’ll have to move on. Having said that, I think The Measure will perform well next summer. Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC.

What would you do if you know how long you have left you had to live and how would you spend it? That’s what the questions arise when you read The Measure by Nikki Erlick.
When one day small, wooded boxes arrive on every doorstop around the world for each person with the inscription “The measure of your life lies within”. Each box contains a string with the name of the person which measures the length of the life you have left. When this happened, the whole world goes crazy and wonders at first if this is a prank. But they soon realise the seriousness of the boxes.
People with the short strings, think they have a bad deal in life and try their best to make most of what time they have left and want to make their mark in the world. Others choose to end it. The long stringers don’t know how lucky the are and seem to resent the short stringers and the trust is lost between them. This is also about discrimination and equality.
Thank you, Harper Collins UK Fiction for a copy of The Measure. This is an amazing book about the meaning of life. I can’t imagine what I would do if I knew how long I had left to live. This is one of them books that will make you think about things more important to you. It will be one of them books that people will be talking about for a very long time. I really enjoyed this not only for the detail, but it made me think a little differently. It has a unique storyline and thought it is apt for this period that we have been living for the last 18 months, 5 stars from me.

What would you do if a box appeared on your doorstep with an inscription reading “The measure of your life lies within”, and containing a string and the recipient’s name. This box and the string cannot be destroyed, and nobody knows its source. Every person over the age of 22, all over the world receives the box at the same time.
It seems that the length of the string predicts how long the recipient has to live.
I wasn’t sure how this book was going to develop, but it turned out to be a very interesting discussion on how people choose to live their lives, how minority groups are treated, and how one must make the best of the time one has.
Told in the voices of many people, whose lives interweave in unexpected ways, it is finally a very hopeful book.
My only complaint is that it is very American based, with the suggestion that other parts of the world treated the boxes differently – that could be another interesting story.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the opportunity to read this book.

I had absolutely no idea what direction or even what theme this book would take on but wow, I am in awe of this book. I'll be the first to admit that as far as action goes, it's fairly limited but that's ok because it is so much more than that. I was fascinated by the concept from the outset but I was unprepared how deeply and emotionally I would become invested in the plot and the lives of the characters. The author writes beautifully, managing to successfully take on various different characters and tell their stories while interweaving them flawlessly. I loved that there were so many characters to both care and root for, with the 'villain' being in the minority, something that seems to be rare with books nowadays. Covering a wealth and depth of many topics, I would encourage everyone to pick up this thought provoking read that is bound to leave a lasting impression.

One morning the whole world wakes to find a small box for each adult. The box is inscribed with "The measure of your life lies within". No-one knows where the boxes came from. Those people who are curious open the box to discover a piece of string. Some people find short strings, some get medium length strings and others get long strings. It is eventually determined that the length of the string indicates how many years you have to live.

The story concerns a group of connected people and how their lives are impacted by the strings.

This is a huge novel. Primarily the story is about prejudice and discrimination. Those who have a short string struggle with a variety of things that wouldn't normally be an issue such as employment, bank loans, relationships and medical treatment.

How a person reacts to discovering how long they have left is also considered. From those who have a short string packing in their jobs so they can spend more time with their families or fulfilling a bucket list to long stringers who behave recklessly because they feel immune from death.

There are also people who chose not to open their box, simply to continue living life without knowing how long they have left.

This book raises so many questions and issues, it would make an ideal novel for book groups. Throughout my reading I wanted to discuss many of the points mentioned. Definitely not a book to be read in isolation.

Wow! This is a thought provoking read.

Imagine one day you woke up to find the measure of your life available to you - every adult finds a box containing a string outside their door, and it's discovered that the length of the string can be used to calculate when your life will end. So - do you open the box??

The story has a wide range of characters all dealing with this dilemma, some who do open their boxes to find a long life ahead of them, some discover they are 'short stringers', some choose to not open the box. Interesting to see discrimination in another way here - short stringers become banned from military combat (only send your long stringers, you know they'll survive), and many relationships are ended because people can't see the point of investing in a future together.

The characters in this book fill all parts of society, and all age ranges. I particularly love the individual stories all thread together at points in the narrative. A really interesting and highly recommended read.

Wow, this book really got to me. At first I was worried it was just a good premise and that the story wouldn’t live up to my expectations but I raced through it in no time, completely captivated by the story and characters. Finding out when we are going to die is such an unnerving idea, I think some people might find it uncomfortable reading at times. However for me it was fascinating and I can’t help but think how important and healthy it is for us to contemplate and talk about death more often. I loved how the characters’ lives intertwined and that although the story was US centred it described how different people around the world dealt with their boxes and strings. A great read and can easily see it being turned into a film or tv series.

OMG this was such a fascinating read! I didn't know what to expect but this surprised me in such a good way! Would really recommend diving into the book without any previous knowledge of it.

This books is something we all need in our lives. Through the lives of multiple narrators, we follow as the story unfolds right after every person in the world receives a box with a string inside that measures the length of their life. Reading the experiences of the narrators teaches us how to be empathetic to all people, not matter who they are. It also brings back a lot of our own experiences of the past two years and living through a world-wide pandemic. I highly recommend this book, as everyone has something to gain by reading it.

It's a great concept - one day, everyone over the age of 22 receives a box containing a string that reveals how long they will live. Erlick uses an ensemble cast to explore the consequences of this world changing-event, with echoes of the current coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

I really tried with this book. The concept was promising. It started off well too. But there were just too many characters to keep up with. I got very confused with the different narratives. It just wasn’t for me.

A completely different subject matter.

If you want something different, this book is for you.

Adding no more than the description of the book itself, it's just fabulous.

OH MY DAYS!!!!!!!
What a book!!!!!!!
This book is so well written and thought provoking.
All the over 22's in the world receive a box on their doorstep......what happens next is simply one of the best written books I've ever read.
Their world changes instantly.......how do they deal with it?
Brilliant to the very end.

This will be the book of 2022!!!

An interesting concept, I found this slower than I usually prefer but set the scene perfectly.
Interesting characters which are well developed.

Almost a 5-star read. Fantastic premise.

This book kept me awake at night wondering about short versus long threads and what it would mean if this really happened. What if we all knew when we were going to die? You could ponder the question for a lifetime.

It's also well written, with engaging characters and good dialogue. It's emotional and moving -- I think this is one (Like Halperin's The Truth Machine) that will always stay with me.

I think it will be a massive bestseller in 2022. It deserves to be. Erlick is a skilled writer and it's hard to believe it's a first novel. Here's hoping and wishing that there's more to come!

I took off one star because I was a tad disappointed by how the story developed and ended (trying to avoid spoilers!).

All over the world, every adult aged 22 and over, outside the doorstep finds a box. The source of boxes is unknown and mysterious. In the box is a string correlated to their lifespan.

And then the moral dilemma; would you like to know how long you had left to live and would it change the way you live your life?

The book follows the events in the lives of some who decided to open their boxes and the impact that the decision had on them and all around them.

Agonizing, full of interactions and with deeper meaning for all the society, this is a brilliant debut novel that will undoubtedly stir up many discussions in the future.

Wow, I don't think I have ever talked about a book that I am reading so much before, but the Measure is definitely worth discussion, The question is simple, What would you do if you received a box with a piece of string in it, denoting how long you had to live, would you look or would you live life in ignorance ?
But what Nikki Erlick has managed to do is write an amazing story that has really made me think and at times it was uplifting and sometimes so sad that I wanted to cry. the characters within are so realistic and to think this is a debut novel is amazing although a lot to live up to.
This will certainly be a book to remember.

Whilst this first seemed a little dystopian the way in which the story develops from individual perspectives with all characters being affected by the changing world in different ways made it personal and relevant. After the changes that we've seen to our daily lives and the general acceptance of these during COVID it was easy to feel a connection to the world that the author has created and rather than focusing on the event itself seeing it within the wider social and geographical context. A very different, engaging and thought provoking book that I would recommend to anyone looking for something a little less usual. I read it within a day and have found myself mentioning it to lots of friends since reading.

This was an unusual book and is well worth reading. I got it because I love dystopian novels, but although this one seems to be that on the surface, it is more a book about people and relationships.
As a first book, it is a good one, written by a US author and definitely aimed at a US audience, although of course everyone can read it. I only found a few bits that annoyed - when referring to older people, there seemed to be astonishment that people in their fifties could be hale and hearty, and retirement ages were an issue. But that is a very minor criticism, in what is mostly a very good book.
I did enjoy the ways that the different people eventually meshed together - it was obviously going to happen, but it was interesting and enjoyable to see how it came about. There were some characters that I enjoyed more than others, so it was true to life in that respect.
I nearly took a star off for the lack of really meaty problems, and I didn't totally enjoy the way it leapt forward at the end to resolve some outstanding issues, I would have preferred those to have been dealt with in another way. But overall I did enjoy the book, and some sentences were well crafted, so I decided to overlook these minor niggles for a book that was a very interesting read.