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The Virtue Season
Book Review
Without exaggeration, The Virtue Season is definitely my new favourite book
Without exaggeration, The Virtue Season is definitely my new favourite book. It deals with lots of difficult topics really well and has a very engaging storyline.
Manon, the main character, is a spirited girl who secretly doesn’t agree with the Virtue Season and the decommissioning of ‘flawed’ debutants. They are decommissioned if they are considered to have impure bloodlines (by having a disease or health condition) which will destroy the clean gene pool. Although this process seems quite complicated to understand, it becomes more and more clear throughout the book.
Manon is shown to be unsure about who to unite with and this shapes the book to be about her journey to finding what she hopes to turn into love. It is very emotional at times and there are topics in it which aren’t appropriate for younger readers such as suicide so I would only recommend this book for readers aged 12-13+.
The Virtue Season reminded me of a book called ‘The Grace Year’ by Kim Liggett so if you enjoyed that, you will definitely enjoy this!
I really hope L.M Nathan writes a sequel to The Virtue Season – I will be first in line to buy it.
About the Book
Manon Pawlak has just turned eighteen, a debutant at the start of the Virtue Season: a process that will result in a match with a suitable genetic mate. Her best friend, Agatha, has been decommissioned, forbidden to partake in the season and unite with the boy who has had her heart since they were children.
When Manon’s mother wades out into the waters of Penn Vale with stones sewn into the lining of her coat, Manon’s genetic purity is called into question and she’s forced to rely on the fisherman’s son, Wick, to keep her secret. But as they dance, the truth about their world starts to unravel, and Manon finds herself at the centre of it all. And the council is watching.
Author
L.M. Nathan
L.M. Nathan is a writer with an MA in Literature and an MA in Journalism, which she studied in Manchester. She now lives in rural Lancashire in the shadow of Pendle Hill, where she teaches English. The Virtue Season is her debut YA novel, almost ten years in the making and inspired by the countryside of rural Lancashire.
Reviewer Profile
Grace, 12
- Reviews: 3
- Likes: hanging with friends, tennis and solving puzzles
- Dislikes: mushrooms and maths
- Favourite Book: Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Sue Hitchcock
- Favourite Film : Top Gun - Maverick
- Favourite Song : You Signed Up For This by Maisie Peters
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