Review : 5 to 1 by Holly Bodger

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title :  5 to 1
Author : Holly Bodger
Publication Date : May 12th 2015
Publisher : Knopf Books for Young Readers
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In the year 2054, after decades of gender selection, India now has a ratio of five boys for every girl, making women an incredibly valuable commodity. Tired of marrying off their daughters to the highest bidder and determined to finally make marriage fair, the women who form the country of Koyanagar have instituted a series of tests so that every boy has the chance to win a wife.

Sudasa, though, doesn't want to be a wife, and Kiran, a boy forced to compete in the test to become her husband, has other plans as well. As the tests advance, Sudasa and Kiran thwart each other at every turn until they slowly realize that they just might want the same thing.

This beautiful, unique novel is told from alternating points of view-Sudasa's in verse and Kiran's in prose-allowing readers to experience both characters' pain and their brave struggle for hope.

Personal Thoughts

5 to 1 was one of those books I wanted to read at first because of the stunning cover, but when I read the summary and found out that it was going to be set in India, I felt a powerful need for this book. When I requested this title, I was unaware that half of the book was written in verse. I have never read a verse book in my life before. Admittedly, I was a little nervous going into 5 to 1, but wow! This book was sensational and has solidified my desire to check out more verse books.

The book is told in the point of view of Sudasa, a young woman who has to choose her husband based on who wins a series of tests. Her POV was written in verse. While it took me some time to get into it, once I was accustomed to it, I was completely immersed in her voice. We really get to know her state of mind through the verse and I honestly can't imagine loving her character as much as I did if it hadn't been written in this form. Her every feeling and emotion felt so concrete to me. The author did a beautiful job with capturing her voice through Sudasa's powerful and captivating emotions. 5 to 1 was very much a strongly character driven book, in that this is a story about the characters and their gradual growth. Sudasa underwent so much of growth throughout the book. This is the story of her gaining emotional strength and I thought it was all done exquisitely. The other POV in the book belongs to Kiran, a competitor in Sudasa's test, who longs to escape the city and to go find his mother. Holly Bodger also did a phenomenal job at portraying an authentic male voice. Kiran was a brilliant character who I also sympathized and felt for. There were also a slew of interesting secondary characters that I found very compelling, particularly Sudasa's grandmother and her parents. Her parents, especially, were breaths of fresh air with how supportive they were of Sudasa and how much they wanted nothing but happiness for her.

The diversity in 5 to 1 was excellent. Holly Bodger captured the Indian lifestyle so gorgeously, I was in awe of it. From the culture to the daily traditions, she was able to illustrate it all very beautifully. 5 to 1 is a dystopia novel and while you may think you've seen everything in dystopia, trust me when I say that you still have to explore this book. I thought the world that Holly Bodger has created was absolutely intriguing. It's a luscious world, set in walled city in India, ruled by women for the women and where men are second class citizens. The feminist in me was certainly intrigued by this. I enjoyed the exploration of the dynamics of this world. 5 to 1 was a short book and while the world building in itself wasn't complex, I thought it was just detailed enough to satisfy me and I'm sure many readers will feel the same way. The summary makes it seem like 5 to 1 has a romance, but I really would not call it that. There were certainly a flutter of attraction between Sudasa and Kiran, but it never moved into a full-fledged reader. As a romance lover, I initially thought I would be let down, but I really wasn't. I certainly would have loved for the book to be longer and to have had the page length to allow for a gorgeous romance, but that's just me being selfish.

Holly Bodger's 5 to 1 was a short book that was still able to pack a strong emotional punch at only 224 pages. The stunning writing that just oozed beauty, the beautiful characters and the diversity made for a lovely book that will stay with me for a long time.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-ARC of 5 to 1.