Yours For The Taking by Gabrielle Korn

The year is 2050. Ava and her girlfriend live in what’s left of Brooklyn, and though they love each other, it’s hard to find happiness while the effects of climate change rapidly eclipse their world. Soon, it won’t be safe outside at all. The only people guaranteed survival are the ones whose applications are accepted to The Inside Project, a series of weather-safe, city-sized structures around the world.

Jacqueline Millender is a reclusive billionaire/women’s rights advocate, and thanks to a generous donation, she’s just become the director of the Inside being built on the bones of Manhattan. Her ideas are unorthodox, yet alluring—she’s built a whole brand around rethinking the very concept of empowerment.

Shelby, a business major from a working-class family, is drawn to Jacqueline’s promises of power and impact. When she lands her dream job as Jacqueline’s personal assistant, she’s instantly swept up into the glamourous world of corporatized feminism. Also drawn into Jacqueline’s orbit is Olympia, who is finishing up medical school when Jacqueline recruits her to run the health department Inside. The more Olympia learns about the project, though, the more she realizes there’s something much larger at play. As Ava, Olympia, and Shelby start to notice the cracks in Jacqueline’s system, Jacqueline tightens her grip, becoming increasingly unhinged and dangerous in what she is willing to do—and who she is willing to sacrifice—to keep her dream alive.

At once a mesmerizing story of queer love, betrayal, and chosen family, and an unflinching indictment of cis, corporate feminism, Yours for the Taking holds a mirror to our own world, in all its beauty and horror.

Published by St. Martin's Press
on December 5, 2023

Review:

Wow! What a great read! The synopsis of this caught my eye, and I added it to my December Aardvark box on a whim but was unable to get around to reading it until now. It’s so good!

Told from multiple viewpoints and set in the year 2050, the author effortlessly (and eerily) brings to life a world that is both stunning and terrifying. Global warming has destroyed the world, and the only hope for survival lies in The Inside Project, an ambitious undertaking that promises safety to those fortunate enough to be accepted. It is within this backdrop that Korn introduces us to Jacqueline Millender, a reclusive billionaire and women’s rights advocate who becomes the director of New York’s Inside project. With an unpredictable and enigmatic personality, Jacqueline captivates and polarizes readers from the very beginning. On the surface, she appears to be a slightly radical feminist tired of the patriarchy that got us in this mess, but as we learn her true intentions, she becomes more and more sinister.

The rest of the characters all have a connection to Jacqueline – either directly or indirectly – and help shape the novel. Ava and her girlfriend, Orchid, find themselves navigating the remnants of a crumbling Brooklyn, where the threat of the outside world looms ever closer. They both applied to get “Inside” in New York, but only Ava was accepted. She refuses to go without Orchid, but Orchid leaves Ava, forcing her to go inside, forever changing her destiny.

Shelby, a trans woman, becomes entangled in the allure of Jacqueline’s vision. Landing a dream job as Jacqueline’s personal assistant, Shelby is thrust into a world of glitz and glamor, living with Jacqueline and the other uber-wealthy of the world in space shuttles that orbit a dying earth. Separated from her family, Shelby begins to question Jacqueline and her vision, but what can she do about it from space?

Olympia, a medical school graduate, is recruited by Jacqueline to run the health department in New York’s “Inside”. However, as she delves deeper into the project, Olympia starts to question the ethics of what Jacqueline has up her sleeve. It is through Olympia’s discoveries that we are able to witness the sheer gravity of what Jacqueline intends to do – not only in New York’s “Inside” but others around the world – if she can get her hands on them.

“Yours for the Taking” masterfully holds a mirror to our own world, challenging us to question our own perceptions of power and feminism. Korn’s narrative style is both poetic and evocative, transporting readers into a future that feels eerily plausible. The vivid descriptions of the decaying cityscape and the weather-safe structures create a hauntingly beautiful backdrop for this tale of love, betrayal, and chosen family.

What I loved most was how the author fearlessly tackles the hypocrisy and exploitation that can often be found within well-intentioned movements, shining a light on the potential dangers of unchecked power. Yes, the patriarchy and the war and fear-mongering put into place by men (mostly white men) is what has us in our climate prediction, but is a world without men really the answer? And though Jacqueline is all about women’s power, what about trans women and non-binary and gender-fluid folks?

This book was mesmerizing and captivated me from start to finish. It is a book that demands attention, challenges conventional notions, and explores the true meaning of power and feminism. Readers will be left contemplating the complex world we live in and our own roles within it. Korn’s bold voice draws readers into an immersive experience, leaving them breathless and hungry for more. With its timely themes and thought-provoking exploration of empowerment, this is a must-read for anyone seeking a compelling and prescient literary experience.