Very Interesting book. ( )

My second giveaway win! I was excited to read this one, as I love speculative science fiction and especially fiction concerning the evolution of humans.

The book is made up of a collection of six stories, each concerning the idea of what humans are and how much we can stray from that. Each story jumps further into the future, until humans are so far gone that they're keeping a village of "protohumans" with "pure" genes that they can harvest to make base modifications, while they live in walled cities with intense and alien modifications. Americans have gone so far in their embracing of these modifications that a Genetic Curtain has fallen between the US and the rest of the world, who want to restrict modifications to merely "improving" the gene pool rather than cosmetic enhancements (though they're not perfect either, obviously).

The thread that connects the stories is the presence of the Reverend Tad Tadd, an overzealous preacher who first preaches against any genetic modifications believing them against God's plan who undergoes a change of heart (and body...) after a personal tragedy when he begins to embrace modification as the path towards a new evolution and amasses a huge following. The story about his change and his daughter is one of the better stories, showcasing his zeal and total determination to be a prophet, no matter the message.

While the timeline of the stories was good and none of them felt repetitive, I wish we could have spent more time on those who intentionally modified themselves to the extreme - we got the perspective of someone who needed those extreme modifications to live, someone who was given them and felt basic indifference to them, and someone who was an unwilling participant, but we never had the perspective of anyone who did these extreme things willingly which was an unfortunate gap.

Each story gets longer as it appears later in the book, which was a nice touch I think.
Matched Pair, the first story, about the twins who were unable to survive together, was OK; probably one of the weaker ones since it seemed a little divorced from the overall theme of the book.
The second story, St. Ludmilla, about Milla and her struggle for acceptance after being saved from a sever accident was better and you could truly see the consequences - people were willing to go to insane lengths to save their children, and once this became an option, there was no stopping it.
The Reverend Mr. Tadd's story was great; a true portrait of a man so obsessed with his religion and importance that he has no concern for anything else. It's a shame that Elsie had to be caught up in it, but that not only creates the antagonist he needs but illustrates his unstoppable thirst for importance.
Eight Waded was... different. I enjoyed Alexios' perspective, especially that he knew he was different but didn't really care, and the slow reveal of the extent of his modifications, but his removal from the world at large made it a bit hard to connect his struggle to everything else that was going on. I did appreciate that he found within himself the courage for freedom, though, rather than risk becoming a specimen for another corporation.
California was superb. An unlikable but typical protagonist (a young, attractive teenage boy who uses that to his every advantage) who ends up a sympathetic character and the only glimpse of the world on the other side of the Genetic Curtain combined to make a truly haunting story. Jake didn't deserve what he got, and the fact that he'll never be able to escape it is heartbreaking. There's a small amount of hope at the end for him and Kostya, but not for the others like them.
Curiosities was where it fell a little of the rails for me, and where I think the missing perspective of someone who actively sought out modifications was sorely needed. The world made the leap from plausible science fiction to outright science fantasy - segregated humans used for genetic stock, huge political divides in society, and the end of the world as it was. Luck and Starlock had undeniable chemistry, and I understand leaving the world with the inheritors of a new age, but reading from the point of view of a naive character isn't as fun as a different perspective. ( )

This review is posted from my personal goodreads as well as the Crossroads Public Library's goodreads.

I saw a comparison somewhere on here to the Black Mirror Netflix series. It's fairly accurate. They both very much have the same haunting, sense of dread - the feeling of: this may not be possible right now, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. But this series is less about technology and more about human experimentation.

I genuinely enjoyed parts of this book. Making it a collection of short stories really helped - I don't think we could have had a the same view of this universe if it hadn't spanned multiple characters. My biggest complaint is that I didn't really have any sense of time. I couldn't tell the length of time that had passed between the first story and the final one. Was it decades? We get an idea based off of one character that continues to pop up, but it wasn't enough for me.

Also, Jake's story just made me sad and hurt me. It didn't surprise me, however, and I think that that says a lot about the way that humanity behaves. ( )

This was amazing. Every story was impactful and so different from each other in a way that still intertwined them all together to fit the narrative. Part 5 was probably my favourite as it touched me the most, but part 4 was also incredibly well done & atmospheric. ( )

*FOR THE PURPOSES OF A BLOG TOUR, I WAS PROVIDED WITH AN E-ARC. THIS DOES NOT CHANGE MY HONEST OPINION*

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful has definitely opened eyes to certain challenges of what "perfect" people would be like.

This book challenges religion, morals, society, and so many other factors. I was actually pretty disturbed by some things—which is a good thing, especially when on the topic of "righting" the flaws of humanity, such as diseases and near-death experiences.

Dayton made the reader think by providing different POVs and situations. It made me, for certain, think about how I would feel if our society were to turn and rely so heavily on medical advancements like "perfecting," and I use this word due to the nature of this book.

The stories of these people were raw. They were emotional, they were challenging, and they were real—and by real, I mean that they could be imagined in a different perspective.

Milla's story hit me hard. As a high schooler, I understand that our time in school is difficult as is already. Adding a car accident and replacement body parts and organs is like telling us "prepare for the storm." I could understand why things happened the way they did, and I could understand the choices she made. While I was surprised by the happenings, I could see why they were important to use.

This book brought out a lot of questions, but it also made me realize where our world may be going. My only question for you is, would you be able to live in this society?

I rate this book 4/5 stars. I do suggest you pick it up and give it a chance, and I do hope that you also see the things I did. ( )