Rating: 3.5/5

This was a good book. A dystopian look into the not-so-distant future, it follows a Marine suffering from PTSD who is searching for his sister who disappeared while working for a quasi-legal clinic helping women get through the draconian motherhood requirements placed on them by a society with declining fertility rates. Bleak, though somehow also uplifting, this book is a well-written and quick read that keeps the reader turning pages until the end. The issues it raises are a bit vague, but it also makes you think, which is something I like in a book. ( )

The Completionist takes place in 22nd century New Chicago--a city reclaimed after climate change has shrunken the lake. The west coast has been largely abandoned for residents, but water is engineered there and shipped east. Twenty-plus years of war have been fight by men like Carter Quinn and his father, defending the trains of water heading east. The last western inhabitabts--the "terrorists", need that water too. And that engineered water is what is causing the infertility epidemic.

Carter is back from the wars, his oldest sister is miraculously pregnant and his other sister has disappeared. Gardner worked as a nurse completionist, and it is only through Fred's pregnancy do Fred and Carter learn what that means. Given the fertility issues, Care Hours and penalties have been mandated, making them virtually impossible to meet for most women--and mathematically impossible for many. Where has Garnder gone? Was it by choice? And what does it have to do with her work as a completionist?

I found the world building to be promising and interesting, but there were so many holes--or, at least, questions I wanted answered--that it didn't quite come together for me. Who is mandating these Care Hours? What/where is the government? What are the jobs women are working in? If pregnancy is so rare, how are there so many pregnant women? Where is the engineered food made? How do people purchase it? What are the jobs? Since there is no piped-in water, are there outhouses? Reading the book felt strange, as the world is very different (and very interesting)--yet the people seem to live, by and large, as we do today. Which also seems impossible. ( )

Good dystopian novels leave you wanting more in spite of the chills that occur from a relatively realistic future that one can easily envision. They make you think of the ways you can avoid such a fate and inspire you to promote change within your sphere of influence. Mediocre dystopian novels are ones that leave a bit too much to the imagination, never completely bridging the gap between the current present and the fictional future. They are uninspiring because you cannot envision such a future happening. Both are enjoyable at the time of reading. However, good dystopian novels are the ones that never completely leave your consciousness. Mediocre dystopian novels become nothing more than a blip on your personal radar of life.

It is important to distinguish between the two because while I may have enjoyed reading The Completionist and may have been more favorable towards it immediately upon finishing it, it is not the type of novel that will influence me in any regard.

The Completionist lies firmly in the mediocre dystopian novel category for me for a myriad of reasons, but the largest reason is the fact that I never completely believed the near-future presented in the story. Perhaps it is my own penchant for wanting to believe the good in people and in situations, but I found it difficult to believe that within fifty years the world will essentially be a wasteland brought about by nothing but environmental factors. I think one of the reasons I struggled with this is because we wait so long before we get some semblance of understanding about what happened to desiccate the world. Once we do get the backstory, it feels incomplete and too simple to explain the drastic changes. This is a world in which the Great Lakes are mostly evaporated, and there is not a drop of drinkable water on the planet. Yet people use wearable technology and self-driving cars and drink manufactured water which is not real water somehow but highly valuable. I just don’t buy it.

One other reason I consider The Completionist a mediocre novel is the supporting cast of characters. Carter, as the main character, is well-developed. We get a full understanding of the depths of his trauma and his driving need to prove himself worthy to his oldest sister by finding his other one. We discern the reasons for his antipathy towards his father well before he verbalizes them. Carter has a depth to him that the rest of his family is missing, and the story suffers. Ms. Adcock tries to alleviate this disparity in treatment by providing some much-needed backstory in the form of electronic communications between the siblings. However, these letters are too slow to reveal anything of significance about the sisters or father, and you never reach a point of comprehending their family dynamic in its entirety until it is too late. As Carter is one of the highlights of the novel with his mental, physical, and emotional trauma, it is a shame that the other characters are not at the same level as him to truly support his story.

Mediocre stories are still ones that are easy to enjoy reading, and I did enjoy reading The Completionist. It is a rather bizarre futuristic world, but that makes it no less intriguing for a few moments. Carter and his struggles are the strongest elements of the story, and you keep reading to make sure that he is going to be okay. While he alone is not enough to save the novel, he provides just enough interest to keep you going through to the end without feeling any regret about wasting your time reading it.

THE COMPLETIONIST, by Siobhan Adcock, is set in a future where water is gone and their are constant wars over the engineered replacement water. On top of that, birth rates are remarkably low, even with scientific engineering to help women get pregnant. The government has taken control of the entire pregnancy and birthing process, taking all of the beauty and wonder out of child birth and turning it into as an emotionally sterile and business-like process as possible. Carter Quinn has returned from war to find out his sister, Fredericka, is pregnant naturally, which is almost unheard of, and his other sister, Gardner, who is a Nurse Completionist (someone who helps women and families through this arduous pregnancy and birthing process) has disappeared. Before Fredericka gets married and has her baby, she asks Carter to find Gardner and his search unveils truths Carter wishes he had never found.
The backdrop of this dystopian world aside, Adcock has written a story about family, war, and societal survival. Each sibling, along with their father they call Pop, has a different take on what is right and wrong in this morose future and each one has different ideas on how to make it better for themselves. In desperate times, should a community become involved with someone's pregnancy to help save the human race? Is war necessary even if the soldier's aren't sure what they are fighting for anymore? When is finding gray areas in the rules and ways around the laws of your world ok and when isn't it? Adcock presents these topical issues among others as unbiased as possible. The plot itself is predictable, no real twists or surprises along the way. And the most well written and entertaining character is Fredericka, called Fred by her family, because she has no filter and is unabashedly and often humorously blunt.
Adcock paints a future where everyone struggles in THE COMPLETIONIST and by doing so, forces the reader to consider war, governmental control, and family bonds. A thought-provoking , emotionally dense book that leaves the reader to decide how they feel on those heavy topics.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Siobhan Adcock, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

In an America in the near future, there is little natural water and most is artificially engineered. The people have technological portals embedded in their skin, which keep track of their every movement. There’s a fertility crisis and those women who do become naturally pregnant are considered miracles but their independence is taken away from them and they’re fined for every small thing they do that isn’t within a certain code that has been set up to ensure the safety of these babies, a code that is practically impossible to adhere to.

Carter Quinn is a marine who has fought the battle to protect the engineered water and now has come home after 2 and a half years. He’s obviously ill from the “triggers” used in battle. His sister, Fred, has miraculously conceived and now has permission to wed. She’s frantic due to the disappearance of their sister, Gard, a Nurse Completionist, one who helps women through their pregnancies. Carter sets off on a quest to find Gard.

The author has created a unique and horrifying future world, yet doesn’t explain how we got to this point. Apparently, the problem was in the water and therefore there is now a need to engineer water. The main characters are each have their own distinctive voices and you can tell who’s telling the story or writing a letter just by their written voice, which I believe shows the author’s talent. The characters are very realistic and down to earth and believable, except for Carter. While I liked the guy, I found the character to be very frustrating. Granted, he was ill from whatever was being used as a weapon in the war and was not thinking clearly. But he was constantly drunk which just didn’t seem to go with his determination to find his sister. The thought “you can’t be that stupid” came to mind too often.

The most problem I had with this book was that I found it to be very repetitious and far too drawn out. Also it seemed to be very unrealistic that such a ridiculous child care code would be set up, which defeated the purpose of protecting these treasured unborn children. But it was an interesting concept and I found it to be a horrifying world for women to live in. Just the fact that women’s independence was so jeopardized by this situation compelled me to keep on reading.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review. ( )