I'm not sure how I feel about this book.

Stylistically it's amazing. The use of whitespace, font, page layout, symbols, etc to convey added story is very cool and adds to the story that's there.

That said, there isn't much story there to add to. The book is incredibly short (if laid out in prose I would expect it to be closer to 150 pages, if that) and a quick read. Which is fine. But it's also a very... formulaic... dystopian novel. It goes where you expect and is very safe.

I enjoyed reading it, but if it weren't for the stylistic choices in layout and structure (which are great!), I don't think I'd particularly recommend it. ( )

I definitely wanted to rate this book higher but it fell a little flat near the end for me. What was happening wasn't entirely clear to me.

The concept is great and I really like what it tries to achieve. And I think it does get the message across in the end. It's interesting to see the gender role reversals.

I also liked the narration style of Sudasa--it was an interesting way of doing it.

I just didn't like the way the things are wrapped up; it's just seemed really rushed.


( )

5 to 1 has an interesting concept that reintroduces readers to a dystopian universe where the government rules with a mighty fist, girls are valued as fragile jewels, and arranged marriages reign. While this storyline has been done many times before in the YA genre, this novel sets itself apart from others in the fact that it presents itself in a new setting.

I appreciated that this novel was set in a futuristic India (a place I’ve always wanted to visit) and that Badger uses this familiar story trope to shine a light on a foreign landscape that features characters of color. Though I was excited to read about the landscape, the book was lacking in details of the setting (for me) and because of that I felt that I couldn’t fully immerse myself in the story. I felt I was just skimming the surface.

The two main characters, Kiran and Sudasa, are likable and you can really sympathize with their plight. The two don’t want to follow their gender roles in society what the government says is the best for the people, but they don’t seem to put up more of a fight until the end. And the disappointing thing about that is that’s exactly where the story cuts off. I was expecting a more climatic ending, and it fell a bit flat for me. Maybe it’s a more of a realistic ending, because every dystopian book can’t have a Hunger Games uprising, but I felt let down for all the action to suddenly build up and to have the story stop at that exact point.

I did love that this novel’s protagonist, Sudasa, takes such a feminist and powerful stance to tell society and her family that she doesn’t want to get married and if she did she would be the one to choose her husband. I liked that she was fierce and didn’t take no for an answer. Most of all she gets the courage to stand up to a bully, her Nani, who tries to bend Sudasa to her will by using her money and power.

Overall 5 to 1 has a smooth plot that is entertaining, but fails to dig deeper. The book seems like it’s missing quite a lot of the story because many things are glossed over and as a result there are missing pieces here and there. I think it would have been great if Badger expanded the novel (there doesn’t necessarily have to be a sequel), and write about what happens beyond the wall and further develop her characters and story line. ( )

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 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. Sudasa’s family wants nothing more than for their daughter to do the right thing and pick a husband who will keep her comfortable—and caged. Kiran’s family wants him to escape by failing the tests. 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.

( )

5 to 1 is the ration of boys to girls in this walled in land in 2054. After a one child rule was decreed in India, the impact on the population was devastating to girls. A few woman took it upon themselves to carve out a new area and start a new society, one where girls were revered and precious. Being a girl means financial security and there are yearly competitions where boys vie for the right to win marriage, loses results in a short-life of service working on the wall for most boys. Sudasa isn't thrilled it is her turn to be a prize and even less so when she discovers the competition is rigged by her influential and corrupt grandmother. In the competition, her path crosses with 5, one of the boys who for his own reasons is angry about the way the world is structured and the competition.
The book is told in alternative perspectives.
Sudasa's chapters are in verse. Kiran's are in prose. A quick, entertaining, thought provoking read. ( )