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What happens when you turn eighteen and there are no more tomorrows?
It is the year 2049, and humanity is on the brink of extinction….
Tania Deeley has always been told that she’s a rarity: a human child in a world where most children are sophisticated androids manufactured by Oxted Corporation. When a decline in global fertility ensued, it was the creation of these near-perfect human copies called teknoids that helped to prevent the utter collapse of society.
Though she has always been aware of the existence of teknoids, it is not until her first day at The Lady Maud High School for Girls that Tania realizes that her best friend, Siân, may be one. Returning home from the summer holiday, she is shocked by how much Siân has changed. Is it possible that these changes were engineered by Oxted? And if Siân could be a teknoid, how many others in Tania’s life are not real?
Driven by the need to understand what sets teknoids apart from their human counterparts, Tania begins to seek answers. But time is running out. For everyone knows that on their eighteenth “birthdays,” teknoids must be returned to Oxted—never to be heard from again.
It is the year 2049, and humanity is on the brink of extinction….
Tania Deeley has always been told that she’s a rarity: a human child in a world where most children are sophisticated androids manufactured by Oxted Corporation. When a decline in global fertility ensued, it was the creation of these near-perfect human copies called teknoids that helped to prevent the utter collapse of society.
Though she has always been aware of the existence of teknoids, it is not until her first day at The Lady Maud High School for Girls that Tania realizes that her best friend, Siân, may be one. Returning home from the summer holiday, she is shocked by how much Siân has changed. Is it possible that these changes were engineered by Oxted? And if Siân could be a teknoid, how many others in Tania’s life are not real?
Driven by the need to understand what sets teknoids apart from their human counterparts, Tania begins to seek answers. But time is running out. For everyone knows that on their eighteenth “birthdays,” teknoids must be returned to Oxted—never to be heard from again.
448 pages, Paperback
First published April 22, 2014
36 people are currently reading
3679 people want to read
About the author
William Campbell Powell
5 books66 followersWilliam lives in a small Buckinghamshire village in England. By night he writes speculative, historical, crime and other fiction. His latest novel - TEARDOWN - is published by NineStar Press and is widely available in eBook and paperback formats.
Previously, his debut novel, EXPIRATION DAY, was published by Tor Teen in 2014 and won the 2015 Hal Clement Award for better than half-decent science in a YA novel – the citation actually says "Excellence in Children's Science Fiction Literature". His short fiction has also appeared in DreamForge, Metastellar, Abyss & Apex and other excellent 'zines. By day he writes software for a living and in the twilight he sings tenor, plays guitar and writes songs.
Previously, his debut novel, EXPIRATION DAY, was published by Tor Teen in 2014 and won the 2015 Hal Clement Award for better than half-decent science in a YA novel – the citation actually says "Excellence in Children's Science Fiction Literature". His short fiction has also appeared in DreamForge, Metastellar, Abyss & Apex and other excellent 'zines. By day he writes software for a living and in the twilight he sings tenor, plays guitar and writes songs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
December 19, 2015
I found this to be a very compelling and well written book. It was not at all what I was expecting. I don't normally find myself drawn to diary format books - the last one I read was Among Others by Jo Walton, which I loved, and I thought Powell held his own compared to that (yes, now there's a compliment Mr. Powell!)
The whole theme of the book is exploring the question of what it means to be human; and clearly, from the perspective of a young teen girl growing up, those questions are going to take a different form than they might for an adult looking back. I thought Powell did a good job with this. I found the whole legal challenge section of the book particularly well done (as a former lawyer myself), and for me, it lent the story a kind of realism that made Tania's feelings of powerlessness resonate all the more. I don't want to give away anything, so I won't say more than that.
Ultimately this book left me thinking after finished the last page, which is an achievement for any story. I would definitely recommend this book for someone who wants to read something a little different, something a little personal, and something that might touch a chord inside. It is a diary after all, so it's personal and a bit messy, but isn't that what makes her human?
The whole theme of the book is exploring the question of what it means to be human; and clearly, from the perspective of a young teen girl growing up, those questions are going to take a different form than they might for an adult looking back. I thought Powell did a good job with this. I found the whole legal challenge section of the book particularly well done (as a former lawyer myself), and for me, it lent the story a kind of realism that made Tania's feelings of powerlessness resonate all the more. I don't want to give away anything, so I won't say more than that.
Ultimately this book left me thinking after finished the last page, which is an achievement for any story. I would definitely recommend this book for someone who wants to read something a little different, something a little personal, and something that might touch a chord inside. It is a diary after all, so it's personal and a bit messy, but isn't that what makes her human?
February 17, 2017
This one didn’t get much hype, but it’s a great story set in a future where people can’t have kids. So they raise human-like robots. It’s a teenage girl’s journey of discovery from a fascinating point of view.
April 24, 2014
While William Campbell Powell's debut novel may be shelved in the young adult section of your local bookstore or library, Expiration Day is one of those books that can and should get a wider audience from brave readers who are willing to overlook shelf placement in making their reading selections.
In the near future, humanity is on the brink of extinction. As the birth rate drops, couples desperate for a child are turning to androids that look and act like children. Couples can raise the android as their child until his or her eighteenth birthday (androids are sent in each year for an "upgrade" which is disguised in their memories as going on vacation) to help ensure the android doesn't become aware that he or she isn't a "real" human child.
As Expiration Day begins, Tania Deely believes she is the daughter of a small town minister and his wife. Journaling to future alien visitors to our planet, Tania relates details of her every day life and her struggles to become a normal teenager. She also discovers that she's not a human being as she originally thought, but that she is also an android as well.
This throws Tania for a loop because there's a catch to the androids. Each one has an Expiration Date on their eighteenth birthday. At that time, each android is returned to the robot corporation, its memory wiped and the body recycled as a lower model service droid. Androids develop emotionally and intellectually as a human teenage would though there are certain drives that are suppressed (for example, while androids enjoy kissing, they don't necessarily have any interest in becoming more physically intimate).
Tania's developing interest and talent for music as well as other factors begin to make her question whether or not the self-imposed expiration day is right, fair or if there is anything she can do about it. She has to keep her interest and questions on the downlow though -- the state closely monitors her Internet searches and certain searches bring swift, harsh consequences.
Expiration Day draws on the influences of other, sci-fi works including the robot novels of Issac Asimov and Logan's Run. But it's the voice of Tania and her relating of her life's events and her growing up that set this novel apart and make it something special. In most ways, Tania is a normal teenager -- questioning authority, having crushes and conflicting with her parents. She's just a teenager who has a date looming when she'll be turned off and lose all of what make up who she is.
Told in journal entries, the novel allows the reader to really get to know and relate to Tania.
Simply put, this is one of the more enjoyable, thought provoking and compelling books I've read -- not only this year, but in a long time. Powell as a gem of a first novel and one that will linger with you long after you've read it.
Pick it up, give it a try. I think you'll love it.
In the near future, humanity is on the brink of extinction. As the birth rate drops, couples desperate for a child are turning to androids that look and act like children. Couples can raise the android as their child until his or her eighteenth birthday (androids are sent in each year for an "upgrade" which is disguised in their memories as going on vacation) to help ensure the android doesn't become aware that he or she isn't a "real" human child.
As Expiration Day begins, Tania Deely believes she is the daughter of a small town minister and his wife. Journaling to future alien visitors to our planet, Tania relates details of her every day life and her struggles to become a normal teenager. She also discovers that she's not a human being as she originally thought, but that she is also an android as well.
This throws Tania for a loop because there's a catch to the androids. Each one has an Expiration Date on their eighteenth birthday. At that time, each android is returned to the robot corporation, its memory wiped and the body recycled as a lower model service droid. Androids develop emotionally and intellectually as a human teenage would though there are certain drives that are suppressed (for example, while androids enjoy kissing, they don't necessarily have any interest in becoming more physically intimate).
Tania's developing interest and talent for music as well as other factors begin to make her question whether or not the self-imposed expiration day is right, fair or if there is anything she can do about it. She has to keep her interest and questions on the downlow though -- the state closely monitors her Internet searches and certain searches bring swift, harsh consequences.
Expiration Day draws on the influences of other, sci-fi works including the robot novels of Issac Asimov and Logan's Run. But it's the voice of Tania and her relating of her life's events and her growing up that set this novel apart and make it something special. In most ways, Tania is a normal teenager -- questioning authority, having crushes and conflicting with her parents. She's just a teenager who has a date looming when she'll be turned off and lose all of what make up who she is.
Told in journal entries, the novel allows the reader to really get to know and relate to Tania.
Simply put, this is one of the more enjoyable, thought provoking and compelling books I've read -- not only this year, but in a long time. Powell as a gem of a first novel and one that will linger with you long after you've read it.
Pick it up, give it a try. I think you'll love it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2014
Read more of my reviews at Secrets of Lost Words.
-A copy was provided by Raincoast Books for review-
Expiration Day was a bit of a disappointment for me. The premise sounded so good but it wasn't written all that well.
Right from the start, I knew I hated the diary format the author uses. It felt forced and with Tania's voice, you can tell it's a middle-aged man that wrote this book. Teenage girls don't really talk or think like that and I think in some cases it was taken to the extreme. For example, there was a scene where Tania got jealous because his crush was staring at her best friend's boobs. And then she went onto thinking, why wouldn't he look at my boobs? That whole thing was ridiculous and petty. Girls don't think like that ('cause, y'know, I'm a girl, I would know). That was just one example though; there are tons more scenes like that throughout Tania's more early years.
I wished the whole Oxted and declining population thing was explained more thoroughly. We didn't get any history or interesting information to go off of other than the small bits Tania found on the TeraNet. Speaking of the technology, this is supposed to be 2049. The technology they use seems less advanced with the stuff we use now. AllInFone sounds like iPhone when it just started and TeraNet is just the internet. We also didn't get much investigating that the synopsis promised. I thought it'd be more digging out government hidden files but it's mostly Tania going through her daily lives along with conflicted stupid boy drama.
The only redeeming quality was the ending. Near the end, the book finally got to the point and talked about the bots being recycled at 18 and whatnot. They went through the court case and we finally find out what happens to the robots when they go back to Oxted.
Honestly, I wouldn't really recommend this book. Even though the ending was good, the whole ride leading up to that point was really boring. Tania wasn't much of an interesting character though her occasional intelligent trains of thoughts were better than thinking about boys and other petty stuff. I would tell people to give this one a pass if they plan on picking it up.
Rating: F
-A copy was provided by Raincoast Books for review-
Expiration Day was a bit of a disappointment for me. The premise sounded so good but it wasn't written all that well.
Right from the start, I knew I hated the diary format the author uses. It felt forced and with Tania's voice, you can tell it's a middle-aged man that wrote this book. Teenage girls don't really talk or think like that and I think in some cases it was taken to the extreme. For example, there was a scene where Tania got jealous because his crush was staring at her best friend's boobs. And then she went onto thinking, why wouldn't he look at my boobs? That whole thing was ridiculous and petty. Girls don't think like that ('cause, y'know, I'm a girl, I would know). That was just one example though; there are tons more scenes like that throughout Tania's more early years.
I wished the whole Oxted and declining population thing was explained more thoroughly. We didn't get any history or interesting information to go off of other than the small bits Tania found on the TeraNet. Speaking of the technology, this is supposed to be 2049. The technology they use seems less advanced with the stuff we use now. AllInFone sounds like iPhone when it just started and TeraNet is just the internet. We also didn't get much investigating that the synopsis promised. I thought it'd be more digging out government hidden files but it's mostly Tania going through her daily lives along with conflicted stupid boy drama.
The only redeeming quality was the ending. Near the end, the book finally got to the point and talked about the bots being recycled at 18 and whatnot. They went through the court case and we finally find out what happens to the robots when they go back to Oxted.
Honestly, I wouldn't really recommend this book. Even though the ending was good, the whole ride leading up to that point was really boring. Tania wasn't much of an interesting character though her occasional intelligent trains of thoughts were better than thinking about boys and other petty stuff. I would tell people to give this one a pass if they plan on picking it up.
Rating: F
July 30, 2015
This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
Actual Rating: 2.5
MY THOUGHTS
I was expecting so much more in this book. Granted, I didn't know much about it when I picked it up, but I knew it was a dystopian and the tagline promises a lot more than I ended up reading. This book was okay, but it's basically a coming-of-age with robots and not a whole lot happens.
This book begins in the year 2049 on Tania's eleventh birthday and follows her throughout her teenage years. Tania lives in a world where there are few human children left, because a majority of the population is unable to have children. Instead, they adopt robot children. They look human and act human, even think they're human, but each are owned by a government corporation called Oxted. And once they reach 18, Oxted takes them back.
This book is written in diary format, as Tania's diary. She starts it at age 11 and continues writting out the details of her life as the years go back. It's an interesting format and Tania's voice was very strong in the writing. She also wrote as if to a future race, which could be annoying, but I actually thought that made it more real. I would probably wonder that too, and who's to say it's not possibly? In fact, there are intervals throughout the book that are actually from a future race reading Tania's diary. This was interesting, but unnecessary to the story. It was also really confusing.
I like the idea behind the book behind the robot children, but this book was less high-stakes dystopian and more coming-of-age. I wasn't expecting that and while I did like the ideas the book had (sorry for being vague, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers), this book was extremely slow-paced. Not much happened at all, it was mostly details of Tania's life. Granted, she's in the future, but not a whole lot happens.
Tania, as a character, she's okay. I thought it was interesting seeing her grow and learn more about the world she was living in. She has her flaws, but she did feel real. I can't really say much about her without spoiling things, though.
As for romance, Tania kind of likes a guy throughout the book, but I really didn't feel anything from it. It was really meh.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I wasn't overly impressed by this book. It has a very interesting idea, but it wasn't what I was expecting. If you want to read a slow-paced coming-of-age in a futuristic society, then this is for you, but not enough happened to pique my interest.
Actual Rating: 2.5
MY THOUGHTS
I was expecting so much more in this book. Granted, I didn't know much about it when I picked it up, but I knew it was a dystopian and the tagline promises a lot more than I ended up reading. This book was okay, but it's basically a coming-of-age with robots and not a whole lot happens.
This book begins in the year 2049 on Tania's eleventh birthday and follows her throughout her teenage years. Tania lives in a world where there are few human children left, because a majority of the population is unable to have children. Instead, they adopt robot children. They look human and act human, even think they're human, but each are owned by a government corporation called Oxted. And once they reach 18, Oxted takes them back.
This book is written in diary format, as Tania's diary. She starts it at age 11 and continues writting out the details of her life as the years go back. It's an interesting format and Tania's voice was very strong in the writing. She also wrote as if to a future race, which could be annoying, but I actually thought that made it more real. I would probably wonder that too, and who's to say it's not possibly? In fact, there are intervals throughout the book that are actually from a future race reading Tania's diary. This was interesting, but unnecessary to the story. It was also really confusing.
I like the idea behind the book behind the robot children, but this book was less high-stakes dystopian and more coming-of-age. I wasn't expecting that and while I did like the ideas the book had (sorry for being vague, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers), this book was extremely slow-paced. Not much happened at all, it was mostly details of Tania's life. Granted, she's in the future, but not a whole lot happens.
Tania, as a character, she's okay. I thought it was interesting seeing her grow and learn more about the world she was living in. She has her flaws, but she did feel real. I can't really say much about her without spoiling things, though.
As for romance, Tania kind of likes a guy throughout the book, but I really didn't feel anything from it. It was really meh.
IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I wasn't overly impressed by this book. It has a very interesting idea, but it wasn't what I was expecting. If you want to read a slow-paced coming-of-age in a futuristic society, then this is for you, but not enough happened to pique my interest.
Read
November 9, 2013http://buried-inpages.blogspot.com/
An introspective, unusual entry into an overcrowded field.
Tania Deeley is a robot. Called a “Teknoid”, she and her fellow robots were created to appease the desire for offspring in the wake of global infertility. For reasons unknown, people suddenly became unable to bear children, and Oxted corporation stepped in with robot replacement children to prevent the collapse of society. The Teknoids are near perfect human copies, and are leased to parents until the age of eighteen, when they are taken by Oxted and never seen again. Tania had been told by her parents that she was human, until an unfortunate accident involving a boat exposes her true identity. Despite the realization that she isn’t human, Tania continues to mature and grow like any normal child, exploring her Teknoid status and trying to figure out if she’s really a person or just a possession, incapable of creativity and emotion. But her time is running out.
Written in Tania’s diary entries, Expiration Day breaks the standard YA mold. There is no star-crossed romance here, no struggle against a totalitarian government. Tania is a normal girl struggling to figure out who (or what) she is. This lends her character a reassuring stability, and makes her relatable to the vast majority of the target audience. However, the worldbuilding is seriously lacking, without any grounding to make the setting plausible. The ending is also far too neat, wrapping up Tania’s story without resolving anything else. (Spoilers: it involves aliens in the far, far future.) Breaking the book into sections are commentary by the aforementioned alien(s) who find Tania’s diary. These “intervals” add absolutely nothing, except implausibility. Despite this, the plot leaps and soars high above the standard tropes.
A breath of fresh air in a crowded genre. 3.75/5 stars.
An introspective, unusual entry into an overcrowded field.
Tania Deeley is a robot. Called a “Teknoid”, she and her fellow robots were created to appease the desire for offspring in the wake of global infertility. For reasons unknown, people suddenly became unable to bear children, and Oxted corporation stepped in with robot replacement children to prevent the collapse of society. The Teknoids are near perfect human copies, and are leased to parents until the age of eighteen, when they are taken by Oxted and never seen again. Tania had been told by her parents that she was human, until an unfortunate accident involving a boat exposes her true identity. Despite the realization that she isn’t human, Tania continues to mature and grow like any normal child, exploring her Teknoid status and trying to figure out if she’s really a person or just a possession, incapable of creativity and emotion. But her time is running out.
Written in Tania’s diary entries, Expiration Day breaks the standard YA mold. There is no star-crossed romance here, no struggle against a totalitarian government. Tania is a normal girl struggling to figure out who (or what) she is. This lends her character a reassuring stability, and makes her relatable to the vast majority of the target audience. However, the worldbuilding is seriously lacking, without any grounding to make the setting plausible. The ending is also far too neat, wrapping up Tania’s story without resolving anything else. (Spoilers: it involves aliens in the far, far future.) Breaking the book into sections are commentary by the aforementioned alien(s) who find Tania’s diary. These “intervals” add absolutely nothing, except implausibility. Despite this, the plot leaps and soars high above the standard tropes.
A breath of fresh air in a crowded genre. 3.75/5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2016
This book just screamed out that the author was a middle-aged man, even without looking at the author's bio. The author seems to be very nostalgic for his youth, or at least how he wishes his youth was. I cannot imagine teen-aged girls understanding or being able to relate to the character of Tania, let alone understanding the references to popular culture of the 1970's that the author frequently inserts, as well as the way the main characters talk. In addition, although the author, in his bio, says that he has worked in the computer science industry for many years, the technology in this future world (2049) seems rather primitive. Various characters have an "AllinFone" that seems like an early smartphone. As other reviewers have mentioned, there are also dangling plot lines and the ending is very poorly inserted. To sum up: not recommended.
September 28, 2014
Expiration Day by William Campbell Powell is a unique twist on a future filled with robots, since the robots look like children and are designed to keep the population sane as the birthrate plummets. Expiration Day is also unique because it is told through diary entries from the main character with a couple of other things thrown into the mix. I was strongly reminded of The Testament of Jessie Lamb while reading Expiration Day, since most of the book deals with the day to day adventures of a teenager in a world that is collapsing out from under the human race. Similarly to Jessie Lamb as well, the ending of Expiration Day is definitely the best part of the book in my opinion, so if you can stick it out to 80%, it’ll hopefully all be worth it ;-).
Note: I received Expiration Day through Netgalley for an honest review. Some things may have changed in the final version.
Expiration Day by William Campbell Powell
Published by Tor Books on April 22nd, 2014
Genres: Sci-fi, YA
Length: 336 pages
How I got my copy: NetGalley
What happens when you turn eighteen and there are no more tomorrows?
It is the year 2049, and humanity is on the brink of extinction….
Tania Deeley has always been told that she’s a rarity: a human child in a world where most children are sophisticated androids manufactured by Oxted Corporation. When a decline in global fertility ensued, it was the creation of these near-perfect human copies called teknoids that helped to prevent the utter collapse of society.
Though she has always been aware of the existence of teknoids, it is not until her first day at The Lady Maud High School for Girls that Tania realizes that her best friend, Siân, may be one. Returning home from the summer holiday, she is shocked by how much Siân has changed. Is it possible that these changes were engineered by Oxted? And if Siân could be a teknoid, how many others in Tania’s life are not real?
Driven by the need to understand what sets teknoids apart from their human counterparts, Tania begins to seek answers. But time is running out. For everyone knows that on their eighteenth “birthdays,” teknoids must be returned to Oxted—never to be heard from again.
Strengths:
As I said above, the ending of Expiration Day really makes the book. All the various tangents that Tania goes on as well as the interludes between her journal entries finally come together in an exciting and intriguing way. The ending also changed my perspective on events that happened earlier in the book, making them more meaningful than they originally seemed.
Tania’s family in Expiration Day is so amazing. Her mother and father are very important secondary characters and really portray the best kind of parents. They aren’t absent while Tania goes off and has adventures; they are right there with her, caring about her choices, punishing her when she messes up, and helping her when the world collapses. I love her parents so much!
The last third of Expiration Day is exciting and awesome to read. I loved the direction the plot went with this crazy trial and we finally got to find out a lot more about the way the future world works, including more about the state of Earth’s human population, other countries, and what is really going on.
Weaknesses:
The first two thirds of Expiration Day mostly consist of teenage relationship and school drama with only bits of interesting sci-fi thrown in. Tania is in a band and dating around at various points, so a lot of the plot is focused on those relationships instead of the more heavy sci-fi.
Tania felt very immature to me especially at the beginning of Expiration Day. She decides to write her diary as if an alien named Zog is reading it in the future, and so she frequently writes directly to Zog, which I found a bit annoying and childish. She’s also not very nice to a lot of the kids around her and even is pretty critical of her closest friend. She gets better towards the last third of Expiration Day, but I was quite put off at first.
In general, the diary style of Expiration Day just didn’t really work for me. I didn’t like how important events were skipped over or summarized because Tania didn’t feel like writing about them. I then found various other scenes inauthentic because it didn’t seem like that is how a teenage girl writing in a diary would describe them. I think that this style actually made it harder for me to connect with Tania, even though I was in theory reading her diary.
Summary:
Expiration Day is an interesting sci-fi near-future story for a specific audience. I wasn’t a fan of the writing style and main character, but if the diary style appeals to you, then this could be a great book for you. I actually almost DNF’d Expiration Day because it just didn’t seem to be going anywhere, but it does eventually pick up once you’re most of the way through. I wouldn’t say the ending makes the entire book worth the read for everyone, but if you’re intrigued, don’t worry if things feel slow for a bit ;-).
Note: I received Expiration Day through Netgalley for an honest review. Some things may have changed in the final version.
Expiration Day by William Campbell Powell
Published by Tor Books on April 22nd, 2014
Genres: Sci-fi, YA
Length: 336 pages
How I got my copy: NetGalley
What happens when you turn eighteen and there are no more tomorrows?
It is the year 2049, and humanity is on the brink of extinction….
Tania Deeley has always been told that she’s a rarity: a human child in a world where most children are sophisticated androids manufactured by Oxted Corporation. When a decline in global fertility ensued, it was the creation of these near-perfect human copies called teknoids that helped to prevent the utter collapse of society.
Though she has always been aware of the existence of teknoids, it is not until her first day at The Lady Maud High School for Girls that Tania realizes that her best friend, Siân, may be one. Returning home from the summer holiday, she is shocked by how much Siân has changed. Is it possible that these changes were engineered by Oxted? And if Siân could be a teknoid, how many others in Tania’s life are not real?
Driven by the need to understand what sets teknoids apart from their human counterparts, Tania begins to seek answers. But time is running out. For everyone knows that on their eighteenth “birthdays,” teknoids must be returned to Oxted—never to be heard from again.
Strengths:
As I said above, the ending of Expiration Day really makes the book. All the various tangents that Tania goes on as well as the interludes between her journal entries finally come together in an exciting and intriguing way. The ending also changed my perspective on events that happened earlier in the book, making them more meaningful than they originally seemed.
Tania’s family in Expiration Day is so amazing. Her mother and father are very important secondary characters and really portray the best kind of parents. They aren’t absent while Tania goes off and has adventures; they are right there with her, caring about her choices, punishing her when she messes up, and helping her when the world collapses. I love her parents so much!
The last third of Expiration Day is exciting and awesome to read. I loved the direction the plot went with this crazy trial and we finally got to find out a lot more about the way the future world works, including more about the state of Earth’s human population, other countries, and what is really going on.
Weaknesses:
The first two thirds of Expiration Day mostly consist of teenage relationship and school drama with only bits of interesting sci-fi thrown in. Tania is in a band and dating around at various points, so a lot of the plot is focused on those relationships instead of the more heavy sci-fi.
Tania felt very immature to me especially at the beginning of Expiration Day. She decides to write her diary as if an alien named Zog is reading it in the future, and so she frequently writes directly to Zog, which I found a bit annoying and childish. She’s also not very nice to a lot of the kids around her and even is pretty critical of her closest friend. She gets better towards the last third of Expiration Day, but I was quite put off at first.
In general, the diary style of Expiration Day just didn’t really work for me. I didn’t like how important events were skipped over or summarized because Tania didn’t feel like writing about them. I then found various other scenes inauthentic because it didn’t seem like that is how a teenage girl writing in a diary would describe them. I think that this style actually made it harder for me to connect with Tania, even though I was in theory reading her diary.
Summary:
Expiration Day is an interesting sci-fi near-future story for a specific audience. I wasn’t a fan of the writing style and main character, but if the diary style appeals to you, then this could be a great book for you. I actually almost DNF’d Expiration Day because it just didn’t seem to be going anywhere, but it does eventually pick up once you’re most of the way through. I wouldn’t say the ending makes the entire book worth the read for everyone, but if you’re intrigued, don’t worry if things feel slow for a bit ;-).
May 23, 2014
ARC for review.
Incredibly impressed by this debut novel - it reminded me a of Never Let Me Go for the young set. Tania is a pre-teen living in 2049 England and is recording her life in a diary. The world-wide birth rate has dropped to practically nil and in order to keep society sane adults are permitted to fulfill some deep-seated urge to parent (I'm not sure I really got this part. I'm childless and while I might be crazy, it's not because some primal urge to change diapers, go to Disney and bankrupt myself paying for college is being repressed) they are able to purchase robot children. At first glance the children are indistinguishable from real children and they all go to school together. Every two years they go back to the factory to be "aged". Ah, but the rub? The children are only leased and at eighteen have to be returned (now THAT is the part that sounds like would create societal rebellion).
We follow Tania through her youth as she makes friends, falls in love (both with a boy and with music) and lives her life. Interspersed with her entries are the thoughts of some entity in the future who is reading through her diary. .
And a nice passage: "Our love affair with language, Miss Deeley. How dull to be an animal, knowing only words. To be human is to feel, which is to give expression and texture to our emotions through literature."
Incredibly impressed by this debut novel - it reminded me a of Never Let Me Go for the young set. Tania is a pre-teen living in 2049 England and is recording her life in a diary. The world-wide birth rate has dropped to practically nil and in order to keep society sane adults are permitted to fulfill some deep-seated urge to parent (I'm not sure I really got this part. I'm childless and while I might be crazy, it's not because some primal urge to change diapers, go to Disney and bankrupt myself paying for college is being repressed) they are able to purchase robot children. At first glance the children are indistinguishable from real children and they all go to school together. Every two years they go back to the factory to be "aged". Ah, but the rub? The children are only leased and at eighteen have to be returned (now THAT is the part that sounds like would create societal rebellion).
We follow Tania through her youth as she makes friends, falls in love (both with a boy and with music) and lives her life. Interspersed with her entries are the thoughts of some entity in the future who is reading through her diary. .
And a nice passage: "Our love affair with language, Miss Deeley. How dull to be an animal, knowing only words. To be human is to feel, which is to give expression and texture to our emotions through literature."
March 9, 2014
Tania lived a normal life with her parents. She knew that she was a rarity being a human. There are not many humans left. They are being taken over by teknoids. Human parents that can not have children can adopt a teknoid child. The only loophole is that by the child's eighteenth birthday, the parents have to give the child back to the government.
After a string of stinker of books it was refreshing to find and read this book. Mr. Powell really brought to life Tania. I almost could forget that the teknoids were not human. I have read several books like this but none that really made me feel that close to the teknoid in the story. I could picture this really being the future with all the evolving technology that we currently have in the world. Mr. Powell helped bring to life the teknoids with all of Tania's questions and exploration of what the teknoids feel, are they like humans, can they have relationships, can humans and teknoids really coexist, and what does the future hold for them? All of these questions are answered in this book. I did not see the ending coming and it was a great one. I was sad however that the book did end. Expiration Day is a must, must read! It is one of the best books of 2014!
After a string of stinker of books it was refreshing to find and read this book. Mr. Powell really brought to life Tania. I almost could forget that the teknoids were not human. I have read several books like this but none that really made me feel that close to the teknoid in the story. I could picture this really being the future with all the evolving technology that we currently have in the world. Mr. Powell helped bring to life the teknoids with all of Tania's questions and exploration of what the teknoids feel, are they like humans, can they have relationships, can humans and teknoids really coexist, and what does the future hold for them? All of these questions are answered in this book. I did not see the ending coming and it was a great one. I was sad however that the book did end. Expiration Day is a must, must read! It is one of the best books of 2014!
September 30, 2013
This is a surprisingly touching and effective exploration of what it means to be human, particularly with the advent of machines that can approximate human responses. These are themes that some of the towering figures of science fiction have attempted, but I dare say none have hit upon so daring a premise as has Powell in his debut novel.
Once the reader can suspend disbelief about the idea that human reproduction might suddenly, globally stop working, as well as the difficulties of building acceptable robotic substitutes, the rest of this story falls into place. Some of the twists are a bit more heavily foreshadowed than might be strictly necessary, but overall, this novel moves briskly along, and leaves the reader both more glad for his or her humanity and wistful for the creations of the author's mind.
I look forward with eagerness to the next book from this bold new entrant into the pantheon of science fiction's most creative minds and best storytellers.
Once the reader can suspend disbelief about the idea that human reproduction might suddenly, globally stop working, as well as the difficulties of building acceptable robotic substitutes, the rest of this story falls into place. Some of the twists are a bit more heavily foreshadowed than might be strictly necessary, but overall, this novel moves briskly along, and leaves the reader both more glad for his or her humanity and wistful for the creations of the author's mind.
I look forward with eagerness to the next book from this bold new entrant into the pantheon of science fiction's most creative minds and best storytellers.
January 24, 2020
The book "Expiration Day" written by the author William Campbell Powell is a diary format novel written wrote in first person. The setting in a village in the year of 2049. The humanity is at a decline and the world is near a collapse. When the population is begging to fall of the company Tecknoid began creating near perfect android robots that have high intelligence, look like humans, and do things humans did. While the main character Tania is considered a rarity in society she is one of few humans still around. After a long vacation break she will attend Lady Maud high school where she learns and uncovers many anticipated secrets she has about these Tecknoids. Her best friend Sian who is a rich prep girl returns as a robot. Tania won't give up her adventure to unfolding the truth about these robots.
As you read more and more into this book you can feel yourself get drawn into the characters adventures. However with a slow start and overall slow plot it doesn't make for the best read. If you are into dystopia and diary format novels I would recommend this book to you.
As you read more and more into this book you can feel yourself get drawn into the characters adventures. However with a slow start and overall slow plot it doesn't make for the best read. If you are into dystopia and diary format novels I would recommend this book to you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2014
2 stars
This review is based on an ARC ebook received for free from NetGalley. I am not being paid to review this book and what I write here is my own opinion. My rating scale is below.
brief
In a world where very few children are born anymore, most parents raise incredibly realistic androids that they treat as if they are humans. Tania Deeley believes she was one of the rare true humans, until she learns that she's another android and decides not to let the fact that she's not truly alive stop her from living.
full review
This book began with an interesting premise, but almost from the beginning it was clear that the end would be about determining what the difference is between being a human and being a person, and it didn't take long to figure out that the company producing the androids, Oxted, would be vilified for repossessing the android children on or around their eighteenth birthday, so when that eventually happened, with a court case and everything, it came as no surprise. The very, very end introduced an interesting twist, however, so stay tuned for that, boys and girls.
The story is told in the form of a diary kept by Tania and written as though it will be read by an alien life form centuries or millennia in the future. Initially she is young, a preteen with a preteen's grasp of the world, but throughout she grows and matures, although the growth is rather more deliberate, taking the form of body updates to her android body. At first Tania believes that she is one of the few children in the world who was truly born as a human being, and she behaves accordingly, viewing everyone around her with disdain and faint suspicion because they are probably machines.
When she learns that she, too, is a machine, she first questions her place in the world, but then decides to make her own place as a musician playing original music, which became scarce when people stopped reproducing normally. The other thing she wants before Oxted repossesses her is to be with the real boy she met when she was twelve and over time started a band with and then fell in love with. It is, however, a race against the clock, and time is not Tania's only enemy. Her frankness about being a machine makes many people uncomfortable, and those people make it difficult for her to achieve her goals.
Throughout the story Tania is supported in her endeavors by her parents and her friends, despite the occasional fits of teenage temper that pepper every adolescence. For most of the book any instance where she refers to herself as a robot could easily be replaced with a reference to adoption without significantly changing the story. In fact, it is basically a coming of age story up until the end, when Tania begins to feel nervous about what will become of her when she hits her eighteenth birthday and Oxted comes for her.
In her final confrontation with Oxted Tania is faced with a decision that is supposed to prove to the reader that she truly is more than just a machine, but it is a fairly predictable twist, particularly for anyone who has read Ender's Game. The very end is probably the most original and unexpected portion, and I will not spoil that, though I will say that if at any point you get bored with the story you can skip to the end and read it without missing much.
rating scale
1 star - I was barely able to finish it. I didn't like it.
2 stars - It was okay. I didn't dislike it.
3 stars - I liked it. It was interesting.
4 stars - It was excellent. I really liked it.
5 stars - OMG I WANT TO STALK THIS AUTHOR!
This review is based on an ARC ebook received for free from NetGalley. I am not being paid to review this book and what I write here is my own opinion. My rating scale is below.
brief
In a world where very few children are born anymore, most parents raise incredibly realistic androids that they treat as if they are humans. Tania Deeley believes she was one of the rare true humans, until she learns that she's another android and decides not to let the fact that she's not truly alive stop her from living.
full review
This book began with an interesting premise, but almost from the beginning it was clear that the end would be about determining what the difference is between being a human and being a person, and it didn't take long to figure out that the company producing the androids, Oxted, would be vilified for repossessing the android children on or around their eighteenth birthday, so when that eventually happened, with a court case and everything, it came as no surprise. The very, very end introduced an interesting twist, however, so stay tuned for that, boys and girls.
The story is told in the form of a diary kept by Tania and written as though it will be read by an alien life form centuries or millennia in the future. Initially she is young, a preteen with a preteen's grasp of the world, but throughout she grows and matures, although the growth is rather more deliberate, taking the form of body updates to her android body. At first Tania believes that she is one of the few children in the world who was truly born as a human being, and she behaves accordingly, viewing everyone around her with disdain and faint suspicion because they are probably machines.
When she learns that she, too, is a machine, she first questions her place in the world, but then decides to make her own place as a musician playing original music, which became scarce when people stopped reproducing normally. The other thing she wants before Oxted repossesses her is to be with the real boy she met when she was twelve and over time started a band with and then fell in love with. It is, however, a race against the clock, and time is not Tania's only enemy. Her frankness about being a machine makes many people uncomfortable, and those people make it difficult for her to achieve her goals.
Throughout the story Tania is supported in her endeavors by her parents and her friends, despite the occasional fits of teenage temper that pepper every adolescence. For most of the book any instance where she refers to herself as a robot could easily be replaced with a reference to adoption without significantly changing the story. In fact, it is basically a coming of age story up until the end, when Tania begins to feel nervous about what will become of her when she hits her eighteenth birthday and Oxted comes for her.
In her final confrontation with Oxted Tania is faced with a decision that is supposed to prove to the reader that she truly is more than just a machine, but it is a fairly predictable twist, particularly for anyone who has read Ender's Game. The very end is probably the most original and unexpected portion, and I will not spoil that, though I will say that if at any point you get bored with the story you can skip to the end and read it without missing much.
rating scale
1 star - I was barely able to finish it. I didn't like it.
2 stars - It was okay. I didn't dislike it.
3 stars - I liked it. It was interesting.
4 stars - It was excellent. I really liked it.
5 stars - OMG I WANT TO STALK THIS AUTHOR!
March 1, 2014
*** ARC kindly received from First Reads which has had no impact on my review ***
Despite being a huge dystopia fan I have never read a book about robots before so this was a first for me. I had a few problems with this book which I feel I should mention first to get them out of the way. There are a few points in the book which are slightly awkward, both in writing style and plot, and you find yourself wondering why you're reading this - for example at the beginning of the book when Tania's family take a trip to a 1970s theme park (which is an interesting idea for a futuristic novel, granted) I felt as if there was just too much description of the 1970s which wasn't in any way necessary to the plot and it became rather dull to read. Another example is which I felt became a bit too technical at times - I understand that some technical language is necessary in a scene like this, but considering the narrative is supposed to be from a young girl's point of view, it didn't feel believable that she would write in such depth in a diary entry.
I would also have liked a bit more detail about the world - as with every dystopian novel, creating the world is a crucial part of the story. Although there is description there it feels a bit vague, I'd have liked more about the Red and Yellow zones and how they came to be called that. What zone did Tania live in? How did that impact on her daily life? Little things that can really make a difference to how believable a dystopian world is. But it wasn't bad, the points were there but could have done with a little more expansion.
One of the major problems for me was actually quite early on in the novel when we discover I didn't feel as if there was enough impact made with that scene despite how important it is to the entire novel and Tania's personality. I'd have liked a lot more personal monologue about Tania's emotions and how this made her views on the world change, especially as the book is written in diary format which gives a lot of room for feelings and emotional writing. I didn't really feel that this was a major point in Tania's life and she seemed to get over it quite quickly.
Bad points out of the way, I actually really liked this novel. I've read a series of 'bad' books recently but this was a million miles from them - the diary format might not be to everyone's taste but it is an interesting premise considering the nature of the protaganist, and leads to easy reading. There are a lot of colloquial aspects to the language which I felt gave the book a rather homely feel, rather like you were being spoken to by the characters which was nice. The writing in general wasn't outstandingly academic (even when it tried) but was easy to read and flowed throughout the novel, creating characters that were well described and illustrated and had some depth to them. I felt Tania to be believable, although I doubted her age toward the end of the novel as her 'voice' hadn't changed much from being 11 to being 17.
Overall, this book has its faults but it's a nice, easy read with an interesting premise which is well executed. For a first novel it's definitely not bad!
Despite being a huge dystopia fan I have never read a book about robots before so this was a first for me. I had a few problems with this book which I feel I should mention first to get them out of the way. There are a few points in the book which are slightly awkward, both in writing style and plot, and you find yourself wondering why you're reading this - for example at the beginning of the book when Tania's family take a trip to a 1970s theme park (which is an interesting idea for a futuristic novel, granted) I felt as if there was just too much description of the 1970s which wasn't in any way necessary to the plot and it became rather dull to read. Another example is which I felt became a bit too technical at times - I understand that some technical language is necessary in a scene like this, but considering the narrative is supposed to be from a young girl's point of view, it didn't feel believable that she would write in such depth in a diary entry.
I would also have liked a bit more detail about the world - as with every dystopian novel, creating the world is a crucial part of the story. Although there is description there it feels a bit vague, I'd have liked more about the Red and Yellow zones and how they came to be called that. What zone did Tania live in? How did that impact on her daily life? Little things that can really make a difference to how believable a dystopian world is. But it wasn't bad, the points were there but could have done with a little more expansion.
One of the major problems for me was actually quite early on in the novel when we discover I didn't feel as if there was enough impact made with that scene despite how important it is to the entire novel and Tania's personality. I'd have liked a lot more personal monologue about Tania's emotions and how this made her views on the world change, especially as the book is written in diary format which gives a lot of room for feelings and emotional writing. I didn't really feel that this was a major point in Tania's life and she seemed to get over it quite quickly.
Bad points out of the way, I actually really liked this novel. I've read a series of 'bad' books recently but this was a million miles from them - the diary format might not be to everyone's taste but it is an interesting premise considering the nature of the protaganist, and leads to easy reading. There are a lot of colloquial aspects to the language which I felt gave the book a rather homely feel, rather like you were being spoken to by the characters which was nice. The writing in general wasn't outstandingly academic (even when it tried) but was easy to read and flowed throughout the novel, creating characters that were well described and illustrated and had some depth to them. I felt Tania to be believable, although I doubted her age toward the end of the novel as her 'voice' hadn't changed much from being 11 to being 17.
Overall, this book has its faults but it's a nice, easy read with an interesting premise which is well executed. For a first novel it's definitely not bad!
April 18, 2014
**I received this book for free from Tor Teen via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
*Genre* Science Fiction, Coming of Age
*Rating* 3.0
*First Thoughts*
Set in a not too far off England, Expiration Day is told in first person DIARY format by Tania Deeley to an unknown character off screen who brings their own perspective to the story. The story covers 6 years of Tania's life (2049-2055) and brings about an interesting twist to the age old question of what it really means to be human.
Tania writes about her journey from believing that she is human girl in a world where human babies are a rarity and those who are lucky enough to be one, especially girls who are fertile, are treated as national treasures. Ever since 2010, when the World's population plummeted, mankind has been having difficulties finding a cure for infertility. They turned instead to androids that can pass as humans to satisfy the needs of those wanting children of their own.
After accidentally discovering that she isn't a human as previously told by her parents, Tania struggles with her identity while fighting to continue living past the EIGHTEEN years that Teknoids are allowed to live with their families before being reprogrammed or erased.
It is interesting to me that Powell chooses to tell Tania's story in diary format to someone who may or may not come along and read about her journey. More often or not, dairy format doesn't necessarily work, which is why it was nice to have the additional character's perspective added to this story. Tania's voice and eventual acceptance of who she really is, makes the format workable in my opinion.
Expiration Day does hit on morality issues over what it means to be truly human, and what is to be an android in a world that is close to abandoning all hope of surviving. Do androids have the capability to fall in love? Can they learn to read, and write poetry? Are they able to learn how to play a musical instrument, or play in a band? Are they capable of making their own choices and decisions without the STATE or corporations guiding her every move and deciding what is human, and what isn't?
Expiration Day could have used more world building to the story, including perhaps a better explanation as to what really happened to the Human population in 2010.
Expiration Day is a standalone, which means readers won't have to wait around for months, or years in order to find out what happens next. I think the ending perfectly fits into what Powell was trying to convey, and I have no complaints that need to be voiced otherwise.
*Recvd 02/03/2014 via NetGalley* Expected publication: April 22nd 2014 by Tor Teen
*Genre* Science Fiction, Coming of Age
*Rating* 3.0
*First Thoughts*
Set in a not too far off England, Expiration Day is told in first person DIARY format by Tania Deeley to an unknown character off screen who brings their own perspective to the story. The story covers 6 years of Tania's life (2049-2055) and brings about an interesting twist to the age old question of what it really means to be human.
Tania writes about her journey from believing that she is human girl in a world where human babies are a rarity and those who are lucky enough to be one, especially girls who are fertile, are treated as national treasures. Ever since 2010, when the World's population plummeted, mankind has been having difficulties finding a cure for infertility. They turned instead to androids that can pass as humans to satisfy the needs of those wanting children of their own.
After accidentally discovering that she isn't a human as previously told by her parents, Tania struggles with her identity while fighting to continue living past the EIGHTEEN years that Teknoids are allowed to live with their families before being reprogrammed or erased.
It is interesting to me that Powell chooses to tell Tania's story in diary format to someone who may or may not come along and read about her journey. More often or not, dairy format doesn't necessarily work, which is why it was nice to have the additional character's perspective added to this story. Tania's voice and eventual acceptance of who she really is, makes the format workable in my opinion.
Expiration Day does hit on morality issues over what it means to be truly human, and what is to be an android in a world that is close to abandoning all hope of surviving. Do androids have the capability to fall in love? Can they learn to read, and write poetry? Are they able to learn how to play a musical instrument, or play in a band? Are they capable of making their own choices and decisions without the STATE or corporations guiding her every move and deciding what is human, and what isn't?
Expiration Day could have used more world building to the story, including perhaps a better explanation as to what really happened to the Human population in 2010.
Expiration Day is a standalone, which means readers won't have to wait around for months, or years in order to find out what happens next. I think the ending perfectly fits into what Powell was trying to convey, and I have no complaints that need to be voiced otherwise.
*Recvd 02/03/2014 via NetGalley* Expected publication: April 22nd 2014 by Tor Teen
June 3, 2014
3.5 I'm not sure...I will say this, this book was NOT AT ALL what I was expecting, I was expecting some sci-fi, action, with some romance, maybe set in a dystopian world..... it is...but, it isn't.
This book is not at all what you think. This book is all about feelings, and what it means to be human and who the real enemy is. This is about love, loss, family, love, emotion, passion, life and everything in between.
This whole book is a girls journal and the story starts off with an 11 year old girl who knows she's human in a world where humans have lost most of the ability to get pregnant and have human children. Due to this need to have children and a family the world went into chaos until robots were invented and could be leased out to families who want children and would get these very real human-like robot children who don't know they are robots. When these children reach the age of 18 they are returned to the "factory" and then "deactivated."
Through the story you learn that these children who are human think they are "special" because they are real humans. Well this story of Tania is about a girl who finds out she is really a robot and not human and have her world and understand come crashing down just to find out she is in fact human just not in the literal genetic sense.
This was beautifully written and I enjoyed MANY aspects of it. Most of all the fact that Tania doesn't know why she is writing a journal but decides to write it for (not her grandchildren) some unknown future alien species that happens upon her journal. And throughout this book, in between journal entries we catch a glimpse of thoughts of the "alien" actually reading this story and it was brilliant!
My concern though for this book is, it's in fact rather slow (well it was for me anyway) and I worry that people won't give this a chance because the author does in fact take time to create Tania's life and story and go through what we all go through, growth, puberty, crushes, loves, passions for learning new things and developing talents, going through struggles and emotions that are typical and normal for any human person.
Overal this book as depth to it and was very well written and well done. I was happy with how the author ended the book and found it very interesting.
Sexual Content: moderate (typical teenage hormones of realizing when a girl is maturing physically, understanding that certain characters have had sex, kissing)
Violence: mild
Language: moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: mild
This book is not at all what you think. This book is all about feelings, and what it means to be human and who the real enemy is. This is about love, loss, family, love, emotion, passion, life and everything in between.
This whole book is a girls journal and the story starts off with an 11 year old girl who knows she's human in a world where humans have lost most of the ability to get pregnant and have human children. Due to this need to have children and a family the world went into chaos until robots were invented and could be leased out to families who want children and would get these very real human-like robot children who don't know they are robots. When these children reach the age of 18 they are returned to the "factory" and then "deactivated."
Through the story you learn that these children who are human think they are "special" because they are real humans. Well this story of Tania is about a girl who finds out she is really a robot and not human and have her world and understand come crashing down just to find out she is in fact human just not in the literal genetic sense.
This was beautifully written and I enjoyed MANY aspects of it. Most of all the fact that Tania doesn't know why she is writing a journal but decides to write it for (not her grandchildren) some unknown future alien species that happens upon her journal. And throughout this book, in between journal entries we catch a glimpse of thoughts of the "alien" actually reading this story and it was brilliant!
My concern though for this book is, it's in fact rather slow (well it was for me anyway) and I worry that people won't give this a chance because the author does in fact take time to create Tania's life and story and go through what we all go through, growth, puberty, crushes, loves, passions for learning new things and developing talents, going through struggles and emotions that are typical and normal for any human person.
Overal this book as depth to it and was very well written and well done. I was happy with how the author ended the book and found it very interesting.
Sexual Content: moderate (typical teenage hormones of realizing when a girl is maturing physically, understanding that certain characters have had sex, kissing)
Violence: mild
Language: moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: mild
April 26, 2014
"Impossible dreams. The toy that becomes a real child.
Me."
William Campbell Powell's Expiration Day is a truly remarkable novel that works on many different levels: as a poignant cautionary tale, a family drama, and a bone-chilling futuristic vision of a human society facing extinction. This powerful and thought-provoking story may not be the most fast-paced thriller ride you'll ever be taken on, but make no mistake, it will still leave you riveted and completely mind-blown. And I can promise you two things: you will be in tears by the time you hit the last page and you will be thinking about the plot and the characters long after you put it down.
It's year 2049 and humankind is losing hope. Women can no longer conceive, less and less children are born each year, and the society is forced to take extreme measures to keep things under control. In the grim future presented in the book, robots have become so advanced, so human-like in every aspect, they can pose as real human beings. Androids manufactured by Oxted Corporation are sold to desperate couples unable to have their own children. They do everything a real human child would do. They eat, sleep, laugh and cry, attend school, form friendships. They even feel and dream, and most of them live their lives unaware of the fact that they're not, in fact, human.
Expiration Day follows the story of Tania Deeley, a girl who dreams of being a famous bass player. The book assumes the form of a diary written by Tania, in which she shares her thoughts and feelings, and describes everything (or almost everything) that happens to her from the day she gets the diary app from her parents. Tania has a creative, brilliant soul and a very curious mind. She asks questions, wonders about things. It's through her eyes that we get to explore the disturbing reality of year 2049, and it's her experiences and observations that paint a vivid, personal and profoundly affecting picture.
Expiration Day is a gripping, sophisticated, and deeply emotional look at what makes us human. Everything about this book - from the intelligent, well-rounded plot line, unexpectedly (considering their nature) three-dimensional characters, and engaging narrative - is excellent, heartfelt and relevant. It's a book filled with beautiful, memorable thoughts and complex, vividly realized ideas. And the message it carries - about being human, about the miracle of child birth and how it should never be taken for granted, about hope, faith and the meaning of life - is something that will stay with me for a long time.
Me."
William Campbell Powell's Expiration Day is a truly remarkable novel that works on many different levels: as a poignant cautionary tale, a family drama, and a bone-chilling futuristic vision of a human society facing extinction. This powerful and thought-provoking story may not be the most fast-paced thriller ride you'll ever be taken on, but make no mistake, it will still leave you riveted and completely mind-blown. And I can promise you two things: you will be in tears by the time you hit the last page and you will be thinking about the plot and the characters long after you put it down.
It's year 2049 and humankind is losing hope. Women can no longer conceive, less and less children are born each year, and the society is forced to take extreme measures to keep things under control. In the grim future presented in the book, robots have become so advanced, so human-like in every aspect, they can pose as real human beings. Androids manufactured by Oxted Corporation are sold to desperate couples unable to have their own children. They do everything a real human child would do. They eat, sleep, laugh and cry, attend school, form friendships. They even feel and dream, and most of them live their lives unaware of the fact that they're not, in fact, human.
Expiration Day follows the story of Tania Deeley, a girl who dreams of being a famous bass player. The book assumes the form of a diary written by Tania, in which she shares her thoughts and feelings, and describes everything (or almost everything) that happens to her from the day she gets the diary app from her parents. Tania has a creative, brilliant soul and a very curious mind. She asks questions, wonders about things. It's through her eyes that we get to explore the disturbing reality of year 2049, and it's her experiences and observations that paint a vivid, personal and profoundly affecting picture.
Expiration Day is a gripping, sophisticated, and deeply emotional look at what makes us human. Everything about this book - from the intelligent, well-rounded plot line, unexpectedly (considering their nature) three-dimensional characters, and engaging narrative - is excellent, heartfelt and relevant. It's a book filled with beautiful, memorable thoughts and complex, vividly realized ideas. And the message it carries - about being human, about the miracle of child birth and how it should never be taken for granted, about hope, faith and the meaning of life - is something that will stay with me for a long time.
September 9, 2016
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy
I always enjoy books that make me think about the basic question of what it means to be human. EXPIRATION DAY is definitely one of those books. Set in a not-so-far future, where most humans can’t have children, we get all the classics: can robots be creative? Can they experience emotion? If they’re creative and emotional, are they not as human as homo sapiens? These are all fascinating questions to ponder, and rather than detract from the story, they add to it, giving a somewhat regular “coming of age” story depth and a completely different angle.
Told a diary format, we follow Tania from age 11 to nearly 18. Her entries at times are sporadic, and you’ll find the narration will skip months or even years. But through Tania’s eyes, we see a gangly pre-teen grow up into an almost adult, one who wants to know more about the world around her. I liked the diary format – I’ve always liked that style of narration, and I think it was done well in this case. Tania’s voice didn’t change as much as I would have expected over six or so years, but she sounded unique, and fresh, and like somebody I would be friends with.
One thing I didn’t like was the “Intervals,” told from the first person of an alien far in the future, who discovered Tania’s diary. I felt they were unnecessary and distracting, when there was so much more that could have been explored in Tania’s current day world – for example, how exactly did they get to the point where nearly nobody could have children? Was it only in England that the robotic children were in use? Where did the fertile women go when they were “chosen” to be mothers? The near future unnamed catastrophe setting is always so fascinating, because half the time, it feels so real anyway.
Though not as action-packed as some current YA out there, EXPIRATION DAY still moves along and keeps a reader’s interest without having to have crazy tense moments. The story feels natural and real, while at the same time it is so foreign. Set in a fascinating world, with an excellent narrator, I would recommend EXPIRATION DAY to anybody who enjoys books about robots or humanity’s future, or somebody who wants a break from your typical YA dystopian novel.
Sexual content: Kissing, brief intimacy, references to sex
I always enjoy books that make me think about the basic question of what it means to be human. EXPIRATION DAY is definitely one of those books. Set in a not-so-far future, where most humans can’t have children, we get all the classics: can robots be creative? Can they experience emotion? If they’re creative and emotional, are they not as human as homo sapiens? These are all fascinating questions to ponder, and rather than detract from the story, they add to it, giving a somewhat regular “coming of age” story depth and a completely different angle.
Told a diary format, we follow Tania from age 11 to nearly 18. Her entries at times are sporadic, and you’ll find the narration will skip months or even years. But through Tania’s eyes, we see a gangly pre-teen grow up into an almost adult, one who wants to know more about the world around her. I liked the diary format – I’ve always liked that style of narration, and I think it was done well in this case. Tania’s voice didn’t change as much as I would have expected over six or so years, but she sounded unique, and fresh, and like somebody I would be friends with.
One thing I didn’t like was the “Intervals,” told from the first person of an alien far in the future, who discovered Tania’s diary. I felt they were unnecessary and distracting, when there was so much more that could have been explored in Tania’s current day world – for example, how exactly did they get to the point where nearly nobody could have children? Was it only in England that the robotic children were in use? Where did the fertile women go when they were “chosen” to be mothers? The near future unnamed catastrophe setting is always so fascinating, because half the time, it feels so real anyway.
Though not as action-packed as some current YA out there, EXPIRATION DAY still moves along and keeps a reader’s interest without having to have crazy tense moments. The story feels natural and real, while at the same time it is so foreign. Set in a fascinating world, with an excellent narrator, I would recommend EXPIRATION DAY to anybody who enjoys books about robots or humanity’s future, or somebody who wants a break from your typical YA dystopian novel.
Sexual content: Kissing, brief intimacy, references to sex
April 20, 2014
Thank you to netgalley and Tor Teen for kindly giving me a copy of this book!
In my opinion, making Expiration Day a series of diary entries (interspersed with narration from another character)worked quite well. Usually I am not a fan of stories that jump large swaths of time but I think in this scifi, coming-of-age tale this format worked.
However, the switching between past and present tense was not as effective. In one diary entry Tania is describing how she had prepared for a funeral, but the next paragraph moves to her being present at the funeral. Although it's arguably harder to write as emotionally in past tense, that is what diaries really lend themselves to.
One larger obstacle that kept me from emerging myself fully into Tania's world was that it was very obvious that the author was not a teenaged girl. Eleven year old Tania speaks in a too mature way and the attempts to add slang to her voice came across as dated. Early on she describes John as being 'her age' and 'a young lad'. This didn't really sound like a teen girl.
To be honest, I thought this might be a deal breaker for me, but as Tania aged, her voice sounded more natural. She grew more contemplative as she grew closer to her 18th birthday. Although some of her musings felt too mature, I quite enjoyed her conjectures into what makes us human. These insights really made this book for me and was why I chose to read it in the first place. Her dad's speeches towards the end of the book were personal highlights.
Speaking of pondering what makes the world go round, Mr Zog could have added more to the story. If they were an expert on the Dawn Civilization, couldn't they have told us more about the riots? What happened thirty years ago? Why weren't there are any young teachers? Some of his narrations were a bit too disjointed. In one chapter, Sian and Tania were talking about human girls becoming Mothers - which could be a whole other fascinating story in itself! In response, Mr Zog starts going on about wormholes.
The last third of this book was my favourite, although more questions were raised than answered. All in all, I think the author did an interesting job of exploring the question of what it is to be human. I will be looking out for other work by him!
In my opinion, making Expiration Day a series of diary entries (interspersed with narration from another character)worked quite well. Usually I am not a fan of stories that jump large swaths of time but I think in this scifi, coming-of-age tale this format worked.
However, the switching between past and present tense was not as effective. In one diary entry Tania is describing how she had prepared for a funeral, but the next paragraph moves to her being present at the funeral. Although it's arguably harder to write as emotionally in past tense, that is what diaries really lend themselves to.
One larger obstacle that kept me from emerging myself fully into Tania's world was that it was very obvious that the author was not a teenaged girl. Eleven year old Tania speaks in a too mature way and the attempts to add slang to her voice came across as dated. Early on she describes John as being 'her age' and 'a young lad'. This didn't really sound like a teen girl.
To be honest, I thought this might be a deal breaker for me, but as Tania aged, her voice sounded more natural. She grew more contemplative as she grew closer to her 18th birthday. Although some of her musings felt too mature, I quite enjoyed her conjectures into what makes us human. These insights really made this book for me and was why I chose to read it in the first place. Her dad's speeches towards the end of the book were personal highlights.
Speaking of pondering what makes the world go round, Mr Zog could have added more to the story. If they were an expert on the Dawn Civilization, couldn't they have told us more about the riots? What happened thirty years ago? Why weren't there are any young teachers? Some of his narrations were a bit too disjointed. In one chapter, Sian and Tania were talking about human girls becoming Mothers - which could be a whole other fascinating story in itself! In response, Mr Zog starts going on about wormholes.
The last third of this book was my favourite, although more questions were raised than answered. All in all, I think the author did an interesting job of exploring the question of what it is to be human. I will be looking out for other work by him!
September 11, 2013
Once again TOR has found a gem in its slush pile. This English debut was extremely hard to put down. It is the year 2049 and humanity is on the brink of extinction.. The population level is falling; to stop riots and despair Oxted Corporation developed a line of robots that could serve as surrogate children. Parents can lease, but not purchase; at age 18 their "child" has to be returned to Oxted, for deactivation, i.e. death. That's the Expiration Day of the title, and that's what Tania Deeley is facing. She grew up believing she was a human child, until she almost drowned in middle school and saw the fibers in her injured ankle. Knowing she was a robot did not affect her growth and development, however. Her father, a village Vicar, was used to helping others cope with life, and he and his wife were the perfect parents for Tania. She meets a boy on a trip and later, as teens, joins him in forming a band. He's a song writer and guitarist, she plays bass, John recruits a young boy as a drummer, and Sian, her best friend, a gorgeous human girl, becomes their lead singer. So this robot can think, reason, love, create, and act (Portia's role in The Merchant of Venice. Her plight is contrasted with that of Sian, who deliberately becomes pregnant and is immediately whisked away by the government. She will be cherished and protected as a precious Mother from that point on. But she'll never get married and never raise a family. Her children will be raised by surrogates and the government will pick out the father for her next child, every year. Tania's mother dies and her father sues Oxted, trying to break the contract so that he can keep his daughter. Fascinating, very philosophical trial. She also writes journal entries that are read by an alien being far in the future. Tania's fate was not what I suspected and left me wanting to know more about this fascinating character and her world. A thought-provoking, intriguing and immensely satisfying work of dystopian science fiction.
September 28, 2014
At first glance, Expiration Day may seem more appropriate for a middle grade audience, and perhaps it is. The protagonist is young and her voice is very immature, almost childish at times. But at the same time, William Powell’s thought-provoking book raises some very important existential and philosophical questions, things we all need to think about, regardless of our age. The bones of this story are certainly nothing new in the world of literature: a society that rarely produces children chooses to fill the void with teknoids, robot children that live a normal childhood until their eighteenth birthday. The teknoids are crafted exceptionally well; most of them don’t even know they’re not human until Oxted, the company that manufactured them, comes to collect them when they become of age.
Our Tania Deeley is a rare human child among teknoids, but she suspects that her best friend Sian isn’t. In Tania’s school, teknoids are second-class citizens, shunned and ostracized by their “human” peers. The problem with that is that most of the “humans” are actually teknoids themselves, they just don’t know it, and it’s almost impossible to determine who is a real person and who is not. Our Tania, as expected, struggles to understand what constitutes a real person, and she writes these doubts in her diary. The book is divided between Tania’s diary entries and short letters from an unknown alien Zog, a creature that discovers these entries in a very distant future.
Although young, Tania’s voice is clear and beautifully done. Mr Zog’s responses to Tania’s entries bring a lot to the table, an unusual freshness that makes the story stand out among many similar ones. They shows us that, even though our worries and existential issues seem inconsequential at times, we all leave a lasting mark on this world, a proof of our existence that is impossible to erase.
Our Tania Deeley is a rare human child among teknoids, but she suspects that her best friend Sian isn’t. In Tania’s school, teknoids are second-class citizens, shunned and ostracized by their “human” peers. The problem with that is that most of the “humans” are actually teknoids themselves, they just don’t know it, and it’s almost impossible to determine who is a real person and who is not. Our Tania, as expected, struggles to understand what constitutes a real person, and she writes these doubts in her diary. The book is divided between Tania’s diary entries and short letters from an unknown alien Zog, a creature that discovers these entries in a very distant future.
Although young, Tania’s voice is clear and beautifully done. Mr Zog’s responses to Tania’s entries bring a lot to the table, an unusual freshness that makes the story stand out among many similar ones. They shows us that, even though our worries and existential issues seem inconsequential at times, we all leave a lasting mark on this world, a proof of our existence that is impossible to erase.
September 18, 2016
Overdue.
I don't even remember a lot. I know I thought it was cool. But it was too long.
I don't even remember a lot. I know I thought it was cool. But it was too long.
July 14, 2015
I liked the overall story but I did feel as though there were a few holes here and there that could have been explained in a bit more detail like why are "human" females who are able to carry children taken from their families and never allowed to keep any of their children? I found that kind of harsh and made me feel like they were no better off than the teknoids in the story no matter if they were pampered where they wound up. I don't see where being a birthing cow would be any cool career. What if the female refused? How can you make a female have a baby and not get to decide if she wishes to keep it herself?
Another mishap is I never really could "connect" with Tania until towards the ending because she really came off as sounding more like a teenage boy than a young girl. It thru me off and kept the story from flowing as well as it should have.
As I mentioned about some holes in the story there were also some places that I could have done without...like all the musical jibber jabber. I mean I get she was in a band and they played gigs but I didn't care to know about the beats, cues, and ect...
There were times I wanted to just put the book down and leave it be but if at all possible I hate to DNF a book so I trudged on and while it did pick up towards the end and tie up and explain a few things I still couldn't give it more than a 3-star rating. With that being said I still look forward to more works by Mr. Powell.
Another mishap is I never really could "connect" with Tania until towards the ending because she really came off as sounding more like a teenage boy than a young girl. It thru me off and kept the story from flowing as well as it should have.
As I mentioned about some holes in the story there were also some places that I could have done without...like all the musical jibber jabber. I mean I get she was in a band and they played gigs but I didn't care to know about the beats, cues, and ect...
There were times I wanted to just put the book down and leave it be but if at all possible I hate to DNF a book so I trudged on and while it did pick up towards the end and tie up and explain a few things I still couldn't give it more than a 3-star rating. With that being said I still look forward to more works by Mr. Powell.
August 25, 2016
Expiration Day, by William Campbell Powell, was a book I almost didn’t bother finishing and only ended up doing so because of that added sense of obligation of having received it for free to review. Had I picked it up on my own, I almost certainly would have dropped it somewhere about halfway in. As usual, in these cases, this will be a relatively short review so as not to belabor the issue.
In 2049, humanity has all but died out and is racing to find a cure to this plague of infertility that has been around for some while now. Meanwhile, to give the race hope and meet the parenting instinct, “teknoids” (sophisticated androids) can be rented by couples to be brought up as their own child, with regularly scheduled “revisions” to mirror the physical development due to aging. Everyone knows this happens, but it’s considered ill manners to speak of it too bluntly, so nobody is ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
In 2049, humanity has all but died out and is racing to find a cure to this plague of infertility that has been around for some while now. Meanwhile, to give the race hope and meet the parenting instinct, “teknoids” (sophisticated androids) can be rented by couples to be brought up as their own child, with regularly scheduled “revisions” to mirror the physical development due to aging. Everyone knows this happens, but it’s considered ill manners to speak of it too bluntly, so nobody is ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
May 9, 2016
It's 2049, and 11-year-old Tania has been told her whole life that she is special, an anomaly: a human child, among teknoids. As life progresses, she learns that life is not as simple as it appears. Teknoids, known to us as robots, have taken over life. Not in the way most would think, however. In this society, infertility has become a worldwide problem, and as a solution; a company produces robots that learn and grow just like humans. Young, infertile couples adopt a robot child and can love and cherish it just like a real child. However; there is a twist. At the age of 18, these robots are sent back to who-knows-where, and never seen again. As Tania learns more about herself, her real past, life, and how many "people" and her friends are actually robots; she must find a way to make life seem normal.
SO I TOTALLY LIKED THIS BOOK. I was convinced that it was going to be a sad and disappointing ending, until the very last page. I AM NOT UNSATISFIED. :)
SO I TOTALLY LIKED THIS BOOK. I was convinced that it was going to be a sad and disappointing ending, until the very last page. I AM NOT UNSATISFIED. :)
April 18, 2014
I found the overall idea good and enjoyed the book enough to read it in a couple of days. The story is much more about relationships than science fiction, with the emotional aspects being conveyed well. The science fiction parts were a little disappointing, as was the anticipated intrigue regarding the future scenario. I wonder what a teenage boy reading this book would make of the characters obsession with her chest, and her desire to have boys ogle at her (it rather concerned me that they might conclude this is how girls think)
November 28, 2024
Jest to bardzo lekko napisana dość mocna książka o stracie, braku wyboru i człowieczeństwie. Naprawdę wzbudza mocne emocje i cieszę się, że mogłam ją przeczytać. Postacie są naprawdę złożone i fajnie było mieć nastolatkę za główną bohaterkę, która nie denerwuje :D
Postać Zoga była dla mnie totalnie zbędna i końcówka jak często za krótka. Wolałabym dowiedzieć się więcej co stało się z innymi. Szczególnie z Shią - uważam, że należał jej się inny koniec.
Naprawdę polecam przeczytać.
Postać Zoga była dla mnie totalnie zbędna i końcówka jak często za krótka. Wolałabym dowiedzieć się więcej co stało się z innymi. Szczególnie z Shią - uważam, że należał jej się inny koniec.
Naprawdę polecam przeczytać.
May 1, 2014
Read this on the plane down and back from L.A. (thank you LAX for the delay). I liked the diary style entry. I sort of stopped paying attention to the "reader" of the diary, but now that I have finished the book I want to go beck and read the "reader" enteries more carefully. Touching story with an interesting premise of how the human race will end.
October 26, 2015
Expiration Day by William Campbell Powell was an enthralling read that I enjoyed greatly. It was about a dystopian society in the 2049 on. The society has gone infertile and the children have been replaced with robots made by Oxted Corporation. This is about a girl who struggles with her identity and her struggle with her schoolmates and the Oxted Corporation.
Want to read
June 5, 2014Aww. That synopsis is so sad and quite scary. You love something so fully only to be taken away years later.
I am sad now.:(
I am sad now.:(
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