The Herd: the thought-provoking and unputdownable must-read book club novel of 2022

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Elizabeth and Bryony have two completely different personalities. Elizabeth's daughter has an illness which means she should not be vaccinated and her parents have to rely on the herd immunity around them to keep Clementine safe. Elizabeth is quite vocal on the importance of being vaccinated. Bryony doesn't trust vaccines, so her daughter has not been vaccinated. This is quite relevant tp the current situation with covid. It's also quite an emotional read. This is a well written book that debates for and against vaccines. After studying at Edinburgh University, Emily Edwards worked for a think tank in New York before returning to London where she worked as a support worker for vulnerable women at a large charity. She now lives in Lewes, East Sussex with her endlessly patient husband and her two endlessly energetic young sons. Though told with clarity and balance, Emily Edwards’ The Herd is an emotional rollercoaster of a novel for readers who like their fiction to have real-life resonance, and family life at its heart. Exploring both sides of the child vaccination debate through two women, its themes and heated scenarios chime with current vaccination debates and conflicts. Namely, how societies and individuals navigate and reconcile public health needs with personal beliefs and fears. Through the characters' friendships and past experiences we learn how others' opinions can colour our own, how we can and hear only what we want to see and hear, and in doing so how muddied and murky the vibrant kaleidoscope of life's rainbow colours can be stained a murky brown, affecting our decision making to the extreme.

Wow! What an incredible book, and so timely. I was riveted! Really beautifully written, compassionately told and incredibly thought provoking. A truly immersive telling of both sides of a story. Susan LewisThe Herd is a wonderful book, skilfully written, compassionate and balanced. It grips from the start and doesn't let go, sending us on a journey that's both timely and controversial, through masterful storytelling, brilliantly drawn characters and huge swathes of emotion. Jenny Quintana The Need for Roots translator talks about how she approached the famous philosopher’s best-known work. Health Features Could ‘tweakments’ like Botox and filler affect skin health long-term? What the experts want you to know 03:30 The novel tries to critique a certain brand of feminism by portraying how hypocritical certain female entrepreneurs are: in spite of their ‘empowering’ agendas they still encourage their female associates to spend hours on end on their appearances or they are actually profiteering from other women’s insecurities. I want to start by indicating that this novel is based on a very contentious issue of vaccination and herd immunity. But it does so in a way that does not preach for either side. It highlights the pain that may be experienced by those making their choice on either side of the debate. I found myself not wanting to put this book down, I was so engrossed in what would happen. It moved me in many ways and highlights the highs and lows of friendship. Life can be extremely difficult sometimes, but enduring friendship can be a salve for the pain.

Healthy Eating Steel-cut, stoneground or rolled oats? What’s the healthiest, most nutritious way to eat porridge 03:30 There are very clever short chapters on people drawn into the story but not directly involved and their feelings on the matter ( which by now you can tell I am not going to mention 🤗 ) Now, on the day that Eleanor has a huge announcement for her company, in fact, right as she is supposed to be having the interview of a lifetime, to make this huge announcement, Eleanor is missing. She and The Herd have been targeted by a group called the Antiherd, with horrible words slashed across the walls of various locations. Eleanor has even been involved in a lawsuit with members of this group. Could they be responsible for Eleanor being missing? Could Eleanor have run away from the pressure of threats on her wellbeing and life?

LoveReading Says

Elizabeth and Bryony have been best friends since university even though their personalities are poles apart. They are godparents to each other's daughters and they trust that the safety of their children is both their top priority. I liked it. I liked how it didn't feel preachy or didactic. One thing I didn't love was the character of Rosalyn because I did not understand why she had no purpose other than to randomly pop up and offer magical hippie wisdom. Also, all the characters were middle to upper middle class, which is typical of anti-vaxxers, and white, which I honestly don't know if that's typical of anti-vaxxers or not. The book did make me try to see both sides of the argument whilst retaining a clear sense of what's scientifically proven and what's not. Neither woman is likeable. At different times we side with each of them. I did feel a bit of sympathy for the husbands - one more than the other - but on the whole, this is a tale about privileged middle-class people and their lifestyle choices and the impact of those choices on others. What's often positioned as "My child, my choice" is quite clearly ignoring that not every child or parent has the right to exercise that choice.

It's Andy Griffith's twenty-first birthday. Not that he's counting. But his mother Carol is. Counting the minutes until he arrives, counting the unexpected guests, counting the times that something like this has happened before. This is really good read, and it’s one of those books that is good on so many levels. Firstly it is really well written. The characters are all really well rounded with such individual natures but all very real too. The story itself is so well thought out and sensitively written. I kept wondering how this story would end as the story was so well balanced but the author clearly had it covered and I think the story had the perfect ending for such a story. On the face of it it is a story about differences of opinions centred around vaccinations but I actually think it is a much bigger story than that, it is about friendships and relationships but ultimately it is about being a parent, how complicated that can be and how it makes everyone feel differently.... Read Full ReviewMy only issue with this novel was that I really struggled to connect with both Bryony and Elizabeth. I just found their choices and actions difficult to understand at times. That being said, I fell completely in love with Emily Edwards descriptions of children at play. I have never read anything with so much accuracy before, it made the characters of Alba and Clemmie so vivid in my mind. You could absolutely tell that the author is a mother herself. The vulnerability and innocence warmed my heart completely. This is a book unlike anything I’ve ever read before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Comment Ian O’Doherty: Sometimes a good old horror movie is the best escape from this grim world 03:30 The book is told through both parties viewpoints in 2019 with sections designated to a trial held at the end of that year. and in my opinion is one of those books which is best read without too much forewarning.

I loved this book. It put me through the emotional wringer. A genuine rollercoaster that asks big moral questions with beautifully drawn characters who left me in tears but also full of hope Sharon Horgan It's clever. It's less manipulative than I expected, but somehow a book about vaccination that ISN'T about Covid getting released in the middle of a global pandemic already feels a bit like it's missing the zeitgeist. Interesting ideas, different perspectives, and quite a good pace all make this well worth a read.I love a book that not only grips me and makes me think but also educates me. The Herd reminded me a little of Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things, because the research was meticulous and unbiased, the topic of whether to vaccinate was fair and balanced and above all I felt I was learning so much whilst reading the book. Two families lives are changed forever when Bryony tells what is supposed to be a white lie before a child's birthday party. This small lie will have consequences so huge, they could never have began to imagine...