Yours for the Taking

Korn’s fiction debut, following the essay collection Everybody (Else) Is Perfect, tells the captivating tale of a near-future world, unraveling amid violent climate change. The novel traces the intersecting stories of various women associated with the Inside Project, a sealed enclave offering refuge to a select few. From her protected sanctuary aboard a space station, billionaire women’s rights activist Jacqueline administers the New York location of the Inside, secretly ensuring that her vision of utopia—a society completely free of patriarchy—comes to pass. Meanwhile, Shelby, a white trans woman who serves as Jacqueline’s assistant; Olympia, Inside’s Black queer medical director; and Ava, a newly selected Inside resident still mourning a recent breakup, begin to understand the ramifications of Jacqueline’s unsettling plans. Narrator Jasmin Savoy Brown provides a pleasant, almost genial reading of the book, effectively capturing the women’s initial optimism and animated interactions. Unfortunately, even though some of her character voices are slightly different (Olympia’s in particular), many are disappointingly similar.