Fantastic dystopian read. The characters are interesting and the plot moves along at a good pace. ( )

I have a soft spot for post-apocalyptic novels that center everyday life, so I liked this one. It's not a revolutionary book. It's not full of a huge amount of fast paced adventure. It's about a girl who leaves her fundamentalist childhood and discovers that things were not as she had been told. Not revolutionary, but quite satisfying. Particularly like the positive LGBTQ message, and the fairly utopian lake community.

Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss. ( )

Post-Apocalypse, queer, coming of age story that is actually pretty sweet? Like Ami is leaving a fundamentalist compound, and there's definitely a few growing pains when she reaches a new community, but mostly she takes to new ideas and thoughts with open arms and only a little prompting, so it's cute, not like angsty depressing. Her and Jessie are so cute. ( )

I could see The Ballad of Ami Miles coming to fruition in some aspects. You hear more and more about infertility as well as couples deciding not to have any children. The attitude surrounding women and their roles that we see at Heavenly Shepherd is unfortunately nothing new. I wouldn’t be surprised at something like it cropping up if something like the Break happened in the near future. Heavenly Shepherd is a terrifying example of a mentality that could take root in isolation and societal collapse.

It is a little difficult imagining Ami adjusting to all the new changes in her life in barely over a week. However, sometimes all it takes is just one example of how you were raised being called into question to uproot other significant ideals instilled at a young age. I found Ami delightful, even if she was exceedingly sheltered and naïve – her situation and the result of it is not something that she could have prevented herself. Ami’s journey to find the mother she has never met is a beautiful one where she learns she is so much more than her origin.

In addition to young adult and LGBTQ+, I would also consider this a coming of age and dystopian. It isn’t so far off from our current time that it feels completely alien and doesn’t feature fantasy or sci-fi elements. If the book description sounds interesting to you, I must tell you that this book is so much MORE than that – I highly recommend checking this one out. It tackles some tough subjects not limited to abandonment, sexuality, religion, and racism. The Ballad of Ami Miles completely surprised me, and I would like to thank Xpresso Book Tours and Kristy Dallas Alley for the opportunity to read it. *Rounded from 4.5 stars* ( )

The Ballad of Ami Miles by Kristy Dallas Alley is a recommended young adult novel that follows a teen girl on a quest to find her long-lost mother in a post-apocalyptic future.

In this changed world, many women of child bearing years are unable to have children. Ami Miles mother met a traveler and was miraculously able to conceive her, but then her mother had to leave her after her birth to keep Ami safe. She has been raised by her grandparents at the family compound, Heavenly Shepherd. When Ami is sixteen she returns from the woods to see an older stranger at the compound and it becomes clear that her grandparents expect her to submit to his affection and breed with her so she can carry on the family line. Luckily, her aunts and uncles know what is going on and have a plan in place to set her off on a journey to find her mother. They disagree with her grandfather's patriarchal control over everyone and want to save her. Ami follows a clue left by her mother. She was told to give it to Ami when she was ready to leave the compound and find her. This is the story of Ami's quest to find her mother and discover who she really is.

This is a well written novel that is definitely YA and has a very simplistic plot that is in many ways allegorical. The bad guys are definitely bad and caricatures of a type and the good guys clearly good. The focus is on Ami's internal thoughts as she deals with a world that is not at all as her grandfather described. She learns about herself and others while being introduced to other points-of-view that challenge several controversial topics from her upbringing. She is introduced to the ideas of women's rights, sexual identity, racism, and self-determination. The story does leave you with several unanswered questions and unresolved issues, but likely the target audience won't notice this absence.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Macmillan.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/05/the-ballad-of-ami-miles.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3354295980 ( )