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The Ultimate Choice
In a dystopian near-future, overpopulation has led to a government dedicated to reducing citizen numbers. Suicide is legalised, food is rationed, and reproduction forbidden without permission.Cassie O’Neil broke the law, she had sex before marriage. She is sentenced to die on the game show, The Ultimate Choice, but when a contestant collapses Cassie takes her chance and runs. Staying alive is hard with no ration card or place to hide. But she is a woman who refuses to die."In this impressive novel with a surprisingly unpredictable plot, Cassie O’Neil lives in a distant future, where individuals must obtain government permission for romantic relationships and reproduction. Unfortunately, Cassie meets a man and becomes pregnant without permission. Overpopulation, which has resulted in a lack of food and farmland, has given the government the power to cull citizens. When Cassie is found out, her young son is taken from her and she is told she must either offer herself up to be euthanized on a nationally televised show or sacrifice her son. But Cassie escapes and eventually finds herself an outsider amongst a group of rebels. When a mission goes awry, Cassie and a handful of the rebels, including their leader, are captured--and the only solution is another mission, the price of which may be too high. There are many clever shifts in the narrative, and the story is entertaining and gripping." – Publishers Weekly Review of The Ultimate Choice
233 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 25, 2011
22 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
About the author
Lisa C. Hinsley
10 books35 followersLisa C Hinsley’s career has been varied, working as an architectural technician, a pet sitter, a pharmacy supervisor and most recently a carer/companion for elderly ladies, all the while writing when she can. Born in Portsmouth in 1971, Lisa grew up in England, Scotland, and America. She now lives on the Wirral, in northwest England, with her husband, three children, and four cats. Her hope is not to be thought of as the American cat lady, but some things are just inevitable.
Lisa’s best-selling novel The Ultimate Choice won an excellent Publishers Weekly review in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Her novel What Alice Sees was a runner-up in the 2010 UKA Opening Pages Competition and placed in the May 2011 Best Sellers Charts on Arts Council website YouWriteOn. An earlier novel Coombe’s Wood finished in the semi-finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2009 and was awarded runner up in the all-genre Book of the Year Awards 2008 on YouWriteOn. Now listed on Amazon Kindle, Coombe’s Wood became an Amazon best-seller in 2011. Lisa’s novel The Crocodile was short-listed in the Undiscovered Authors 2006 competition. Several of Lisa’s short stories and poems have appeared in print publications.
Lisa’s best-selling novel The Ultimate Choice won an excellent Publishers Weekly review in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Her novel What Alice Sees was a runner-up in the 2010 UKA Opening Pages Competition and placed in the May 2011 Best Sellers Charts on Arts Council website YouWriteOn. An earlier novel Coombe’s Wood finished in the semi-finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award 2009 and was awarded runner up in the all-genre Book of the Year Awards 2008 on YouWriteOn. Now listed on Amazon Kindle, Coombe’s Wood became an Amazon best-seller in 2011. Lisa’s novel The Crocodile was short-listed in the Undiscovered Authors 2006 competition. Several of Lisa’s short stories and poems have appeared in print publications.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
September 27, 2011
Pretty terrible. I liked the opening scene, but it gradually got worse and worse. The writing (and editing) is poor, the action jumps around a bit much, and I didn't care about any of the characters. It didn't feel like it was planned well, and I was left questioning many of the author's choices. Classic example of what not to do with the age-old advice of "Show, don't tell." Very little description when it comes to setting and even character motivation.
I started this book because I'm a big fan of dystopian fiction. I think the idea behind the novel is a good one, and I hope the author keeps on writing, to improve her style. She has potential, but I did not enjoy this book.
I started this book because I'm a big fan of dystopian fiction. I think the idea behind the novel is a good one, and I hope the author keeps on writing, to improve her style. She has potential, but I did not enjoy this book.
December 28, 2011
The Ultimate Choice, a novel that opens with a woman who "volunteers" to go on a game show where she ask questions to help the audience choose who will receive her harvested organs. During a disruption, she escapes and becomes an illegal, hunted by the police and forced to live in the shadows. I liked the premise, I liked the characters. Hell, I LOVED the ending, warped as it was. Why the 3 stars? There were just a few things that really threw me off. For example, and I saw this in another review, how does the protagonist get pregnant, give birth to a boy, and still not understand how a man pees? Granted, it didn't affect the plot much, but it did make me stop and reread the passage as I was certain I'd misunderstood. Here and there I ran into similar instances where I just had a hard time believing actions, reactions, thoughts, etc. Good book, just needed a little more polish.
August 31, 2011
It always felt like it was going somewhere, but it just never made it. I kept expecting a climax and it never came. It was refreshing despite this because honestly in a dystopian reality there shouldn't always be a last minute savior to give you that expected happy ending. In life, there is not always a hail-mary pass to save you. It just is what it is, and that isn't always happy.
April 10, 2012
Since I enjoyed Hinsley's horror novel, Coombe's Wood, I had confidence in her abilities with a science-fiction tale like The Ultimate Choice. The subject matter sounded weighty but intriguing. In a world so overpopulated that unlicensed sex is outlawed and an unsanctioned pregnancy is punishable by death, would a mother make the ultimate sacrifice on a live television spectacle? Would she give up her life, allowing her organs to be donated to willing recipients chosen by the audience?
Unfortunately, the author's writing did not live up to the quality of her concept. The television show conceit is quickly dispensed with, and we are treated on a tour of this dystopian future courtesy of one truly annoying main character. I had sympathy for Cassie's situation, however, her internal monologue and general wishy-washiness really became grating after a few chapters. In fact, every single character in the piece either felt one-dimensional or grated the nerves, particularly the Dan character. While reading the novel, I kept being reminded of the mediocre, somewhat surreal science-fiction movies and television shows of the '70's, like the Logan's Run TV show (not the movie). Most of the situations in the book felt forced, the author's hand being omnipresent rather than subtly moving the story along organically. By the time Cassie finds the rebel group and is forced to go along with them to a government lab to destroy a virus, my suspension of disbelief was long gone, but the piece descended further into illogical events when those same rebels are sent to another country to steal a virus with the British government being given plausible deniability by their rogue nature. The world itself, though intriguing in conception, did not make sense in execution.
All told, the book is well-written, with few editing errors and it is well-paced. The flaws I mention above didn't stop me from completing the read, but they did hamper my enjoyment. Lisa Hensley can write, and I applaud her for not wimping out on the ending. She leaves much to ponder about the choices she presents to the readers. I only wish they had been presented more artfully.
Unfortunately, the author's writing did not live up to the quality of her concept. The television show conceit is quickly dispensed with, and we are treated on a tour of this dystopian future courtesy of one truly annoying main character. I had sympathy for Cassie's situation, however, her internal monologue and general wishy-washiness really became grating after a few chapters. In fact, every single character in the piece either felt one-dimensional or grated the nerves, particularly the Dan character. While reading the novel, I kept being reminded of the mediocre, somewhat surreal science-fiction movies and television shows of the '70's, like the Logan's Run TV show (not the movie). Most of the situations in the book felt forced, the author's hand being omnipresent rather than subtly moving the story along organically. By the time Cassie finds the rebel group and is forced to go along with them to a government lab to destroy a virus, my suspension of disbelief was long gone, but the piece descended further into illogical events when those same rebels are sent to another country to steal a virus with the British government being given plausible deniability by their rogue nature. The world itself, though intriguing in conception, did not make sense in execution.
All told, the book is well-written, with few editing errors and it is well-paced. The flaws I mention above didn't stop me from completing the read, but they did hamper my enjoyment. Lisa Hensley can write, and I applaud her for not wimping out on the ending. She leaves much to ponder about the choices she presents to the readers. I only wish they had been presented more artfully.
September 27, 2011
I thought the premise of this book was very promising...very Hunger Games meets The Unit. I loved both of those books, so I thought this would be a good merger.
While the background is interesting (it's set in a future UK in which suicide is legalized and premartial sex is outlawed in an effort to curb population growth, because everyone is starving), the writing and the characters made this fall flat for me. First of all, I never got a good sense of how old Cassie was. At the beginning I was getting the sense that she was a teenager, and that maybe this was a YA novel (a la Hunger Games). But after a rather graphic sexual scene early on, I quickly concluded that was not the case. Even so, Cassie's character is portrayed as SO completely naive that she really seems downright stupid at times. I get that she lived a sheltered life, but I think the idea of her naivete was really overdone to the point where she became rather annoying. (Example: you just gave birth to a baby boy but yet you confess halfway through the novel that you don't know how guys urinate? Please.)
Beyond Cassie's character, I felt that some of the plot lines were just cheesy or odd. And the whole "no one should ever feel alone in this world" line was puke-inducing. And the ending left me feeling confused.
Overall...I think this was a book with a lot of promise conceptually, but more time should have been spent on the characters and plot lines for it to make sense. I feel like a lot of it just wasn't well thought-through, and it left me as a reader feeling a bit confused.
While the background is interesting (it's set in a future UK in which suicide is legalized and premartial sex is outlawed in an effort to curb population growth, because everyone is starving), the writing and the characters made this fall flat for me. First of all, I never got a good sense of how old Cassie was. At the beginning I was getting the sense that she was a teenager, and that maybe this was a YA novel (a la Hunger Games). But after a rather graphic sexual scene early on, I quickly concluded that was not the case. Even so, Cassie's character is portrayed as SO completely naive that she really seems downright stupid at times. I get that she lived a sheltered life, but I think the idea of her naivete was really overdone to the point where she became rather annoying. (Example: you just gave birth to a baby boy but yet you confess halfway through the novel that you don't know how guys urinate? Please.)
Beyond Cassie's character, I felt that some of the plot lines were just cheesy or odd. And the whole "no one should ever feel alone in this world" line was puke-inducing. And the ending left me feeling confused.
Overall...I think this was a book with a lot of promise conceptually, but more time should have been spent on the characters and plot lines for it to make sense. I feel like a lot of it just wasn't well thought-through, and it left me as a reader feeling a bit confused.
June 19, 2011
I have read a few dystopian novels over the years, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaids Tale and George Orwell's, 1984 among my favourites. The opening scenes of this novel however are reminiscent of a film called The Running Man, an Arnold Schwarzenegger film from the 80's, but it didn't take long to see this was something quite different.
We meet Cassie O'Neil on the game show The Ultimate Choice. She has had a child in a time when the world is overpopulated and she has made the unenviable but expected choice to give up her life for her son Jack.
Of cause if things ended there we would have no story so Cassie sees her chance to escape and takes it. On her journey to a better life, all the while dreaming of Jack, a life and son she will never know, we see a world starving, a controlled media and rebels holding out hope they can have a family on their own terms.
Throughout Cassie's journey I was right there with her, afraid of assault, cold, hungry, tired, hopeful. There were times I was infuriated by her innocence while in such a bleak landscape, but that's what happens when you are drawn in and want to protect this fragile yet resilient character that you have come to care for.
This is not a feel good story and it does ask and bravely have the protagonist make the ultimate choice. You will have to read the book to find out what that choice is.
We meet Cassie O'Neil on the game show The Ultimate Choice. She has had a child in a time when the world is overpopulated and she has made the unenviable but expected choice to give up her life for her son Jack.
Of cause if things ended there we would have no story so Cassie sees her chance to escape and takes it. On her journey to a better life, all the while dreaming of Jack, a life and son she will never know, we see a world starving, a controlled media and rebels holding out hope they can have a family on their own terms.
Throughout Cassie's journey I was right there with her, afraid of assault, cold, hungry, tired, hopeful. There were times I was infuriated by her innocence while in such a bleak landscape, but that's what happens when you are drawn in and want to protect this fragile yet resilient character that you have come to care for.
This is not a feel good story and it does ask and bravely have the protagonist make the ultimate choice. You will have to read the book to find out what that choice is.
September 4, 2011
I just finished this - and I'm really glad I read it. I'm fond of dystopian fiction, in no small part because of the moral questions this genre tends to raise and play with.
We do like our freedoms, but is there a point at which it is not only acceptable, but *responsible* for the government to restrict them near-completely? If the entire country is on the brink of starvation, do the more extreme methods of population control become acceptable? Is it okay to steal food if you're starving? What if the person you're stealing from is also starving?
These are uncomfortable questions, to be sure, and ones that I hope we'll never have to face... but important questions to ask yourself as you read this book. It's easy to have a knee-jerk reaction - how dare they! - but when you really stop and think about it, it loses its outrageousness.
* I did rate this as a 4 - and the only reason for the 4 is that there were a couple rather jarring grammatical mistakes in the book. There aren't too many to get in the way of reading the book, but all the same, this is a great book - and it'd be even greater if it had a little polishing.
We do like our freedoms, but is there a point at which it is not only acceptable, but *responsible* for the government to restrict them near-completely? If the entire country is on the brink of starvation, do the more extreme methods of population control become acceptable? Is it okay to steal food if you're starving? What if the person you're stealing from is also starving?
These are uncomfortable questions, to be sure, and ones that I hope we'll never have to face... but important questions to ask yourself as you read this book. It's easy to have a knee-jerk reaction - how dare they! - but when you really stop and think about it, it loses its outrageousness.
* I did rate this as a 4 - and the only reason for the 4 is that there were a couple rather jarring grammatical mistakes in the book. There aren't too many to get in the way of reading the book, but all the same, this is a great book - and it'd be even greater if it had a little polishing.
February 22, 2015
This is a tough one to review. The dystopian future of England, the way the government reacts, and the writing style itself are all worthy of note. I particularly enjoyed detailed descriptions, and the research that had gone into certain elements.
That said, there are a lot of things I don't like. Cassie, the heroine, is a naive, character and I honestly couldn't muster up any sympathy for her, she got herself into all the messes by simply being so bloomin' childish.
Many of the supporting characters were flat, with no background, and I didn't empathise with any.
If you know the rule of Chekhov's Gun you'll see it's been blatantly disregarded in this story, with people, places and discussions serving no other purpose than to bulk up the story.
All my grievances aside, the story itself was a decent read and I enjoyed it right up to the end, which I found unrealisti and, again, naive.
That said, there are a lot of things I don't like. Cassie, the heroine, is a naive, character and I honestly couldn't muster up any sympathy for her, she got herself into all the messes by simply being so bloomin' childish.
Many of the supporting characters were flat, with no background, and I didn't empathise with any.
If you know the rule of Chekhov's Gun you'll see it's been blatantly disregarded in this story, with people, places and discussions serving no other purpose than to bulk up the story.
All my grievances aside, the story itself was a decent read and I enjoyed it right up to the end, which I found unrealisti and, again, naive.
September 20, 2011
I read this book while on vacation, so was able to plow through it pretty quickly without interruption. Given that, it was a fast read and reminded me a bit of "The Hunger Games" combined with Orwell, as the description reads.
While an interesting examination of a future humanity, the will to survive in light of government control, and a mother's love, the book lacks the complexity to be anything other than a young adult novel. That said, the book is thoroughly entertaining and gives one the opportunity to ponder how government comes to power over the lives of its citizens and how we value human life.
From the perspective of school curriculum, this would be a good companion to "The Hunger Games" and Shirley Jackson's "Lottery."
While an interesting examination of a future humanity, the will to survive in light of government control, and a mother's love, the book lacks the complexity to be anything other than a young adult novel. That said, the book is thoroughly entertaining and gives one the opportunity to ponder how government comes to power over the lives of its citizens and how we value human life.
From the perspective of school curriculum, this would be a good companion to "The Hunger Games" and Shirley Jackson's "Lottery."
February 12, 2014
In a future world where overpopulation is a crime, Cassie must participate in a game show where she decides who will benefit from her forced suicide. Before she makes her selection, she realizes she wants to live, and takes advantage of the pandemonium during an on-air crisis, and runs.
Ms. Hinsley has once again penned a gripping novel of bleak horror as she describes an all-too-real post-apocalyptic future. Her characters are vulnerable but likeable and believable, and her story is well-constructed and beautifully written. She definitely does noir well – building tension and dread through the experiences and choices her characters must face. Another outstanding job – one I’d highly recommend to any thriller/dystopia/noir fans.
Ms. Hinsley has once again penned a gripping novel of bleak horror as she describes an all-too-real post-apocalyptic future. Her characters are vulnerable but likeable and believable, and her story is well-constructed and beautifully written. She definitely does noir well – building tension and dread through the experiences and choices her characters must face. Another outstanding job – one I’d highly recommend to any thriller/dystopia/noir fans.
January 13, 2012
Firstly, I love the cover of this book!
I went into this assuming that I woul love this and rate it 5 stars. I enjoyed the plot, but I was so distracted by the lack of character development. One problem I had was that the relationships between the characters never felt authentic to me. Liz in Lisa Hinsley's novelette, Plague, had such emotional depth and was so likeable, and I wanted so badly to feel this way towards Cassie in the Ultimate Decision, but in actuality I just didn't care for her at all.
I went into this assuming that I woul love this and rate it 5 stars. I enjoyed the plot, but I was so distracted by the lack of character development. One problem I had was that the relationships between the characters never felt authentic to me. Liz in Lisa Hinsley's novelette, Plague, had such emotional depth and was so likeable, and I wanted so badly to feel this way towards Cassie in the Ultimate Decision, but in actuality I just didn't care for her at all.
February 15, 2014
I read this a long time ago. Although I didn't like the cover and still don't think it does the book justice, I was both intrigued and alarmed by the story. This could really happen if we don't watchit kind-of-thing. The way things are going with the world, this could some day be true. I don't like to feel that way, but I guess that's the purpose of dystopian fiction - and she (Lisa) has succeeded.
January 29, 2012
I read this book because it was free on the kindle and the reviews looked ok and I am glad I did. I really got caught up in Cassie's story and for the first time in a while I was reduced to tears not once but on a couple of occasions. I think as a mother myself her separation from her son was heart breaking and the ending was great and not what I expected. A vey good book for free.
August 15, 2012
So far, so good... imagine a world where you end up on a game show, choosing the lucky recipient of your organs...in return for committing the ultimate crime..having a baby! I'm intrigued so far.... Update... Just finished this now, not bad but I did find myself skipping through some parts. An average read, interesting concept, but could have been written better.
September 19, 2011
I liked this book, I could see this happening in the future, well put it this way, it was well written and easy believable. I followed this girls plight right to the end, thebook had me feeling all sorts of emotions and the ending was definately a shocker !!!! worth a read I say, plus its free.
March 4, 2012
I read this some time ago, and was totally involved start to finish. A very different concept. I was surprised at the end, and yet when I thought about it, it was the right and logical conclusion. I very much liked this book.
July 27, 2012
I loved how the rebels weren't all just a gruff-but-lovable-once-you-break-through-their-tough-exteriors and also ridiculously good looking rag-tag bunch like in most dystopian books. It's got to be hard to fight the man when you're kept starving.
March 10, 2013
Interesting story focused around the struggle around food supply and demand, not a comfortable story which i found myself thinking about. Set in 2060's the UK cannot produce enough food with rationing for all. Would happily read this again, hence the rating.
August 27, 2011
another dystopia. i don't think it was very well developed. still a good story tho.
September 1, 2011
This was not the worst thing I have ever read. It's choppy and needs some polishing, but not bad at all.
September 5, 2011
She could have done a lot more with it, sad ending
November 30, 2011
Very interesting view of how the future of our planet in 2063 may turn out. I wish it was longer so I oculd have learned more about the characters. A bit depressing of an ending but honest.
October 13, 2011
It was a fast and easy read. There were some typos and errors but the book kept me interested throughout.
September 30, 2011
This was not bad, it just wasn't very good. Interesting premise. Very poor editing.
October 21, 2011
It had such a great premise, and I really liked the beginning, but the last 2/3 or so were off. Part just didn't make any sense, and part was interesting but felt oddly rushed.
October 14, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed this book that I got free for kindle. It had lots of twists and turns and some very thought-provoking ideas.
January 10, 2012
It started out really exciting and I couldn't put it down, but it quickly became annoying. I kept reading, hoping it would get back to what I had been so excited to read, but it never did.
July 2, 2012
Shallow relationships. Zombie-esque people. Sexist roles even for a dystopia. The only black guy in the whole book is mentally ill and an almost-rapist.
May 18, 2013
This book was great. The topic was interesting and fresh. So glad I downloaded this one on a whim!
August 22, 2013
A lot like the hunger games. Interesting premise but none of the characters moved me
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews