Fallow

by Sarah Anderson

Slyly funny and disarmingly tender, Fallow is the story of a young woman who signs up to be the world’s first in-house corporate surrogate, then finds herself caught up in a social experiment of another kind.

Natalie knows one truth: There is no such thing as a good job.

As the clock ticks away at the workplace harassment call center, she tries to ignore the increasing pain in her jaw. She has no dental insurance. She has no skills or ambitions. She has student loans. And, minute by minute, she hears the many ways workers are not just not getting by, but actually getting hustled.

Then, at the blood bank where she sells her plasma, a mysterious flyer leads her to The Company. Natalie turns out to be the perfect candidate for their pilot program: in-house surrogate. The Company pitches it as an opportunity to help women access greater gender equity, motherhood without maternity leave. Finally, she will be adequately—generously—compensated.

For years, her every need is met: stacks of healthy meals in the refrigerator of a luxury condo, fitness coaches and nutritionists, around-the-clock healthcare. Between deliveries, she takes time off—no obligations or expectations. For the first time in her life, she is good at her job; for the first time, she feels free.

But just as she’s about to fulfill the terms of her contract, a staffing decision upends everything and drags her deep into another social experiment. There she meets new questions about her future, her freedom, her purpose, and what she can expect from the world.

Woundingly funny and deeply moving, Sarah Anderson’s Fallow is a tender, hilarious, alarmingly real vision of a woman balancing on the knife-edge of capitalism as she comes to realize who she wants to be.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Dystopia, Literary Fiction, Adult, Feminism, Thriller

Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 15, 2026

Reviews

[Holden Wunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some books that you go into knowing you’ll just enjoy it, so it’s a giant relief when they don’t disappoint me. This is my kind of book in every way. Literary, darkly comedic, a bit of a grounded science fiction or speculative trip, a bit political, sarcasm heavy.

Sarah Anderson is coming in hot with her debut and I’m already so excited for her release and to see what she does next. Fallow follows our main character Natalie through an experimental first foray into surrogacy programs for tech companies who are desperate to even the ground for women wanting to give birth. The company clearly is wanting to put women first, allow them to keep their bottom line, their cultural and societal impact on the company and not lose the many sad benefits of staying at work during pregnancy and maternity leave. Are you catching my tone??

I’m utterly in love with Natalie and her neutrality in the beginning of this seemingly too good to be true program. The ramifications on her life, money, health and friendships. What happens when you can’t be honest 9 months out of 16? This reads like a Black Mirror episode with a little less horror and science fiction and is made for readers just like me.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved her short stories, Take Me to Kirkland (Joyland) and Left (Epiphany SS20), so I am super excited to read her novel!

Update: It’s fantastic! The premise seems far-fetched on paper, but the way the story and characters developed, it felt totally plausible. I think millennials are so desperate for financial relief that a lot more people would sign up to be surrogates than you might think. I loved the main character and her dynamic relationship with her mom and sisters. Anderson’s prose isn’t flowery, it’s simple and accessible, but she manages to use details and build narrative that feels full and rich in ways that more lyrical fiction can ultimately feel hollow. I’d be surprised if this book doesn’t end up in my top 5 for the year. I think there will be a great response from readers. It feels like a book you can recommend to anyone. Excited to read more from Anderson in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and FSG for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sam Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn

Banger after banger.

I am so thankful to FSG Books, NetGalley, and Sarah Anderson for advanced digital access before this beauty hits shelves on September 15, 2026.

Natalie has found herself in a sticky situation. She desperately needs her wisdom teeth removed, and doesn’t have health insurance… so what does she do?? Becomes an in-house, contractual surrogate for a massive tech company, pops out 7 babies in 10 years, deposits hundreds of thousands of dollars, and loses all connection with the real world as she’s hidden beneath NDAs and strict rules.

Woof.

There were times where I read this novel and thought, heck, I could do that.

But no pregnancy is like the other, and some experiences leave her scarred, and longing for a connection she didn’t previously anticipate.

Darkly funny and horrifically spun, Fallow played with my emotions and sent me spiraling. I’m so excited to see what everyone else thinks!!

[CJ Alberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was aight! A book in two parts really. The first more my speed. Cynical and critical and examining systematic control albeit through a lazy and avoidant character. The second half is a pretty hard swerve into the pastoral that felt pretty alien for our narrator. Meh!

[nicolealese · Rating 4 out of 5]

the real horror is that this book made the dystopian, life-altering corporate in-house surrogacy job sound more peaceful than a normal office job.

am i part of the problem if I would seriously consider signing too if it meant I didn’t have to ever work a 9-5 again & still have all my bills paid??
moo. 🤰🐮😂

[Flo]

Enjoyed the critique of work and capitalism at the centre of this novel but some of the plot points were bewildering and inconsistent. The premise is great, the writing is sometimes excellent and other times functional… I felt like this didn’t know whether it wanted to be literary or not.

[ciara hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and FSG for the arc!!

Wow this was GOOD. Controversial feminism with a preposterous (not really) plot that would make a fabulous movie! Women are crucial to daily life and society as a whole, always making HERstory!!!!

[Mitchell Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing foot in that it is a commentary on corporate and capitalistic culture. In addition, there's a kidnapping, living at a commune. Sound confusing? Let me explain!

Natalie, our main character, is desperate to get dental insurance so that she can get her wisdom teeth removed. She was at the point of doing just about everything to make money, when a mysterious advertisement to be a corporate surrogate for a fortune 500 company. The goal? Increase employee productivity, more specifically female identifying employees, in an effort to help lessen the gender gap. The solution, allow this corporate surrogate to have your kids.

The premise of this book had me hooked. What I appreciate about this book is that there is such impactful humor that lands with lessons. I think that this book tackles what companies will do to make sure they are producing. In addition, I think that Anderson does a nice job at demonstrating that college educated people are financially struggling in their 20's and the lack of support to get necessary health things completed, people will to do just about everything.

There is also great lessons learned on the surrogacy process and the impact it has on a gestational carrier in all aspects of their life. In addition, the relationships they have for the family they are supporting. Some of these relationships could be VERY interesting, and that is all I will say without ruining the book!

If you liked Yesteryear and Handmaids tale, this book is for you.

[Michelle Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Sarah Anderson's Fallow. Natalie hates her low-paying job and has started selling her plasma for extra cash. She desperately needs dental insurance, so she applies for a mysterious position at "The Company," an unnamed, uber-famous tech company. She makes it through every step of the hiring process only to discover that she will be a surrogate.

Corporate America is tired of women underperforming during pregnancy and missing promotions because of maternity leave or part-time work. The company claims that Project Genesis is all about equality and levelling the playing field for women. They are willing to pay Natalie a lot of money to have babies for executives, along with benefits, a fancy apartment, and time between pregnancies to relax. It seems like a small price to pay for an easy life, and Natalie signs on the dotted line.

Fallow is immensely readable. I rationalized staying up far too late on school nights just to read a few more chapters. The book takes a sharp turn in the third act that surprised me, but I see where Anderson was going with it.

Fallow has a lot to say about which parts of women's bodies society deems acceptable to sell, the commodification of motherhood, and the ways that the loss of benefits or a livable wage can force employees into difficult choices. Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the ARC. Fallow comes out September 15th.

[Breanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know much about this book when I first started it, and it made for such an enjoyable reading experience! I think this is a great recommendation for those who like light dystopian, humorous reads with a twist.

We are following Natalie, a young woman entering the workforce for the first time, trying to navigate finding a job she enjoys and making money while doing it (relatable). After working at a call center for several years and falling on her luck, Natalie begins donating plasma for quick cash. There, she is told of an elusive opportunity at "The Company" with a significantly higher payout. The only catch? The job was a lot more, well... demanding. Natalie, in desperate need of dental insurance, becomes the Company's surrogate. Yes, you heard that right- an in-house surrogate. What could go wrong?

At first, the job seems great. For the first time in her life, Natalie is living a life of luxury: a beautiful condo, a personal fitness instructor, healthy food. But then, things take a turn.

It was so fun watching Natalie, someone I would describe as a truly morally gray character, make life-altering decisions and navigate the workforce. I absolutely devoured this. At no point could I put it down. I originally went into this book thinking it was for fans of "Severance" on Apple TV (hello, office ceiling on the cover with a farm animal? iykyk) and while the tone of this book is very different and lighter despite the heavy topics, I recommend it for fans!

Written very humorously, this is a book that I can see a lot of different types of readers picking up and enjoying! Be sure to keep an eye out for the release date, September 15, 2026!

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

(thank you to NetGalley and FSG for the ARC in exchange for an honest review)

wow wow what a fun premise

Natalie hates her low paying job at a call centre. Having no money and in dire need of wisdom tooth removal she becomes desperate. That's how she finds herself at the centre of an experimental in-house surrogate program at tech conglomerate 'The Company'! In exchange for 7 babies in 10 years, Natalie's offered more money than she ever thought possible.. so of course she signs her name on the dotted line.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book and lowkey related to the protagonist. I meaaaan who wouldn't want millions of dollars, free rent, free food, and no work. It was really interesting diving into Natalie's head and this strange situation Anderson created. It's dystopian but unfortunately not entirely unbelievable that this could exist today. The last 25% of the book took a pretty sharp turn into the pastoral that I found myself much less interested in. I binged the early section of the book but after the shift found myself not returning. I sort of had to force myself to pick it up and finish the story

Still a really interesting read but the shift felt a bit too out of the blue for me:/

[J.L. Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fallow by Sarah Anderson had a lot of potential, especially with its themes surrounding corporate loyalty, identity, and complicated relationships, but for me, it never fully dug as deep as I wanted it to. The story introduces several compelling dynamics, yet many of them only seem to scratch the surface before moving on. I kept waiting for one particular couple’s storyline to become more emotionally layered, but instead it felt like we were only floating on top of something that could have been much more impactful.

That said, the storyline involving Jackie was easily the strongest part of the novel for me. Jackie’s reaction to everything unfolding around her felt raw, and I found myself genuinely invested whenever the focus shifted back to her. The book also delivers a painfully realistic commentary on how disposable workers can feel under massive corporations. The idea that a company will replace you in a heartbeat is something many working people can relate to, and the story captures that frustration well.

I also appreciated the character development between Jackie and Natalie. Their dynamic evolves naturally throughout the book and added some much-needed emotional depth. Natalie, however, was a difficult character for me to like for most of the story. Even so, I was glad to see her eventually find some sense of peace by the end.

Overall, the novel contains interesting ideas and strong emotional moments, but I left wishing it had explored its characters and relationships with more depth instead of only brushing the surface.

[weirdgirlliterature · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! This review is voluntary, and all opinions are my own.

I love love LOVED this book!! This follows our main character Natalie, who simply, doesn’t want to work. When she hears about an opportunity to be paid to be a surrogate for a company, she’s sold.

This book was a really interesting perspective on the ethical side of surrogacy, and the commodification of it in order to increase productivity in a company. The last act of the book was definitely an unexpected turn, but I highly recommend this book!!

[KBeansbook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a NETGALLEY ADVANCED READING COPY:

Natalie has been working at a call center that takes calls from people who have complaints about their employers and working conditions. Some of these calls are awful to hear and process and she truly loathes her job but she needs money to live on. Her sister Phoebe is a nurse and works in a donation center for plasma and tells Natalie they pay everyone who donates. In debt with outrageous student loans, she starts to donate her plasma every few days. One of the nurses who works there shows Natalie a flyer that they have about recruiting women who may fit their requirements and to apply online. When Natalie takes a series of tests online, she gets a call the next day to say she has an interview. She arrives at the interview, having to sign an NDA before they even explain to her what the job entails and what the salary is: Natalie was being recruited to be a surrogate for working mothers who were professionals in C suite positions due to the fact THE COMPANY which is the name of the company, a huge capitalist corporation and enterprise that had their name everywhere and owned nearly everything. They claim they had done research and it showed that the all female company they had started for CSuite execs was not efficiently getting their quota done and work environment wasn’t going well when women left for maternity leave and they returned with less creative thinking and suffered from “brain fog” and while out on maternity leave they weren’t connected to their colleagues and the colleagues felt when they returned there was too much missed and they wasted time on getting the new mothers up to speed. To put an end to all this, The Company execs had decided to use surrogacy instead of these women getting pregnant themselves and then the work place environment wasn’t negatively impacted and the women wouldn’t need the maternity leave or sick days like they would if they’d given birth themselves. Natalie is to devote the next decade to The Company and be their only surrogate. They will allow her body 26 weeks in between pregnancies, a fallow time for her body and she was to agree having 7 pregnancies, if completed by the end she would get a $700k bonus plus $100k each birth and a bonus of 10k if it was a natural birth. The Company would provide her living arrangements, her food cooked by organic chefs and all her other expenses such as maternity clothes etc would also be paid. She couldn’t tell anyone in her life that was a surrogate and would use the cover excuses given to her by The Company To tell family and others. She signs the agreement and gets started right away. Her mother had 11 daughters and Natalie seems to have her mother’s good fertility rate and a hospitable womb. She loves not working she loathed it and had often dreamt of how to get by without having to do so and she’d felt so lucky she had somehow lucked into this sweet gig. But something happens, and Natalie is not getting the care that she had been previously and what is being asked of her she cannot seem to do. She doesn’t fulfill the demands they’ve set for her and she finds herself in the hands of a disgruntled employee from the Company who had gone to the news, outed Natalie and her whole world blew up and now she is being held by this women who has a serious grievance against the Company. But, nothing goes as planned or how Natalie assumed it would and she finds that for the first time, at 31 she has to grow up and decide how she wants to live the rest of her life and how to do so while being happy. Her journey through all her pregnancies, the many couples and parents that were the recipients of the babies she has birthed and all the different connections with them was surreal. The moral dilemma around this idea and the experiment this conglomerate was doing to keep their bottom line was one that will be accepted or not and the lines drawn in the public will be something Natalie also needs to cope with and figure out what she really feels about her part in it all.
Incredibly creative story, the main character, Natalie is so complex dynamic but so real and her personality is one that everyone gravitates towards. She’s brilliant and wickedly funny with a twisted sense of humor and sardonic way about it. As intelligent as she is, she struggles internally with her own purpose in life and is quick to feel that doing nothing is better than trying something and essentially gets stuck in her contract with the Conpany but also in growing up and adulting. For a decade this company has taken care of all her expenses and housework and meals. She doesn’t shop unless she wants to and has no idea how much things cost and what she’d need financially to retire or mainly just to live comfortably until she retired. She’s been in denial about her finances and future both with a career as well as in her relationships and when the bottom falls out from under her and the safety net is ripped away, she has a lot of growth ahead of her and as a reader you can’t help but root her on because she’s just so endearing and genuinely relatable it’s impossible not to fall in love with her, the stubbornness and immaturity and all. Natalie will surprise you and herself at every turn.
Thank you to#Netgalley for this ARC and to #SarahAnderson for this amazing book #Fallow and to the publishing company #Macmillian

[Jasmin A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There is no such thing as a good job.” That’s the belief our main character immediately starts laying on us, in an energetic ramble that had me gripped from the first sentence.

Natalie hates her job, hates having to work at all, and is desperately seeking funds to address her debilitating toothaches when she gets presented with an unexpected opportunity: being the world’s first corporate in-house surrogate.

In simple, accessible prose, Sarah Anderson has our female lead narrate her own story in three distinct parts, none of which I am willing to spoil. I was mistakenly expecting a disturbing darkness, a ‘Severence’ vibe evoked by the beautiful cover. None of that. This novel is a really easy read, a light one — while being presented with the horrors of commercial surrogacy meeting corporate exploitation, I found myself cackling more than anything.

At times it felt it leaned a little too much on the simple side, the obvious exposition and convenient explanations of facts before the reader has the opportunity to question, but the highlights I’ve put on dozens upon dozens of funny, relatable, perfectly-hitting lines and paragraphs don’t lie. I really enjoyed this book. It was an oddly delightful experience, warmed by the comforting aura of ‘clearly written by a fellow woman.’

The 3rd act was the one I had most difficulty accepting initially, taking me on an emotional journey parallel to Natalie’s. I was waiting for it to pass, finally having to accept ‘this is where we are, okay,’ just like she had to. How will she fill her life when she is no longer filled with the life of others?

There’s definitely a sense of unreality, often an odd sense of an aspirational or dreamy quality to this dystopian tale. I’ve yet to make up my mind about how I feel about that, and about how light of a read this felt to me. I find myself wondering if that makes it too easy for readers to consume it without being compelled to think… Then wondering if that would be a problem at all.

✨ Spoiler-free samplers of the vibe we’re dealing with ✨
“she had been threatening to have a second child for two years”
“Bald, but in a Jason Statham kind of way. Like hair was not something he had lost but something he never had to begin with.”
“It was one of the great disappointments of my life that my twin sisters were fraternal.”

I can’t imagine this novel being anything but a hit. I’m giddy already thinking about hearing people’s takes on it, how they felt about each of the three acts, what their favorite was.

(Minor gripe: I didn't like the inclusion of some minor details, like raw milk being mentioned as if it were a health food rather than potentially deadly. I don't believe for a second that this character obsessively researching and hyperfixating on the wellbeing of their child, printing and plastering research articles about various hazards, would allow the surrogate of her baby to drink raw milk. Not sure what that's about.)

Review of advance copy received from Netgalley

[Ryan Davison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original stories are rare in contemporary fiction, but the premise of Fallow is frighteningly unique.

Natalie has suffered through a string of menial jobs and grown to loathe working. When she discovers that intense jaw pain is her wisdom teeth bursting through her gums, and she needs $4,000 quickly, it is clear her current employment in a call center with no benefits will not solve her financial problems. After a brief stint selling blood plasma, she is handed a flyer for a position with high salary and wonderful benefits at a place referred to as “The Company,” but think Amazon or Apple. Here's their pitch: in an effort to reduce the impact of childbirth on the productivity of female executives, “The Company” wants to hire Natalie to serve as a surrogate birth mother for their employees. After a rigorous interview process her contract includes seven births over roughly ten years, earning her roughly $100k each, with a bonus of $700k at the completion of the contract.

While pregnant Natalie’s every imaginable need is provided for. Chef-prepared meals high in omegas and essential vitamins rotate through the fridge of her luxury apartment, while she follows a schedule of yoga classes and birth training techniques. For the most part, Natalie gets her wish of not working and lounges around watching reality TV in different languages. Natalie plays her role wonderfully, and after each baby she is allowed six months to go wild, her fallow period. She binges pints of ice cream, has casual sex and parties heartily, but then it’s back into birth preparation mode, her life regaining the familiar regimen. Complications do indeed arise, but they are not what we might expect from a plot centered around having babies.

Fallow is told completely from Natalie’s perspective, and author Sarah Anderson expertly places the reader in Natalie's frame of mind. The second half of the book allows for a wide-swinging character arc for Natalie, but I connected more with earlier chapters. This sharp-witted, sneakily touching novel is worth reading for many reasons, with the top one being how much you'll want to discuss it with your friends and fellow readers.

Highly recommended, no doubt this will be one of the most creative novels of the year. Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for a review copy.

[Steph (stephjadeonline) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishers for a copy of Fallow: a novel by Sarah Anderson in exchange for an honest review.

Struggling to earn money from her mediocre job, lacking health insurance and now with her wisdom teeth painfully coming in, Natalie is in desperate need of financial aid. Looking for some fast cash, she visits the blood bank to sell her plasma when she come across a flyer advertising a position for an in-house, corporate surrogate for a business called ‘The Company.’ Despite being pitched as providing a way to help women access ‘greater gender equity’ and motherhood, it was the eye watering compensation which sways Natalie decision, resulting in her being caught among a wild social experiment. 



Underneath the generous pay checks, luxurious condo and surrounded by nutritionists, fitness and wellbeing coaches was an uneasiness that felt reminiscent to The Stepford Wives. Under strict contract, Natalie must treat her body like a temple, carry and birth several babies who are then given to wealthy individuals to complete their families. She lives for the ‘off season’ (the six months between deliveries) where she has no interference. During this time, she’s free to reconnect with friends/family and have sex, take drugs, drink and party as she pleases. When she’s about to fulfil the last of her contract, The Company is exposed and puts Natalie in the public eye. 



Natalie was such an interesting character, and you can understand her being so morally grey given her upbringing and being lost among her siblings. But the character that stood out to me most was Scott. At the head of The Company, he’s all smiles and pleasantries but there was this hostility about him which me feel on edge.

Unfortunately, the last third of the story nosedives and the trajectory changes, resulting in losing the essence and that uneasy atmosphere we spent so long building. Still, a great debut and one I feel will be quite popular upon release.

Publication date: 15 Sept 2026

[Katy O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

(free review copy) I fully admit that the title and that beautiful cow are what made me read this book way before the hundreds of other books I have on hand, despite the far-future release date. Also, it seemed like it would have great "capitalism sucks" and "big corporate is evil" and "pregnancy is complicated" and "pretty weird" vibes, which I am ALWAYS down for.

And readers, it DID! And it was original and funny and complex and its main character was the very elusive combination of unlikeable but vulnerable and I felt like maybe I want to be her mom? This book is fully in the NOT FOR EVERYONE category, but I think if you liked Moderation and strangely enough, Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, you would love this? It was refreshingly biting and I adored how Anderson wove in the story of Natalie's own family dynamics and her mother's numerous pregnancies to help readers understand why Natalie may act and feel the way she does.

The latter half of the book was a sharp shift from the first, but I loved it for so many reasons that you shouldn't know before reading the book. Just know that things shift, and there is a narrative and character development arc that I honestly NEVER saw coming.

Loved it, can't wait to see what Anderson writes next! Please include another animal with big eyes on the cover please, whatever it is

Source: free digital review copy via Edelweiss

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because the premise sounded completely unlike anything I'd ever read before, and it definitely delivered on originality.

Natalie is drowning in student loans, working a miserable job, and can't even afford to have her wisdom teeth removed. So when she's offered the chance to become the world's first corporate surrogate, carrying babies for executives so they never have to take maternity leave, she says yes. As bizarre as it sounds, Sarah Anderson makes it feel unsettlingly believable.

The first half absolutely had me hooked. I flew through it and couldn't wait to see where the story was going. The satire about late-stage capitalism, corporate culture, healthcare, and the way women's bodies can become another commodity was sharp, funny, and honestly a little terrifying because it doesn't feel that far-fetched.

Unfortunately, the second half didn't work as well for me. The story takes a pretty dramatic turn, and while I understand what the author was trying to do thematically, it lost the momentum and tension that made the beginning so addictive. I found myself much more invested in the corporate surrogacy storyline than where the book ultimately ended up.

That said, this is still an incredibly impressive debut. It's clever, original, and raises a lot of interesting questions without feeling preachy. Even though the ending wasn't quite what I wanted, I'm still really glad I read it.

If you're looking for literary speculative fiction with sharp social commentary, dark humor, and one of the most unique premises I've come across in a long time, I'd definitely recommend giving Fallow a try. Sarah Anderson is absolutely an author I'll be watching going forward.

3.5 rounded to 4

[Lydia Wight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm this was pretty good but not great. Fallow had a premise I was reallyyyy excited about (corporate surrogacy) so I was a little disappointed by how quickly the book moved past that setup. I did end up enjoying the shift into the feminist commune, but I still wanted more from the original plot.

The pacing was all over the place for me - The book would build toward big events/moments, then jump to after they happened, which bothered me so much.

I also never felt like I fully understood Natalie (the main character)…. I wanted a better sense of her motivations and personality. It felt so improbable for her to go years without having meaningful interactions with her family or honestly ANYONE in her life pre-Jackie. I usually enjoy an unlikable main character but she was just hollow I felt. Also I kept expecting the book to give us some more detail around Anika? Her impact on Natalie was so interesting but not explored enough!! Jackie was my girrrrrl, I definitely related to her a lot and she felt like the most dynamic character to me.

I did really like the anti capitalist message and the way Natalie eventually found meaning through rescuing animals and finding community at the compound. The pro choice vs. pro life themes were interesting too, but I wish they had been explored a little more deeply.

Overall, Fallow had a lot of ideas I liked, but the pacing and character development kept it from fully landing for me.

Errors:
“A snack it would be too hard to eat” 5% in
“As he was wont to do” 19% in

Thanks so much to NetGalley and FSG books for this ARC!

[Louise Karolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew from the first couple of pages into reading Fallow that it was going to be a good book. And sure enough, it was; however, the book almost felt divided into two parts. In the first part we get to see Natalie, our main character, escape her call center job and shared apartment. Instead, she signs up for a opportunity which gives her a life of luxury in exchange for seven pregnancies. In the second part, it all changes.

I loved the first part. I liked Natalie and I enjoyed reading about the Company, the pregnancies and her journey. She was clever, funny in a deadpan kind of way and almost a villain at times, and I was extremely curious as to where her journey would end up.

What I liked most about this book was the writing. The writing stayed strong throughout the novel and was probably my favorite part of this novel. I really enjoyed the author's style and I would love to read her upcoming works.

The second part is what unfortunately brings this down to a 3 star read for me. I didn't enjoy the farm, and without giving away too much, I feel like Natalie kind of... accepted everything too easy. I get that that's her personality, but it felt a bit too unrealistic and over the top for me.

The ending was beautiful though, I'll give it that, even though it's not the way I wanted it to end up. It's still a good book and I think readers who enjoyed Yesteryear will absolutely love this one. 3 stars.

I’d like to thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this arc

[Abby Tait · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fallow is a dark, funny, wild ride of a novel. It is a compulsive read, pulling its readers in with a unique premise that you can’t quite look away from. It's addictive and easy to read. This will surely hit the right notes for the litfic girlies that like a bit of weirdness, absurdity and humour in their dystopia.

Natalie opts to become a surrogate at a company piloting a “revolutionary” program purported to equalize the workplace and enable women to succeed in highpower careers. Trying to sidestep the realities of women working while pregnant, “The Company” creates Genesis, whereby senior employees can have children through the company surrogate.

Fallow wraps its sharp social commentary in a digestible and entertaining package, exploring feminism and choice, the ethics of surrogacy, the commodification of motherhood, corporate culture, and the over the top pregnancy/prenatal industry.

While the second half offers a unique twist to the story, I found the first half of the book stronger and more engaging. There was a noticeable tonal shift to the second half and there were a few loose ends that I wish we returned to in the later chapters. This meant that the arc of the first half felt a bit anticlimactic for me. I think we went a little bit off the rails between the 50-80% mark but it swung back around at the very end.

Thank you to the publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advanced reader copy via NetGalley to review. Fallow hits shelves September 15, 2026!

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fallow started out as commentary about capitalism, the patriarchy, and corporate greed. From student loan debt to low wages, skyrocketing housing costs, and a subpar healthcare system, the book shows us firsthand how difficult it is for young people to survive in the modern world.

When Natalie is faced with needing a painful and expensive dental procedure, she turns to plasma donation to supplement her low-paying call center job. At the plasma center, she learns of a job as a corporate surrogate, which could be the answer to all of her financial problems.

Without giving too much away, about the middle of the book the narrative takes a dramatic turn away from the urban commentary and shifts toward something much more pastoral. The cow on the cover is a metaphor, but it's also literal.

Overall, this book was interesting, and I appreciated the questions about society invoked by the text. At points the pacing felt a little slow, and the book felt disjointed — the first half had a very different vibe than the second half.

Through it all, our main character was untethered floating along wherever the wind took her. She was so passive and indifferent; life was something that happened to her. She was a victim. I think her character arc could've been delivered more strongly, as this was clearly meant to be a coming-of-age story, because in the end, "she gave birth to herself."

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, that cover. As soon as I saw it, I was blown away. I've only come to appreciate it more after reading this novel. (Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy!) I was a huge fan of Sarah Anderson's short stories (especially "Take Me to Kirkland") so when I saw her novel was coming out, I was thrilled.

This book is all my current, favorite things — dystopian, a critique on capitalism, with themes around feminism and the commodification of the body. I'd recently read "Swallows" by Natsuo Kirino so I had those vibes in mind coming into this. At first, I worried "Fallow" might be, well, shallow. The main character didn't have any particularly strong opinions, outside of hating work, even while fulfilling her role as a surrogate.

But as the novel progressed, I understood why. While on the surface, this novel does center surrogacy, it speaks to themes much larger than just that. It tackles the idea of work itself and critiques how the act of having a job divorces us from our society. I really wasn't expecting all of the twists and turns this novel took or where it ended up — but by the last page, I was delighted. By the last page, I understood our main character. I understood the twists and turns. And I was sad the journey was over. If this isn't a top book of the year, rising in the ranks as "Yesteryear" is currently, I would be very surprised.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Anderson's novel Fallow is a "coming-of-adulthood" novel (is that a thing?). Natalie Gallagher is suffering from millennial malaise, working a job she hates just so she can keep herself alive and her student loans at bay. When she's offered an extremely high-paying yet unorthodox job in a new surrogacy pilot program at a large company, it seems like an offer that's too good to be true. So what if she has to be constantly monitored and can't tell anyone in her life what she really does? At least she can pay off her student loans and spend a lot of time lounging around watching reality tv. Ah, the dream!

Of course, a twist (actually, a couple), come about halfway and three-quarters of the way through the novel. Natalie's seemingly comfortable existence is challenged, and she has to decide what she really wants and who she really is. Ultimately, its a book about finding yourself through finding your purpose. This book is weird, and the characters are annoying at times (including Natalie), but it has something interesting to say, and it was a fun read! There was enough humor and reflection sown throughout its pages to make it feel both enjoyable and worthwhile.

Thanks so much to FSG and NetGalley for my ARC!

[Estefania Lazaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced reader copy this one surprised me in the best way.

This book is FUNNY. Like, if The Handmaid's Tale became a comedy, this is what you'd get. Sharp, satirical, and somehow still tender underneath.

At its heart, it's about a woman trying to figure out who she is after spending her whole life doing things for everybody else and never once stopping to find her own purpose. The comedic relief kept me turning pages, but the emotional layers snuck up on me.

And that ending? Without spoiling it the final scene took everything the book had been building and turned it into something almost primal. What could have felt like emptiness a woman poured out, giving her body, her labor, her everything away becomes belonging instead. She's not alone in it. She's held, shoulder to shoulder, part of something ancient and communal: the fellowship of women (and creatures) whose bodies create, feed, and give. The book closes on the word "together," and that's exactly the point.

This book works on so many levels. Hilarious on the surface, aching underneath. If you love stories about women reclaiming themselves, put this on your radar.

The only con I wish I could know what Natalie decided to do.

[James B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. Natalie hates her job at a call center for people who specifically complain about their employers, for both petty offenses and horrific deeds. Natalie, with student loans, poor salary and no dental insurance for her four impacted wisdom teeth is giving plasma as often as she can when she hears about an experimental program that might pay her even more money. It turns out that there’s a huge corporation that is tired of dealing with their female employees and the issues around maternity leave. Why not just hire a woman to have babies for them. Finally being offered real money, she jumps at the chance. She signs up for birthing seven children over a ten year period for a large yearly salary, housing and bonus for completion. Finally Natalie has gotten her dream: To not have to work at all. Between pregnancies she eats unhealthy foods until she’s ill and drinks and takes drugs until she blacks out. With one more baby to deliver her life takes a dramatic change that will finally make her question what she’s done and try and figure out what she wants from this life.

[jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

How much of yourself would you give to have the life you want? Or—as the protagonist of “Fallow” may see it—to avoid having a life you don’t think you want?

I loved the writing style of this book—it flowed so well that I dreaded having to put it down. I never felt bored while reading this and I was so intrigued by the rules of Natalie’s job!

I couldn’t speak about this book without also considering the social and political context of the world it’s going to be published in. The idea of a young woman selling her body as a space for important employees in a powerful company to have children is a less-than-ethical one *at best.* Natalie is occasionally asked by the women (none of the men, notably) she is a surrogate for if she is fulfilled by her job, or if she is happy; but how can that question ever be fairly answered when she first applied for it to afford a necessary dental procedure? Natalie’s own views toward her job and its emotional aftermath develop throughout the novel, and I found her both frustrating and incredibly compelling.

A 5 star read for me!

Many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. “Fallow” will be out in the world on 9.15.26 and it’s one I absolutely recommend ⭐️

[Emma Crowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy.

I love lit fic with slightly weird premises and this one did not disappoint. Plenty of people have written better essays about pregnancy as a form of labour than I could off the top of my head in a book review, but I think the concept of someone being paid to be pregnant so that other women can keep their career is frighteningly close to becoming a reality. We’re already seeing celebrities outsourcing childbearing to surrogates for the sake of their careers, and this concept takes that another step to the corporate world. I loved seeing all the control put on Natalie as an employee, even during her ‘fallow’ periods. Her body is never truly her own as long as she works for the company, because her body is responsible for the product, it can’t be untangled. Natalie is shallow and vain and not a great person, but you really feel for her. The ending section was a little wacky and definitely not what I expected, but I think it fit the themes of labour and bodies as production really well, and it felt like Natalie got the ending she needed.

[Castille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fallow is the exact brand of "weird-girl capitalist criticism" that I absolutely enjoy. Anderson delivers a highly original, fresh take on a deeply controversial subject: corporate surrogacy.

While the narrative flirts with moralizing, it remains firmly focused on how our protagonist, Natalia, ostensibly benefits from The Company's new corporate surrogate program. However, the overarching, deeply unsettling tone makes it clear that the author wants the reader to question the very framework of a system that would push a woman into such a role in the first place.

Structurally, the book is split into two distinct halves, and I much preferred the first. I found myself wishing we had spent more time exploring the nuance of the corporate world rather than shifting to the commune in the second half. That being said, the commune section does provide a fantastic thematic payoff. I loved the deep irony of Natalia’s ultimate discovery: the necessity of hard work isn't confined to corporate structures. Whether we choose to opt into or out of the capitalist grind, humans must inevitably work to ensure the survival and good of the collective.