If they drop too far, children are sent to boarding schools in the country. If scores drop, then the child is moved to a green school in the next tier down. High-achieving children attend the silver schools with teachers who have time to give personalised attention and all the facilities for the best education. The Q score (or quotient) is estimated before a child’s birth and in this version of current-day America, the government conducts monthly tests in school, “helping” allocate children to schools depending on the scores. As a teacher, Elena thought she understood the tiered educational system, but as a mother whose child is now gone, Elena’s perspective is changed forever. When her nine-year-old daughter bombs a monthly test and her Q score drops to a disastrously low level, she is immediately forced to leave her top school for a federal institution hundreds of miles away. I’m pulling the next part directly from the synopsis:Įlena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s elite schools.

Thankfully, I didn’t have any scary, over-active imagination situations while reading Master Class, but it’s just as realistic and dystopian as Vox. Master Class is Christina’s second novel that’s freaked me out. From growing up in a low-income family to parents who both dropped out of school, there’s no way I would have a Q score high enough to get a useful education, let alone into university, and have a career. I’m thankful Master Class by Christina Dalcher is fiction. Published by Berkley Books on March 9, 2021 If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book.

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