An intriguing, gorgeously realised and written novel which inexorably draws you into its dark heart -- Kate Hamer
It's a richly envisioned world, the strange isolation of which Melamed is excellent at teasing out slowly * Independent *
An exceptional debut * Sunday Telegraph *
A skilful novel full of suspense * Guardian *
An assured, lyrical and vivid debut * Irish Independent *
An obvious comparison is Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, and Melamed is more than equal a writer. Her prose is exact, the premise chilling and her characters all too plausible * Daily Mail, top debuts of 2017 *
Obsessed with The Handmaid's Tale? This brilliant book is the one for you * Stylist *
[A] dark, compelling debut... At a time when it feels as if women's rights around the world are being slowly eroded this absorbing novel is both gripping and to-the-bone chilling. Melamed is definitely a talent to watch. * Daily Express *
Gather the Daughters is an always-compelling and sometimes-shocking read as the horrific secrets of the island are slowly revealed. I read it in one sleep-deprived sitting * Red Magazine *
Gather The Daughters is extraordinary, powerful, and harrowing-and yet hopeful in its portrait of the human spirit and the endurance of love. This is a visceral book on all levels and it is haunting me still -- Julie Cohen
A terrifying work of speculative fiction ... Melamed is a masterful writer, and she establishes a hauntingly vivid atmosphere....This is a haunting work in the spirit of The Handmaid's Tale-but Melamed more than holds her own. Fearsome, vivid, and raw * Kirkus Reviews *
Melamed's haunting and powerful debut blazes a fresh path in the tradition of classic dystopian works...a searing portrayal of a utopian society gone wrong...Melamed's prose is taut and precise. Her nuanced characters and honest examination of the crueler sides of human nature establish her as a formidable author in the vein of Shirley Jackson and Margaret Atwood * Publishers Weekly *
At times harrowing in its depiction of cruelty, at other times joy-filled and buoyed by the spirit of liberated girlhood, this is an exhilarating, feminist cry-out, which I hope finds a wide readership * The Big Issue *
A chilling, vividly realised feminist novel that propels the reader into the dark heart of a cruelly repressive and sinister society * Daily Mail *
