Extinction of All Children by L. J. Epps - Not the Best of Books...

*Complimentary copy of the book received from the author via Voracious Readers Only.
**Originally posted on Goodreads.

While an interesting premise, L.J. Epps fails in the execution of what could have been a fantastic read. No, it is not the perfect read, but neither is it the worse, having enough action to convince the reader to continue, that maybe things will pick up, but always seeming on a rise to the climax, the reader left unsatisfied by the end because Epps never gives us the big, this-was-all-worth-it scene.
What kills the book is that Epps tries to tackle various aspects of society, never committing enough to any. For instance, Emma Whisperer supposedly has issues involving race, her skin tone, to be specific. Yet, this never felt present, the only way this issue was being demonstrated was through Emma's own statements that she didn't feel fully loved by her family. Emma's family is mixed, and she finds that she looks like neither parent - though skin tone is not the only physical aspect one has in which they may resemble one's parents - but we never actually see why. I'm a person of color, and can definitely talk of numerous incidents where I felt my skin tone was affecting how I was being treated, so it was bothersome that Epps, instead of showing, has Emma tell of this issue, without ever even giving an example.
Emma is also to be seen as an empowered woman, and while Epps handles this better than colorism, it still is not perfect. At the beginning, I truly bought Emma's power, risking herself to help her sister and niece, but the training and almost-rapes felt too over the top. Training scenes always felt rushed, making the ending seem unearned, and while the rape-approximating encounters with Rich did no harm to Emma's feminist image, they didn't help either, them just being used as a path to her relationship with another male. I would have found it far more believable if Emma had no experience of love during this novel than what Epps presents, for Emma is imprisoned. Beyond approximating Stockholm syndrome, Emma is only there for a short time, so how could she truly know Eric, or Samuel, in that time to have such feelings for them.
Additionally, Epps very clearly is trying to make the reader side with Eric, making Samuel appear negatively for no reason, then returning and explaining his ways before trying to force this love triangle that had no reason of existing.
Still, Extinction of All Children is a good book to read if you have a busy life and will need to drop out of the book multiple times. It's easy to pick up again and continue the journey. Additionally, if you liked the Netflix movie What Happened to Monday, you may enjoy this book, as it involved the limiting of one's right to have children. This book is cleaner, though, and middle schoolers would be fine with reading this, despite the almost-rape scenes, for while they it is never outright stated what is happened, it does allow for an early understanding of this issue and why it is wrong. You won't necessarily leave Epps's book feeling like you read a great book, but it is a nice ride if you are trying to get yourself out of a reading slump, or just need a light read after reading something that leaves you wanting to take a break from reading.