One March day, small wooden boxes appear on the doorsteps of homes and apartments all across the world. Everyone receives one. Each box is inscribed, “The measure of your life lies within,” and in each box is a string representing the length of the person’s life.
At first, no one is sure where the boxes came from or if the strings are accurate, but after much research, it’s determined they are. People are torn as to whether they should open their boxes—do they want to know how much longer they have to live? And what happens if their string is shorter—or longer—than their loved ones’?
The world has to wrestle with the ramifications of this knowledge. Should those with shorter strings be treated differently? How should this knowledge be used, and by whom?
“Maybe it didn’t matter anymore where the strings had come from. Even if they were sent from heaven, or beamed down from outer space, or traveled back in time from the distant future, it was people who decided what to do with them now.”
Following eight characters whose lives have been touched in one way or another by the strings, the book is a tremendously evocative and timely look at how people, society, and government deal with those who are different. Nikki Erlick is immensely detailed and evokes many different emotions from this story. I was hooked completely, and won’t forget this one anytime soon.
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