The Herd: the thought-provoking and unputdownable must-read book club novel of 2022

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As the fallout tears apart their friendship and ignites fury in the local community with one family pilloried for their lack of social responsibility and foresight, for the other family, justice means taking the case to court. To be crystal clear, however-- it does shut down the faux-scientific claims of anti-vaxxers over the course of the novel, but it is not unsympathetic to those parents who refuse vaccines out of ignorance and fear for their children. They are godparents to each other's daughters and they trust that the safety of their children is both their top priority.

Super-organised, methodical Elizabeth and bohemian Bryony “ weren’t exactly chalk and cheese; more like cheese and pineapple - a weird, unexpected pairing that just worked”. Bry has been conditioned to be fearful of vaccines due to her mother’s belief that her severely autistic and non-verbal elder brother’s condition was a direct result of receiving the MMR vaccine and, as a consequence her daughter Alba is unvaccinated.

The story, set in the UK, starts out with a brief history of Elizabeth and Bry's friendship, their families and their spots in the community. While this is very much an "issue" book, the characters are well-drawn and not even close to being always likeable. I really disliked most elements of this book, and only kept going because I wanted to see if the guess I’d made within a few pages at the start was going to play out. I hope to introduce new features during 2022 and join the Bookstagram community on Instagram properly, so come and follow me there too!

Eleanor is a chic postfeminist dynamo, or, as the clever Katie thinks of her: “Entrepreneur Barbie: shiny brown hair in mermaid curls, skin dewy, eyes clear. It grips from the start and doesn't let go, sending us on a journey that's both timely and controversial, through masterful storytelling, brilliantly drawn characters and huge swathes of emotion.The Herd by Emily Edwards tackles the subject of childhood vaccines and the issue of vaccinating your child or not, it’s a timely reminder about the safety of children and trust. Retrospectively, I think I was probably writing about my own experience of conflict about what kind of mum I was going to be: not knowing, and feeling like there were all these external influences that I was seeking out to discover my maternal identity, but also found utterly baffling and really confusing. She has been bought up to hate vaccines as her brother is non-verbal autistic, which her mother blamed on him having the MMR injection. The Herd is on the surface a story that examines whether a parent's choice on whether to vaccinate their child is valid when if they choose not to, they risk harm to other's who don't have that choice. But it turns out some things have gone unspoken between them, and some lies may cause irreparable damage.