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Halfway to Free

Emma Donoghue

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Similar in premise + setting

These books are ranked using the premise + setting labels extracted for Halfway to Free. Books rank higher when they are close on every selected axis.

Premise labels used: population control, childfree society, forbidden parenthood, maternal desire, reproductive choice, climate crisis

Setting labels used: near future, 2060, dystopian future, childless society, post-climate-crisis world, high-tech social control

This does not mean the books share the same plot, setting, quality, or difficulty. It means their premise + setting embeddings are close.

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Blue Ticket

Sophie Mackintosh · 2020

In a society where a lottery decides motherhood or freedom, a blue-ticket woman risks everything to claim a forbidden future.

Why this is here

Premise labels: reproductive control · lottery fate · forced motherhood · childfree choice · bodily autonomy · maternal longing · fugitive pregnancy · wrong destiny

Setting labels: dystopian society · near future · unnamed country · border crossing · urban-rural journey · authoritarian regime · controlled reproduction

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1285

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Mroczna kołysanka

Polly Ho-Yen · 2023

In a near-future infertility crisis, a mother races to keep her child while the state polices every parenting mistake.

Why this is here

Premise labels: infertility crisis · state control · parental surveillance · motherhood under pressure · child extraction

Setting labels: near future · dystopian society · state surveillance · post-fertility crisis

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1298

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Dwindle

K.A. Gandy · 2022 · Populations Crumble

In a future with collapsing fertility, a young woman enters a government pairing program and must choose her genetic match.

Why this is here

Premise labels: forced matchmaking · genetic compatibility · fertility crisis · population collapse · government control · arranged marriage · reproductive dystopia · partner selection

Setting labels: dystopian future · future North America · post-apocalyptic · fertility center · government facility · controlled society · near-future · world on the brink

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1301

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Graceful Burdens

Roxane Gay · 2020

In a tightly controlled future, one woman confronts a system that decides who may bear children—and who may only borrow them.

Why this is here

Premise labels: reproductive control · genetic screening · licensed parenthood · baby library · state control · motherhood denied · women's autonomy

Setting labels: dystopian future · alternate future · not-so-distant future · bureaucratic society · government-regulated society · library setting · patriarchal society

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1334

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The Wanting Seed

Anthony Burgess · 1962

In an overpopulated near future, one marriage is caught in a collapsing system of birth controls, scarcity, and social upheaval.

Why this is here

Premise labels: overpopulation · population control · anti-natal policy · state control · resource scarcity · social collapse · cannibalism · forced homosexuality · perpetual war · cyclical history

Setting labels: near future · overpopulated world · dystopian society · skyscraper world · future London · Britain · post-collapse society · authoritarian state · wartime society · apocalyptic future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1355

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FUTU.RE

Dmitry Glukhovsky · 2015

In an immortal future Europe, a regime enforcer is drawn into a clash between state order, parenthood, and humanity.

Why this is here

Premise labels: immortality · eternal youth · overpopulation · population control · illegal pregnancy · forced aging · birth ban · future society · state control · social engineering

Setting labels: future Europe · far future · megalopolis · tower cities · overpopulated world · immortal society · dystopian future

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1409

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One

Eve Smith · 2023

In a climate-ravaged UK, a loyal government enforcer discovers her forbidden sibling is her own.

Why this is here

Premise labels: one-child policy · population control · climate disaster · totalitarian regime · state surveillance · forbidden sibling · government enforcer · reproductive control

Setting labels: near future · future UK · climate-ravaged Britain · dystopian future · totalitarian state · technologically monitored society · post-climate disaster world

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1431

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2BR02B

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. · 2007

In a deathless future, a father must choose who dies so his triplets can live.

Why this is here

Premise labels: population control · extended lifespan · government regulation · assisted suicide · moral dilemma · birth requirement · one in one out · overpopulation

Setting labels: future world · near future · dystopian future · utopian dystopia · hospital · Chicago · controlled society · immortal society · one-room setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1451

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Fate of Perfection

K.F. Breene · 2017 · Finding Paradise

In a corporate dystopia, a genius mother and her security ally fight to keep their genetically unusual child and win freedom.

Why this is here

Premise labels: corporate dystopia · genetically engineered society · protective parent · escape from control · breeding program · child rescue · forbidden family bond · reproductive control · superhuman protagonists

Setting labels: distant future · corporate-controlled world · off-world colony · planetary escape · dystopian society · polluted Earth · controlled enclaves

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1465

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فتاة الياقة الزرقاء

عمرو عبدالحميد · 2021

In a future ruled by fertility control, one family tries to protect a rare blue-cell daughter from the state.

Why this is here

Premise labels: pandemic future · fertility control · state control · reproductive dystopia · blue-cell girl · family rescue · survival crisis · controlled reproduction

Setting labels: future Egypt · post-pandemic future · dystopian future · state-regulated society · reproductive regime · city setting · rural setting · insufficient future worldbuilding

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1498

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Cover of Shadow Children Complete Set, Books 1-7: Among the Hidden, Among the Impostors, Among the Betrayed, Among the Barons, Among the Brave, Among the Enemy, and Among the Free by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Shadow Children Complete Set, Books 1-7: Among the Hidden, Among the Impostors, Among the Betrayed, Among the Barons, Among the Brave, Among the Enemy, and Among the Free

Margaret Peterson Haddix · 2008 · Shadow Children

In a future with a two-child law, hidden third children must survive, resist, and fight for freedom.

Why this is here

Premise labels: forbidden children · hidden identity · survival under law · resource scarcity · government control · coming of age under oppression

Setting labels: future society · dystopian society · resource-scarce world · population-controlled society · authoritarian state · farming setting · suburban setting

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1535

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This Perfect Day

Ira Levin · 1970

In a computer-run future of drugged conformity, one uneasy man begins to question a perfect world built to erase freedom.

Why this is here

Premise labels: controlled society · computer rule · drugged conformity · freedom vs control · rebellion · anti-utopia · surveillance state · genetic uniformity

Setting labels: future Earth · global society · totalitarian future · computer-controlled society · high-tech dystopia · utopian facade · closed society

Semantic match: ranked by premise + setting

Distance: 0.1569

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