The Power

Name: The Power
Rating: 6.76 (618 reviews)
ISBN: 9780316547604

In The Power, the world is a recognizable place: There's a rich Nigerian boy who lounges around the family pool; a foster kid whose religious parents hide their true nature; an ambitious American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family.

But then a vital new force takes root and flourishes, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power - they can cause agonizing pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world drastically resets. From award-winning author Naomi Alderman, The Power is speculative fiction at its most ambitious and provocative, at once taking us on a thrilling journey to an alternate reality and exposing our own world in bold and surprising ways.

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Published Jan 8, 2019

400 pages

Average rating: 6.76

618 RATINGS

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What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *The Power* by Naomi Alderman presents a compelling exploration of gender and power, sparking thought-provoking discussions about societal...

Sue Dix

Mar 14, 2026

10/10 stars

I didn’t know what to expect when I first began this book. I like a good dystopian novel and this one is great! Also, absolute power corrupts absolutely and crosses genders.

thenextgoodbook

Sep 04, 2025

8/10 stars

thenextgoodbook.com
The Power by Naomi Alderman
382 pages

What’s it about?
Imagine a world in the future where women develop a power that makes it possible to physically dominate men. How would society change? Naomi Alderman cleverly asks this question in her new novel.

What did I think?
This novel is based on a really interesting question- how much does physical power really affect the relationship between sexes? What if women were the ones with the physical dominance? What would it change?

Should you read it?
This was an interesting premise and made for a pretty good book. I would recommend this selection for book clubs. Lots of interesting assumptions are made in this story that would generate good discussions.

Quote-
“There is a part in each of us which holds fast to the old truth: either you are the hunter or you are the prey. Learn which you are. Act accordingly. Your life depends on it.”

If you like this try-
The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

hannah8ball

Jul 17, 2026

8/10 stars

This book was... interesting. As other reviewers have mentioned, I felt REALLY powerful at the beginning of the book, imagining what it would be like to be able to enforce my right to take up space. However, as the book progressed, things went from "he deserved that" to "no one deserves that" quite quickly. I think Alderman makes quite the case for strong egalitarianism: specifically, that upsetting the balance toward one group or another will ALWAYS results in atrocity and oppression, regardless of how "just" you might start out. It would make a good reading companion to the movie Black Panther as a way to discuss different theories of righting wrongs and re-balancing after extended oppression.

AdrienneMP

Jan 26, 2026

4/10 stars

Such a good lead up and premise but the ending felt rushed and was underwhelming sadly

LitterBug

Dec 01, 2025

9/10 stars

Really interesting book, a cool idea written well.