Published by: Hodder Children's, May 1st 2014
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Thriller
For fans of: Legend by Marie Lu!! Seriously.
For fans of: Legend by Marie Lu!! Seriously.
Pages: 352
Format: Ebook
Source: Hodder Children's via Netgalley (thank you so much!)
It is 2018. England has been struggling under a recession that has shown no sign of abating. Years of cuts has devastated Britain: banks are going under, businesses closing, prices soaring, unemployment rising, prisons overflowing. The authorities cannot cope. And the population has maxed out.
The police are snowed under. Something has to give. Drastic measures need taking.
The solution: forced sterilisation of all school leavers without secure further education plans or guaranteed employment.
The country is aghast. Families are distraught, teenagers are in revolt, but the politicians are unshakeable: The population explosion must be curbed. No more free housing for single parents, no more child benefit, no more free school meals, no more children in need. Less means more.
But it is all so blatantly unfair - the Teen Haves will procreate, the Teen Havenots won't.
It's time for the young to take to the streets. It's time for them to RIOT:
OUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE, OUR BODIES, OUR FUTURE.
I'm not sure where to begin with Riot. I got it from Netgalley because it was Dystopia and it was British. Y'all know that's my weakness - when it's done right, mind you. Riot wasn't just done right, it was perfect. But more on that later. (fair warning: this is gonna be a rambly review)
It is 2018. England has been struggling under a recession that has shown no sign of abating. Years of cuts has devastated Britain: banks are going under, businesses closing, prices soaring, unemployment rising, prisons overflowing. The authorities cannot cope. And the population has maxed out.
The police are snowed under. Something has to give. Drastic measures need taking.
The solution: forced sterilisation of all school leavers without secure further education plans or guaranteed employment.
The country is aghast. Families are distraught, teenagers are in revolt, but the politicians are unshakeable: The population explosion must be curbed. No more free housing for single parents, no more child benefit, no more free school meals, no more children in need. Less means more.
But it is all so blatantly unfair - the Teen Haves will procreate, the Teen Havenots won't.
It's time for the young to take to the streets. It's time for them to RIOT:
OUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE, OUR BODIES, OUR FUTURE.
I'm not sure where to begin with Riot. I got it from Netgalley because it was Dystopia and it was British. Y'all know that's my weakness - when it's done right, mind you. Riot wasn't just done right, it was perfect. But more on that later. (fair warning: this is gonna be a rambly review)
Riot tells the story of Tia, the daughter of a prominent government figure, who is running an illegal underground campaign; Cobain, the boy publicized as the epitome of all that's wrong with the country; and their struggle to stay alive when the people in power want them dead.
This book is like nothing else you will ever read. And trust me - I read 67% of it in one day. That is a record for me. Riot is raw and real and horrifying. I think it's because the government in the book is so close to the government in real life, that it's not hard to believe, not hard to see how all this horror would come about. Riot draws on the awful reality of things right now - the poverty, the criminality, the wide bracket of people on benefits, with dependents, unemployed. That, I think, is what I loved the most about this book. It resonated with me because it was so damn close to home.
But it's not all doom and gloom (okay, yeah it's 99% doom and gloom) because there's romance. *sighs wistfully* Oh, the romance! Cobain was mysterious and misunderstood and a little bit brooding and a little bit dangerous. A.K.A. Cobain was my dream guy. The romance/relationship/friendship/irritation between Tia and Cobain was just so authentic that I may have cried once
Also I cried at the ending. Yes, that's a grand total of three times in one book. Damn you, Mussi.
Riot is a gut-wrenchingly real look at a not-so-distant future, with epic high stakes, heartfelt romance, and thrilling action.
Read this book.
Characters ★★★★★
Setting/world building ★★★★★
Writing Style ★★★★★
Writing Style ★★★★★
I didn't really pay much attention to this one, because I don't really get into that many British books, weird right? It doesn't seem really intense though, and really, don't even get me started on the Government. Glad you enjoyed it! :)
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