Reviews

Futureland tells the story of Cam Walker, whose parents have created a floating themepark where guests can live out their ideal future. The park is operated with robots, called ‘revs’. After having travelled the world the past few years, they are now back in Atlanta, where Cam’s mother grew up so that Cam can go to school. However, things start to go haywire pretty fast.

Okay, I’ve been trying to write this review for ages and simply don’t know where to start. Not because I have forgotten all about this book but because I cannot figure out how to write this review and also capture the joy and excitement I felt reading this because, it was *that* good.

I mean it’s multimedia, and even though the comics weren’t finished (because it was an ARC) I got a good sense of the style of the comics and book, and things like drawn notes and use of reports always take a book to the next level for me (or at least, an action-packed middle grade like this one). I mean, I finished it in four days. Four days! I can’t remember reading a book that fast in the last few years, aside from Heartstopper. That’s also mainly due to the pace and the amount of action in the book. It doesn’t sit still, it doesn’t rest, never a dull moment and I love it for it. That aside, the story is just also compelling and I was literally unable to put it down (and I’m really good at putting books down even if I’m enjoying them. And that’s on lack of concentration lol)

The characters are really fun as well. Both revs and humans. They’re vibrant, they’re diverse, they’re interesting. Of course, Cam is the start of the show but his friends, and especially Dooley, are really good as well.

And if you think this is just a silly middle grade sci-fi about robots and technology gone haywire, you’re wrong. There’s really pointed commentary on things like gentrification and the neglect of Black areas in cities as well, and it pays tribute to a dark spot in Atlanta history as well.

All in all, I really, really would recommend this book to anyone who likes middle grade, and I will be not so patiently waiting for the sequel to come out!

queer_bookwyrm's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

4 ⭐ CW: missing kids

Battle for the Park by H.D. Hunter is book one in the Futureland series. This was a great scifi coming of age story that takes place in 2948 and briefly touches on the (recent) history of Atlanta. This was also a great mystery! It was a tad predictable, but hey, it's middle grade.

We follow Cameron, a kid who lives in the futuristic amusement park his parents built called Futureland. Futureland has different sections called 'destinies' where you can live out different virtual reality fantasies, like going inside your favorite adventure novel. The park is run by Revs, machines with AI brains that run on programmed stories. One of these revs is Cameron's best friend Dooley. When Futureland arrives over Atlanta, Cameron starts real school for the first time.

Though nervous that everyone at school will think he's weird for living in Futureland, he makes a great group of friends right away. This found family helps Cameron when the revs from the park start acting weird and dangerous. Soon Cameron notices his parents aren't his parents, something is wrong with Dooley, and it's up to Cameron to save Futureland.

This was such a good book! I loved the black futurism and the mystery. I need more black mystery in my life. It was so nice to see Cameron's best friend was black girl sporting afro puffs. I also loved the artwork inside! It was like a mini comic book inside my novel. Kadijah did a great job. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book and learn more about the shady corporation of ADRC.

Thank you to H.D. Hunter for sending me a copy of this book.

ravynnkamia's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

It’s hard not to love Cam and his friends in this Afrofuturist adventure story! Great pacing that keeps you coming back for me. I also really loved the art in this book—there are comic pages as inserts that continue the story throughout. This is the perfect gift for the sci-fi loving kids in your life this holiday season (and year round!)

bibliophilicjester's review

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

(also posted on gr)

yesssssssssssss to everything about this book!!!! 4.5 stars!! = )

i've had so many meh reads already this year, and this was just delightful. i need alllllllllll the scifi and fun future technology. idk if we'll have stuff this awesome by 2048, but i definitely need to visit a real life futureland. immediately. please and thank you.

some parts of this story were so unexpectedly creepy, which i absolutely adored. bc creepy things are happening! tension! (it's 1am okay, idk what i'm saying)

i loved these characters and all their interactions, and it was so nice to read dialogue that felt like things actual people would say in life. seriously, after coming off a pretentious-toned ya this afternoon, i really needed cam and his family and friends. i noticed the bio says the author is from atlanta before i started reading, but you can TELL. there's love and respect for the city, its people, and its history, but you also get to see the good and the bad. i really loved all the crazy future tech grounded by actual normal people. really, so much about this book is just perfectly balanced. i LOVED all the differently formatted things (interviews, comics, articles) - it was a fun way to play with the pacing and get you asking questions about what's *really* going on, you know?

there are always going to be awful people trying to ruin what's good, but people are also capable of creating amazing things! a lot goes wrong in this book, but there's so much hope. so much worth fighting for. and it makes me SO happy knowing a book like this exists to inspire kids to dream = ) that's my sappy adult moment for the day lol

ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

4.5

“The Jet-Blur pod… passed through the entrance to the Word Locus. …the air filled with the scent of fresh paper and wet ink. We soared over trees made totally of books—from the trunks to the branches to the leaves, and winding trails that led to the Tree Tower—a giant library with hanging bookshelves swaying in the breeze… At the top, the tree divided into three different peaks, each one a library with different kinds of books inside. I looked up at three pulsing signs: ADVENTURE, FANTASY, and HORROR. All a guest had to do was open up their favorite book and be transported to a virtual-reality version of it.”

TITLE—Futureland: Battle for the Park

AUTHOR—HD Hunter

ILLUSTRATOR—Khadijah Khatib

PUBLISHED—2022

PUBLISHER—Random House

GENRE—middle grade sci-fi/speculative fiction

SETTING—Atlanta, GA, in the year 2048

MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—family, friendships & trust, following your dreams, Atlanta, futuristic amusement park, fun innovative technology & world-building, abolition & anti-capitalism, child-detective trope

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BONUS ELEMENT/S—I loved that it was set in Atlanta!

PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts:

I don’t read a ton of middle grade but sometimes when I’m in a big reading slump like I was in January I’ll pick from a genre that I rarely read from in order to switch things up and detox my brain a little. I saw Hunter’s book being recommended around bookstagram and since it takes place in my home-state, I thought I’d check it out!

I especially loved all of the characters and the worldbuilding of this story. The technology and the amusement park all sounded really cool. I thought that the villain was really scary and I was pleased to see some really heavy themes were treated without fear or hesitation but still honestly and gently.

“‘See. Shouldn’t have no park full of robots anyway,’ Grandma Ava shook her head, ‘that’s what’s bound to happen.’”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

CW // missing children, kidnapping, extortion, cops (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—

ROOT MAGIC, by Eden Royce
Scooby Doo
Spy Kids

Content Warnings

readingwitherin's review

Go to review page

medium-paced

5.0

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Cam Walker is the only child of the Walkers and because of that, he is their main focus outside of Futureland. He has grown up surrounded by the robots, his parents, and an Uncle as they create and expand the Futureland world. All of that changes though when the family takes Futureland to Atlanta, where Cam's parents are originally from. While his parents work on opening up the park and making it even better, Cam is supposed to be going to a real school for a change and staying with his grandma during the week so he can interact with kids his own age. Up until now, his best friend has been a robot that his parents created (she does look real, but at the end of the day she is still a robot).
With Cam only being at the park on the weekends it takes him a while to notice that things aren't going as they normally are. Park attractions keep glitching, as do the robots that are in each of the attractions.
While he doesn't think much of it at first, as time goes on and other things start happening at the park he realizes that things are far worse than he ever could have imagined.

Overall this book was such a fun read and I loved it! Cam was so smart and figured out what was happening while also juggling a social life and dealing with family problems. While he did get these friends involved in helping him figure out what was happening, at the end of the day he was the one in charge and had to come up with the plan and find ways to outsmart the robots and the person who was trying to destroy everything his parents had worked so hard for. The way everything unfolded had me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next because just when you think he's figured it out something else happens that makes you question things again. In the end, the way this book ended was so good and was a nice conclusion to everything that had gone on. We had answers to the mystery, while also being able to look to the future and have the possibility for more books.

I can easily see this being a series and I cannot wait to see what happens next because it has so many possibilities. Futureland itself is a huge park and Cam's parents have so many ideas that this series could potentially go on for a very long time as Cam grows up.

More...