ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
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
Moderate: Kidnapping
kikireads's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
Wow, wow, wow. If there is range of children's literature that gets me the most excited it's the titles coming out of the middle-grade category. This one is a science fiction adventure set in 2048 Atlanta, Georgia. H. D. Hunter pulled on his obvious love for and deep knowledge of the Atlanta community to address matters as individual and personal as new school jitters to broader topics such as ethical issues around privacy and AI technology, gentrification, missing black children, cultural appropriation, and political corruption.
That may sound heavy but the imaginatively splendid worldbuilding of Hunter's words with Khadijah Katib's art made it such a joyful, excited read even when I got a little nervous about how Cameron—the story's smart, imaginative, and vulnerable soft boy protagonist—would figure out how to overcome each new obstacle more intimidating than the last. That theme park was the fully realised tangible creation of a line that rung clearly throughout: The dream is the truth.
A couple of highlights that will remain with me:
Cameron's awkward transitioning to public school after being home schooled kid. I have a special love for Black home schooled kids in literature because certain media would make you think it's just a white religious rural indoctrination system. *loud hiss teeth*
Cameron's parents who treated him like a human being with his own mind and spirit, who instituted a familial practice based on consciously caring for each other. We need more of this writing and we need parents/guardians/elders to read these books the same way they encourage children to.
Readers could start so many great discussions with this book. But at the heart of my reading experience was joy, sheer joy and pure wonder. The dream is the truth!
Thanks to the author for sending me a finished copy. I'm so glad you found me.
That may sound heavy but the imaginatively splendid worldbuilding of Hunter's words with Khadijah Katib's art made it such a joyful, excited read even when I got a little nervous about how Cameron—the story's smart, imaginative, and vulnerable soft boy protagonist—would figure out how to overcome each new obstacle more intimidating than the last. That theme park was the fully realised tangible creation of a line that rung clearly throughout: The dream is the truth.
A couple of highlights that will remain with me:
Cameron's awkward transitioning to public school after being home schooled kid. I have a special love for Black home schooled kids in literature because certain media would make you think it's just a white religious rural indoctrination system. *loud hiss teeth*
Cameron's parents who treated him like a human being with his own mind and spirit, who instituted a familial practice based on consciously caring for each other. We need more of this writing and we need parents/guardians/elders to read these books the same way they encourage children to.
Readers could start so many great discussions with this book. But at the heart of my reading experience was joy, sheer joy and pure wonder. The dream is the truth!
Thanks to the author for sending me a finished copy. I'm so glad you found me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Bullying and Cultural appropriation
More...