bobster_man38's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ethant4984's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
secre's review
1.0
The time is 2018 and Britain is in chaos. Years of cuts and austerity measures have devastated the country; the banks are going under, businesses are closing, prices are soaring, unemployment is rising and prisons overflowing. The population is rising and the authorities cannot cope. Something has to give. The solution that is found? Forced sterilisation of all school leavers without secure further education plans or guaranteed employment. The Teen Haves will procreate. The Teen Havenots will not.
The concept is striking and certainly one that attracted me; partly because actually many of the policies that are introduced are ones I can more than see our current Tory government trying to put through Parliament; no more free housing or housing benefits for the vulnerable or single parents. No more child benefits, no more free school meals or school milk. The way to no more children in need, is not letting those who cannot afford children breed. At age 17.
The actual implementation of this idea is where this novel falls down; Tia is the ‘leader’ of the rebellion, she is the Eve to the Adam and Eve story of the resistance. But Tia is a naïve little rich girl who actually states that she started the rebellion because she was bored. She knows all the hacking short cuts and procedures, despite having been raised in a rich girls school as a politicans daughter. This to start with jars. I can more than see the population rioting and rising together, but the movement would have been grass roots, not headed by a little rich girl who was never going to be in danger of having her tubes snipped. Daddy wouldn’t allow it.
Tia is also an extremely annoying character and it is therefore rather unfortunate that all of the story is narrated through her thoughts. And her thoughts would give the Virgin Mary a migraine. There’s no subtlety or clever writing behind the character. It’s short, sharp sentences, very few adjectives or explanations. This happened. Then this happened. And oh flip, this happened. Additionally, the word ‘flipping’ is hugely overused and often utterly inappropriately; _ I've just been flipping shot, and flipping roasted in a burning building and_ _now I'm crouching down behind a row of flipping trashed cars with a flipping yob._ Seriously? If I’d been shot, roasted and forced to hide with a yob you’d better believe there would be some choice invectives flying out of my mouth.
The politics behind this dystopia were as thin as ice as well; if you want to make me believe that such a radical decision would be made, you need to convince me. And for that you need a political system in which it works, you need a well-thought out and serious system behind this dystopia, particularly if you are setting it in the real world. And this, to put it simply, failed. The reason it fails is a spoiler, so I shall refrain from spoiling it for you, but there isn’t the depth of the thought that I had expected, instead it is just a cop out.
The love angle is equally annoying. Why oh why, oh why, oh why, oh why, do authors see the need to stick inappropriate and damn stupid love angles in teenage books? It never interested me as a teenager and it certainly doesn’t grip me now. Just because it’s young adult does not mean the protagonist has to fall in love with the rebel leaders green cat like eyes. Jesus, get a grip. If you’re writing a dystopia then give me a dytopia. If you’re writing a rebellion then give me a rebellion. If you’re writing a love story then stop trying to sell it me under the guise of a dystopia!
This is an interesting idea and concept that is let down by its writing style, inane characters, lack of vocabulary and lack of depth in brutal honesty. It is a book that had the potential to be awesome and instead ends up as just…meh. On the other hand it’s a quick and easy read, taking me about two hours to slam through on a train journey and promptly leave at the church for someone else to have a gander. It raises some interesting questions I guess; how far is too far? What is the difference between a protest and terrorism and how grey that line can get when the definition is set by the government. But there isn’t enough depth here to explore it.
===Do I Recommend?===
For adult readers, certainly that’s a no. It’s too simplistic with none of the exploration or depth that makes this a buyable dystopia. The main characters thoughts are jarring and insipid and the love story angle is just…bleh. Not interesting. For teenage readers, perhaps as a quick read to introduce them to dystopian fiction? It’s certainly not the best in its genre; Hunger Games and Divergent come immediately to mind as far superior modern alternatives and even Delirium which isn’t one of my favourites either but is better written than this. 1964 and Animal Farm are of course classics. Having read Siege by the same author though, that is far better.
The concept is striking and certainly one that attracted me; partly because actually many of the policies that are introduced are ones I can more than see our current Tory government trying to put through Parliament; no more free housing or housing benefits for the vulnerable or single parents. No more child benefits, no more free school meals or school milk. The way to no more children in need, is not letting those who cannot afford children breed. At age 17.
The actual implementation of this idea is where this novel falls down; Tia is the ‘leader’ of the rebellion, she is the Eve to the Adam and Eve story of the resistance. But Tia is a naïve little rich girl who actually states that she started the rebellion because she was bored. She knows all the hacking short cuts and procedures, despite having been raised in a rich girls school as a politicans daughter. This to start with jars. I can more than see the population rioting and rising together, but the movement would have been grass roots, not headed by a little rich girl who was never going to be in danger of having her tubes snipped. Daddy wouldn’t allow it.
Tia is also an extremely annoying character and it is therefore rather unfortunate that all of the story is narrated through her thoughts. And her thoughts would give the Virgin Mary a migraine. There’s no subtlety or clever writing behind the character. It’s short, sharp sentences, very few adjectives or explanations. This happened. Then this happened. And oh flip, this happened. Additionally, the word ‘flipping’ is hugely overused and often utterly inappropriately; _ I've just been flipping shot, and flipping roasted in a burning building and_ _now I'm crouching down behind a row of flipping trashed cars with a flipping yob._ Seriously? If I’d been shot, roasted and forced to hide with a yob you’d better believe there would be some choice invectives flying out of my mouth.
The politics behind this dystopia were as thin as ice as well; if you want to make me believe that such a radical decision would be made, you need to convince me. And for that you need a political system in which it works, you need a well-thought out and serious system behind this dystopia, particularly if you are setting it in the real world. And this, to put it simply, failed. The reason it fails is a spoiler, so I shall refrain from spoiling it for you, but there isn’t the depth of the thought that I had expected, instead it is just a cop out.
The love angle is equally annoying. Why oh why, oh why, oh why, oh why, do authors see the need to stick inappropriate and damn stupid love angles in teenage books? It never interested me as a teenager and it certainly doesn’t grip me now. Just because it’s young adult does not mean the protagonist has to fall in love with the rebel leaders green cat like eyes. Jesus, get a grip. If you’re writing a dystopia then give me a dytopia. If you’re writing a rebellion then give me a rebellion. If you’re writing a love story then stop trying to sell it me under the guise of a dystopia!
This is an interesting idea and concept that is let down by its writing style, inane characters, lack of vocabulary and lack of depth in brutal honesty. It is a book that had the potential to be awesome and instead ends up as just…meh. On the other hand it’s a quick and easy read, taking me about two hours to slam through on a train journey and promptly leave at the church for someone else to have a gander. It raises some interesting questions I guess; how far is too far? What is the difference between a protest and terrorism and how grey that line can get when the definition is set by the government. But there isn’t enough depth here to explore it.
===Do I Recommend?===
For adult readers, certainly that’s a no. It’s too simplistic with none of the exploration or depth that makes this a buyable dystopia. The main characters thoughts are jarring and insipid and the love story angle is just…bleh. Not interesting. For teenage readers, perhaps as a quick read to introduce them to dystopian fiction? It’s certainly not the best in its genre; Hunger Games and Divergent come immediately to mind as far superior modern alternatives and even Delirium which isn’t one of my favourites either but is better written than this. 1964 and Animal Farm are of course classics. Having read Siege by the same author though, that is far better.
urlphantomhive's review
2.0
READ IN ENGLISH
Read all my reviews on urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
It's 2018 and in order to stop the problem of overpopulation a very immoral and unpopular bill is about to pass parliament. Stop the 'lower demographic' from having any children by sterilizing them. (How this was ever supposed to have passed an ethical committee beats me).
Tia is EVE, mother of an internet group protesting this new bill. And of course, Tia can't just be any girl, she has to be the daughter of the minister who came up with it in the first place! The world is so conveniently small!
We're thrown straight into the action, as peaceful protesting turns into rioting and killing people on sight before you can even say 'Stop the No More Children In Need-bill'. No introduction is provided, and an actual explanation arrives nowhere during the story. I'm still trying to figure out how people would vote for this?
The premise was very good, it had all kinds of things I like. The dystopian setting, in London! An ethical issue! But it disappointed me. I never felt anything for any of the characters, I was annoyed by the obligatory love-plot I didn't think was necessary at all, and overall it is just a mess of a lot of things happening for -seemingly- no particular reason... I wouldn't recommend.
Read all my reviews on urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
It's 2018 and in order to stop the problem of overpopulation a very immoral and unpopular bill is about to pass parliament. Stop the 'lower demographic' from having any children by sterilizing them. (How this was ever supposed to have passed an ethical committee beats me).
Tia is EVE, mother of an internet group protesting this new bill. And of course, Tia can't just be any girl, she has to be the daughter of the minister who came up with it in the first place! The world is so conveniently small!
We're thrown straight into the action, as peaceful protesting turns into rioting and killing people on sight before you can even say 'Stop the No More Children In Need-bill'. No introduction is provided, and an actual explanation arrives nowhere during the story. I'm still trying to figure out how people would vote for this?
The premise was very good, it had all kinds of things I like. The dystopian setting, in London! An ethical issue! But it disappointed me. I never felt anything for any of the characters, I was annoyed by the obligatory love-plot I didn't think was necessary at all, and overall it is just a mess of a lot of things happening for -seemingly- no particular reason... I wouldn't recommend.
zluke's review
4.0
Yes it was mostly quite ridiculous, but I found it a quick enjoyable read that really engaged me. I actually found it quite scary because a lot of the anti-poor rhetoric in this book is merely along the lines of what actual politicians have said and then taken to the extreme. I don't think it's supposed to be completely believable, and it illustrates what can happen if people with dangerous ideologies are allowed too much power.
arwenauthor's review
4.0
2018. That is what makes this book different.
There are a lot of dystopian YA books out there at the moment (believe me – I've read most of them!), but the majority are set in other similar world to our own, or our own world but further in the future. The unique thing about riot is we are only talking about four years time. AND it's in Britain – not America. That's terrifying; the events of Riot could really happen in the very near future. And that is precisely what makes it such fascinating reading.
Mussi tells the story through first person in the eyes of Tia, daughter of a key politician. Overpopulation has pushed the government into a highly unpopular bill called the “No More Children in Need Bill.” This means that people of the unemployed and uneducated classes will be “snipped” and therefore be sterile. Tia and thousands of others take to the streets and to the murky back alleys of the internet to undermine and overthrow the bill. But events spiral way beyond what Tia even thought possible...
Tia is an excellent central protagonist: she is likeable, gutsy and down-to-earth (although I got annoyed by how often she said 'frigging!') Both her and her key partner-in-crime character, Cobain, were very well portrayed and, as a reader, I cared about what happened to them. Never underestimate the power of likeable characters. Although the subject matter of the book is very heavy, there were lighter moments as well: banter and an evolving relationship between the pair alleviated what could otherwise have been a very dark story.
Chapter one throws you straight into the action: Tia is at a march where they chant “HANDS OFF OUR BODIES!”, telling the government that there is no way they will let this bill go forward. I was drawn straight in; unfortunately, Tia's thoughts were a little all over the place for the first chapter which meant it was a little confusing. I would have preferred the first chapter to be more clear and I also would have scrapped the prologue, which details someone having the “snip.” It was so much more exciting to be brought straight into the march.
Although Tia and Cobain were strong characters, I found Tia's father too much of an archetypal villain: he was predictable and a little unrealistic. Tia's mother also seemed to be the epitome of a stereotype (although a very different one) and I couldn't quite believe in either of them. This was unfortunate because such feisty people as Tia and Cobain need equal rivals. The only aspect of Tia's character that I felt dubious about was her fairly limited vocabulary; it made me doubt her reputation as a master hacker, as she sometimes came across as fairly simple. And, as I've mentioned, if I never hear the word “frigging” again, I'll be happy!
Overall, a really enjoyable book. I haven't come across Sarah Mussi before, but I'm on the lookout for her other books. I would recommend Riot to anyone into YA fiction, dystopia and contemporary politics; it is captivating and exhilarating.
And I know we should never judge a book by this, but the cover is awesome!
There are a lot of dystopian YA books out there at the moment (believe me – I've read most of them!), but the majority are set in other similar world to our own, or our own world but further in the future. The unique thing about riot is we are only talking about four years time. AND it's in Britain – not America. That's terrifying; the events of Riot could really happen in the very near future. And that is precisely what makes it such fascinating reading.
Mussi tells the story through first person in the eyes of Tia, daughter of a key politician. Overpopulation has pushed the government into a highly unpopular bill called the “No More Children in Need Bill.” This means that people of the unemployed and uneducated classes will be “snipped” and therefore be sterile. Tia and thousands of others take to the streets and to the murky back alleys of the internet to undermine and overthrow the bill. But events spiral way beyond what Tia even thought possible...
Tia is an excellent central protagonist: she is likeable, gutsy and down-to-earth (although I got annoyed by how often she said 'frigging!') Both her and her key partner-in-crime character, Cobain, were very well portrayed and, as a reader, I cared about what happened to them. Never underestimate the power of likeable characters. Although the subject matter of the book is very heavy, there were lighter moments as well: banter and an evolving relationship between the pair alleviated what could otherwise have been a very dark story.
Chapter one throws you straight into the action: Tia is at a march where they chant “HANDS OFF OUR BODIES!”, telling the government that there is no way they will let this bill go forward. I was drawn straight in; unfortunately, Tia's thoughts were a little all over the place for the first chapter which meant it was a little confusing. I would have preferred the first chapter to be more clear and I also would have scrapped the prologue, which details someone having the “snip.” It was so much more exciting to be brought straight into the march.
Although Tia and Cobain were strong characters, I found Tia's father too much of an archetypal villain: he was predictable and a little unrealistic. Tia's mother also seemed to be the epitome of a stereotype (although a very different one) and I couldn't quite believe in either of them. This was unfortunate because such feisty people as Tia and Cobain need equal rivals. The only aspect of Tia's character that I felt dubious about was her fairly limited vocabulary; it made me doubt her reputation as a master hacker, as she sometimes came across as fairly simple. And, as I've mentioned, if I never hear the word “frigging” again, I'll be happy!
Overall, a really enjoyable book. I haven't come across Sarah Mussi before, but I'm on the lookout for her other books. I would recommend Riot to anyone into YA fiction, dystopia and contemporary politics; it is captivating and exhilarating.
And I know we should never judge a book by this, but the cover is awesome!
debstep88's review
3.0
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
For me, this book was about a 3.5. It’s not bad; I just didn’t find it all that captivating. I thought the overall storyline was somewhat believable, and an interesting way to meld dystopian YA with today’s world. The Snip campaign was also an interesting concept; however the word “snip” was used far too many times throughout the novel. Another word that felt extremely overused was “yob”. Using those same words over and over was distracting, and made the story less enjoyable overall. There were world building facts, which I appreciated, but at one point there were just pages of made up reports and statistics that were very dry and boring.
Tia was incredibly naive at times, but she grew up a sheltered rich kid, so while her naivety felt in character it was still frustrating.
Overall, I thought this book was okay. I didn't feel strongly one way or the other.
For me, this book was about a 3.5. It’s not bad; I just didn’t find it all that captivating. I thought the overall storyline was somewhat believable, and an interesting way to meld dystopian YA with today’s world. The Snip campaign was also an interesting concept; however the word “snip” was used far too many times throughout the novel. Another word that felt extremely overused was “yob”. Using those same words over and over was distracting, and made the story less enjoyable overall. There were world building facts, which I appreciated, but at one point there were just pages of made up reports and statistics that were very dry and boring.
Tia was incredibly naive at times, but she grew up a sheltered rich kid, so while her naivety felt in character it was still frustrating.
Overall, I thought this book was okay. I didn't feel strongly one way or the other.
michelleheegaard's review
3.0
I loved the plot of it all. In love reading about the fall (or in this case almost-fall) og society. I don't know. That is just my thing. And this thing were you snip all the pour people so they can't reproduce? Totally unique! I have never heard of anything or even thought of anything liked it, so this was definetly a goldmind to me. And the author wrote people pretty well.
What I liked the best about the book was the beginning and the middlepart. I didn't like the ending. It got a little superhero-ish at the end, which is not my thing. At all... So that ruined it for me a bit. Also the two main charachters Tia alis Eva and Cobain were both really unrelatable. I liked Tia for her different skills and she was so naive, when it came to realizing, excactly what the government could do. And Cobarin was a pretty cool charachter as well. Him being the rough guy growing up in a crappy environment. What I absolutely didn't like was the two of them together. The scenes between them were so unnatural. All of a sudden they were head over heels in love with each other. Like they had know each other for years. Come one, they have basically know each other for what? A week? Besides, Tia hates yobs. It is very unlikely that she would change her mind, just because she meets someone with shiny green eyes.. That was a no-go for me and also a big reason why I refuse to give it higher than 3 stars. The great plot and idea in the book and the authors writing-methods are the only things that keeps it away from 2 stars.
What I liked the best about the book was the beginning and the middlepart. I didn't like the ending. It got a little superhero-ish at the end, which is not my thing. At all... So that ruined it for me a bit. Also the two main charachters Tia alis Eva and Cobain were both really unrelatable. I liked Tia for her different skills and she was so naive, when it came to realizing, excactly what the government could do. And Cobarin was a pretty cool charachter as well. Him being the rough guy growing up in a crappy environment. What I absolutely didn't like was the two of them together. The scenes between them were so unnatural. All of a sudden they were head over heels in love with each other. Like they had know each other for years. Come one, they have basically know each other for what? A week? Besides, Tia hates yobs. It is very unlikely that she would change her mind, just because she meets someone with shiny green eyes.. That was a no-go for me and also a big reason why I refuse to give it higher than 3 stars. The great plot and idea in the book and the authors writing-methods are the only things that keeps it away from 2 stars.
charlottejones952's review
3.0
This overpopulation storyline is something that I have never read before so I was really intrigued to pick this one up. At 352 pages it is a really quick read and fits into the dystopian genre even though it isn’t set too far in the future.
There were a few things that originally annoyed me about this book when I first started reading it. There were a few Americanisms, such as ‘mall’, that were included even though it is set in London and Tia, the female protagonist, is slightly irritating throughout due to her conflicting thoughts on some subjects, but I could look past this because of the good points that this book contains.
The writing style is made up of quite choppy sentences, which I usually don’t like, but in this book I think it worked really well. The short sentences really add to the pace of the book and make it a fast paced read.
The action starts right from the first page and carries on throughout the entire book. Although the plot was exciting and a lot more brutal than I thought it would be, with this being a Young Adult book, I did feel like it was a little too predictable at points though I still did enjoy some of the unexpected twists and turns.
The villain in this book was so scary to me because he was so realistic. I won’t say who that character was because I don’t want to spoil anything but I will say that I found him scary and I was satisfied with the way the book ended, despite the almost out of place romance.
I wouldn’t say that this is a perfect dystopian by any means but I think the way that this didn’t have any fantasy/sci-fi elements, unlike a lot of dystopians, really worked in Riot‘s favour as it made it more realistic and made it feel as though this kind of thing could actually happen in a way.
Overall I would recommend this is you want a fast-paced dystopian read that is very much based in reality.
There were a few things that originally annoyed me about this book when I first started reading it. There were a few Americanisms, such as ‘mall’, that were included even though it is set in London and Tia, the female protagonist, is slightly irritating throughout due to her conflicting thoughts on some subjects, but I could look past this because of the good points that this book contains.
The writing style is made up of quite choppy sentences, which I usually don’t like, but in this book I think it worked really well. The short sentences really add to the pace of the book and make it a fast paced read.
The action starts right from the first page and carries on throughout the entire book. Although the plot was exciting and a lot more brutal than I thought it would be, with this being a Young Adult book, I did feel like it was a little too predictable at points though I still did enjoy some of the unexpected twists and turns.
The villain in this book was so scary to me because he was so realistic. I won’t say who that character was because I don’t want to spoil anything but I will say that I found him scary and I was satisfied with the way the book ended, despite the almost out of place romance.
I wouldn’t say that this is a perfect dystopian by any means but I think the way that this didn’t have any fantasy/sci-fi elements, unlike a lot of dystopians, really worked in Riot‘s favour as it made it more realistic and made it feel as though this kind of thing could actually happen in a way.
Overall I would recommend this is you want a fast-paced dystopian read that is very much based in reality.