Riot by Sarah Mussi
Title: Riot
Series: none
Author: Sarah Mussi
Published: Hodder's Children; 2014*
352 pages, kindle edition
Source: Netgalley
Description (from Goodreads):
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.
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.
My Thoughts:
Well, where to start...?
I didn't like Riot. Not at all. I could barely follow what was happening during the book. The plot didn't seem to follow any sort of logical sequence and jumped around to random events that seem to have no significance to the last thing that happened. I barely understood the dialogue - there were so many unusual words introduced with no explanations with them. I wasn't sure if they were related to the dystopian world this is set in or if they were some sort of British slang that I am unfamiliar with.
Also I felt that there was a significance lack of explanation into the actual No More Children in Need bill, its purpose, the government's reasoning behind it (Why is it necessary?), the anti-campaigns, Hands Off, Darknet7 - everything to do with the dystopian society was disregarded in favour of the action and the romantic angle. There was not nearly enough background information into the bill for me to understand or sympathize with Tia's Hand Off campaign, I didn't quite understand what she was protesting about.
What I did get about it, I didn't like. How the heck is "snipping" going to stop overpopulation anyway? Isn't that going to rapidly reduce future generations and thus destroy the economy and everything? Look I am no political or economic student but surely that doesn't seem logical!
The characters were so bad I could cry. I have one thing to say to Tia:
What is wrong with you? No, I am serious: what really is? I don't understand how you could be so positively stupid, insensitive and just well, dumb. You barely acknowledge your friends and their help, despite the risks that they take for you. Plus for the tech head, computer geek or whatever the term you use that you supposedly are, you sure didn't seem to know much about staying off the radar. The helicopters were always tracking you.
The romantic angle that was attempted was such a lame effort that all I could do was laugh. Colbain and Tia become all "I cannot leave you" in a split second. One minute they were accidently saving each others butts and the next they are kissing and inseparable - what!? The whole damsel-in-distress act that Tia pulls was so stupid that I cannot even comment. Plus here wasn't any chemistry between them at all and it isn't slightly believable that they would get together.
Oh, I just have to say how stupid is Colbain for thinking that a girl wouldn't want to be with him because he was wrongly accused of a crime and tossed in jail. If the girl knows you weren't guilty then why is she going to hold it against you? I don't follow you logic at all.
In the end I think I was sucked in by the pretty cover. Not a good read and I wouldn't recommend it - not at all. What a shame...
Note: A copy was provided courtesy of Sarah Mussi and Hachette Children's Books, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. No compensation was given or taken during this process
*Release on the 1st of May in 2014
Well, where to start...?
I didn't like Riot. Not at all. I could barely follow what was happening during the book. The plot didn't seem to follow any sort of logical sequence and jumped around to random events that seem to have no significance to the last thing that happened. I barely understood the dialogue - there were so many unusual words introduced with no explanations with them. I wasn't sure if they were related to the dystopian world this is set in or if they were some sort of British slang that I am unfamiliar with.
Also I felt that there was a significance lack of explanation into the actual No More Children in Need bill, its purpose, the government's reasoning behind it (Why is it necessary?), the anti-campaigns, Hands Off, Darknet7 - everything to do with the dystopian society was disregarded in favour of the action and the romantic angle. There was not nearly enough background information into the bill for me to understand or sympathize with Tia's Hand Off campaign, I didn't quite understand what she was protesting about.
What I did get about it, I didn't like. How the heck is "snipping" going to stop overpopulation anyway? Isn't that going to rapidly reduce future generations and thus destroy the economy and everything? Look I am no political or economic student but surely that doesn't seem logical!
The characters were so bad I could cry. I have one thing to say to Tia:
What is wrong with you? No, I am serious: what really is? I don't understand how you could be so positively stupid, insensitive and just well, dumb. You barely acknowledge your friends and their help, despite the risks that they take for you. Plus for the tech head, computer geek or whatever the term you use that you supposedly are, you sure didn't seem to know much about staying off the radar. The helicopters were always tracking you.
The romantic angle that was attempted was such a lame effort that all I could do was laugh. Colbain and Tia become all "I cannot leave you" in a split second. One minute they were accidently saving each others butts and the next they are kissing and inseparable - what!? The whole damsel-in-distress act that Tia pulls was so stupid that I cannot even comment. Plus here wasn't any chemistry between them at all and it isn't slightly believable that they would get together.
Oh, I just have to say how stupid is Colbain for thinking that a girl wouldn't want to be with him because he was wrongly accused of a crime and tossed in jail. If the girl knows you weren't guilty then why is she going to hold it against you? I don't follow you logic at all.
In the end I think I was sucked in by the pretty cover. Not a good read and I wouldn't recommend it - not at all. What a shame...
Note: A copy was provided courtesy of Sarah Mussi and Hachette Children's Books, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. No compensation was given or taken during this process
*Release on the 1st of May in 2014
Oh dear... I got a copy of this from NetGalley too although I might put it off now! Thanks for the warning!!
ReplyDeleteI have nominated you for the Liebster Award. You can find out more on my blog here.
http://theyanightstand.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-liebster-award.html
~Em
It sounded so good on Netgalley but alas, it was hiding behind that pretty cover!! Your welcome. I am glad I was able to save you the pain of reading this!!
DeleteOh wow, really!? That is so sweet. I'll check it out now. :)