Riot is a young adult science fiction story by Sarah Mussi. It is a nice story that reads like an action packed thriller and played like a movie in my mind.
I try to think of anything that might help. But my mind isn’t working. And all I can think is, we’re going to die. My father’s going to flipping win.
First, you have to read the synopsis of the book to understand what it’s all about. Most of the time, the synopsis is to tell you what the story is about. This time, you need to read it before you start the book: it’s kind of a prologue.
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.
On the first page of the story you step right into the action. You follow Tia on her way to safety, her fight against the unfair rules the government is making. Her dad is a politician, one of the people making those rules. What no one really seems to know is who Tia really is. She is the one who started the riots. It started small, but it’s escalated to something she can’t control anymore. Along the way she meets Cobain and he ends up rescuing her several times. Their lives are in danger. Will they survive, but more importantly, be able to save the whole town?
I can’t think. Only sprint and dodge. And you can’t outsprint a read laser spot. It follows. It seeks you out.
Riot is an exciting story that reads like an action packed movie. It is a bit of a strange story, but it intrigued me. It is so unbelievable, yet the author made it believable: something I value in a science fiction story.
4 out of 5 stars
