Author: Nikesh Shukla
Title: Run, Riot
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
I received an Advance Reader Copy of Run, Riot from Hodder Children’s Books in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions in this post are entirely my own.
Aspiring MC Taran and her twin brother Hari never wanted to move to Firestone House. But when the rent was doubled overnight and Dad’s chemo meant he couldn’t work, they had to make this tower block their home. It’s good now though; they feel part of something here.
When they start noticing boarded-up flats and glossy fliers for expensive apartments, they don’t think much of it – until Hari is caught up in a tragedy, and they are forced to go on the run.
It’s up to these teenagers to uncover the sinister truth behind what’s going on in the block, before it blows their world apart.
Run, Riot follows a group of teenagers living in a community which is up for a re-model; the diverse group of teens are the focal point of this story and provide and insight into life of a community which no longer meets the “standards” expected of the area. Gentrification, corruption, and prejudice are just some of the themes running through this book. Although I didn’t agree with the way it portrays certain public services, I don’t doubt that there are small pockets in any city where this sort of thing is day-to-day life for some people.
This book is hugely important in outlining the harsh reality I’m sure many people face; being expected to give up your community and be okay with living elsewhere because suddenly more wealthy people want to live there. (I won’t go into this anymore here as there are many sides to the debate but feel free to leave comments!)
Additionally there are strong themes of prejudice throughout this book, which in some places are so shocking it really is difficult to believe it still happens in this day and age.
In terms of pace this book really is fantastic; due to the narrative being a minute-by-minute account of events during a turning point moment for the community, the story is fast and exciting giving rise to some real nail-biting moments.
The writing style is also really brilliant, although I don’t feel we were able to get to know characters in detail, they definitely all had their own unique voices. There also isn’t an overload of detail; this book makes its point and moves onto the next and for this genre, topic, and setting, I really think that works perfectly.
Aspects of the book I wasn’t so keen on:
I never really felt I connected with the characters all that much, though to be honest if the author had managed this with all the action I would’ve been incredibly impressed. The characters barely stopped, and we only really saw glimpses of their characters outside of such a stressful situation.
As mentioned before I also didn’t really like the way the police were portrayed in this book; it kind of came across as the majority of them were corrupt or prejudice, and though there were attempt to underline that it is not all of them, I thought this point could’ve been stronger.
Overall I’m awarding this book 3.5/5 – I believe it carries a really important message and provides a voice for people so often overlooked in society. Whilst there were things I would’ve changed, in general this is a really great read and I’d definitely recommend this to contemporary fiction fans.
Sammy's Shelf 