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anxiousutopian's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Police brutality
Moderate: Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Rape, Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Racism, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, and War
howdyhoward's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really wanted to like this, and I did like most of it.
The most impressive thing this book does is have political conversations in real time between characters with different political opinions. This is a great way to cover these topics and gives the reader different viewpoints to consider, though there is usually a character who the text clearly thinks is "right".
I also really liked the characters. Everyone felt really fleshed out and real, even the characters who were assholes or I didn't like I felt like I understood where they were coming from/why they are the way they are. Gestas is a gem I love him.
I'm not sure how the narrator Maddie reads to BIPOC. As a white person who has been on a journey of anti-racist awakening, I sometimes related to and found Maddie sympathetic. I liked her, and I think a lot of white people will see themselves in her, problematic though she is.
The way this book is told is really weird. It's told as a memoir retelling of the events 5 years after they happened. In part 1 it bounces back and forth between timelines 6 months apart, but it also reminds you that it's being told from the future. This whole device felt really clunky to me and every time we were reminded of this narrative device I kind of rolled my eyes.
The last 40 pages are where it really fell off for me. The story of the Free People's Village as a character ends pretty abruptly and the rest of the book is wrapped up in Maddie's personal life and a "where are they now" montage of all the rest of the characters. While Maddie's personal life was present throughout the book, it definitely took a backseat to what I though of as the main plot; the Free People's Village and it's legacy (although thinking about this now maybe that's not fair because part 1 is mostly about Maddie? idk it just felt like a really abrupt tone change)
The final pages are basically a manifesto about activism and why it is important to continue doing the work even though it can feel hopeless. Unlike the earlier conversations with multiple POVs this felt more like a force fed moral of the story with no room for the reader to use their own critical thinking. While this isn't unimportant, I think there could have been a better way to handle the ending.
The most impressive thing this book does is have political conversations in real time between characters with different political opinions. This is a great way to cover these topics and gives the reader different viewpoints to consider, though there is usually a character who the text clearly thinks is "right".
I also really liked the characters. Everyone felt really fleshed out and real, even the characters who were assholes or I didn't like I felt like I understood where they were coming from/why they are the way they are. Gestas is a gem I love him.
I'm not sure how the narrator Maddie reads to BIPOC. As a white person who has been on a journey of anti-racist awakening, I sometimes related to and found Maddie sympathetic. I liked her, and I think a lot of white people will see themselves in her, problematic though she is.
The way this book is told is really weird. It's told as a memoir retelling of the events 5 years after they happened. In part 1 it bounces back and forth between timelines 6 months apart, but it also reminds you that it's being told from the future. This whole device felt really clunky to me and every time we were reminded of this narrative device I kind of rolled my eyes.
The last 40 pages are where it really fell off for me. The story of the Free People's Village as a character ends pretty abruptly and the rest of the book is wrapped up in Maddie's personal life and a "where are they now" montage of all the rest of the characters. While Maddie's personal life was present throughout the book, it definitely took a backseat to what I though of as the main plot; the Free People's Village and it's legacy (although thinking about this now maybe that's not fair because part 1 is mostly about Maddie? idk it just felt like a really abrupt tone change)
The final pages are basically a manifesto about activism and why it is important to continue doing the work even though it can feel hopeless. Unlike the earlier conversations with multiple POVs this felt more like a force fed moral of the story with no room for the reader to use their own critical thinking. While this isn't unimportant, I think there could have been a better way to handle the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Police brutality
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Animal death, Classism, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and War
lettuce_read's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Racism, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Deadnaming
Minor: Transphobia
nolalee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I will think about Sim Kern's The Free People's Village for the rest of my life. There is nothing I love more than a near-future grounded science fiction novel and the setting for this book is perfect. Based in the alternate timeline where Al Gore won the 2000 election, we follow a member from the fictional punk band Bunny Bloodlust as they navigate their identity, their past and their own current dystopian reality in America.
This book is challenging and beautiful. Desperately sad and hopeful. It is often a reflective and embarrassingly funny ride for anyone who has been active in a demonstration for change.
I feel this book is best read without too many details up front. Just experience it and join The Free People's Village.
Show quoted text
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Classism, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual assault
cnnr876's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Definitely a lot of conflicting feelings about this book. The core alt-history to alt-present concept is thought-provoking - what if Gore had won in 2000? How would the late teens and early 20's been different? Kern's imaginings are satisfactory - earlier adoption of carbon-neutral and climate "friendly" policies, eco-fascism on the rise, continued reliance on fossil fuels, continued state violence toward those running counter to monied interests, continued bipartisan refusal to upend the status quo. I think there is some decent exploration of power (im)balances in activist circles, witty commentary on activist tropes (communist vs. socialist vs. anarchist fights lol, Avakian-stans, hating on drum circles, how important yet challenging consensus is, etc), and pretty believe speculative world-building (particularly regarding carbon credits + tax, extensive greenwashing by public and private entities, and at-home imprisonment).
I think my reading experience suffered from a mismatch in expectations - I was expecting something very different from what I got, and I need to sit with that more.
I think my reading experience suffered from a mismatch in expectations - I was expecting something very different from what I got, and I need to sit with that more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: War, Death, Suicide attempt, and Racism
khaosinkspress's review
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I got this book initially through my public library but I was so hooked onto it I went to my local bookstore, bought a copy, and finished it, all within a matter of days.
As much as I rolled my eyes at Maddie, I found it good that we had to be by her so that she could see the strong, different perspectives, and how this world definitely swung the hammer on her with her privilege. It was just great to see.
I didn't even finish the book before Instarted recommending it to others and now I REALLY want to let others know to read this!
As much as I rolled my eyes at Maddie, I found it good that we had to be by her so that she could see the strong, different perspectives, and how this world definitely swung the hammer on her with her privilege. It was just great to see.
I didn't even finish the book before Instarted recommending it to others and now I REALLY want to let others know to read this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault
A good amount of heavy topics at hand. Always remember to take care of yourself should things get heavy in your mind.aeons_v_atlas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Death, Rape, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Racism, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Slavery, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Transphobia, and Vomit
mentat_stem's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love it when fiction books add numerous nonfiction books to my TBR pile. Tons of interesting relationships. Good and bad interactions between activist groups thrust together. A viewpoint character mirrors the vanilla readers that need to read this. She grows into so much more.
The structure of the narrative channels the chaos of a punk jam session. Religion, art, politics, racism, violence, drugs, music and jaywalking are all argued about from diverse viewpoints.
The events unspool on social media in the book and I shared my excitement and thoughts on Threads as I read. I really hope this book gets in front of a ton of people.
There are some intense themes, but I think it would be amazing to see this taught in a high school.
The structure of the narrative channels the chaos of a punk jam session. Religion, art, politics, racism, violence, drugs, music and jaywalking are all argued about from diverse viewpoints.
The events unspool on social media in the book and I shared my excitement and thoughts on Threads as I read. I really hope this book gets in front of a ton of people.
There are some intense themes, but I think it would be amazing to see this taught in a high school.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Rape, War, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide attempt
caseythereader's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thanks to Levine Querido for the free copy of this book.
- THE FREE PEOPLE'S VILLAGE is unlike any book I've ever read before. I never thought a book about the internal struggles of a group of activists would rivet me, but I absolutely could not put this down.
- This book is entirely from the POV of Maddie, a young white woman joining a Black-led movement to preserve a Black neighborhood. She doesn't always handle new information and situations perfectly (or even well), and she eventually has to reckon with her place in the movement and take accountability for actions she does or does not take. I think Kern struck the right balance here - Maddie is not a white savior, but she is given space to catch up on the history and politics she does not know (and even then, she is reprimanded for never bothering to learn these things!)
- Looking at this book from a wider perspective, I appreciated how Kern took the fork in the road that we often romanticize - Gore winning the 2000 election - and showed how even if there was massive movement on the climate, our society would still find a way to use those changes to enrich white people and push out poor and BIPOC people. Honestly, this book is one to give to white liberals who you wish would consider leftist ideas.
- THE FREE PEOPLE'S VILLAGE is unlike any book I've ever read before. I never thought a book about the internal struggles of a group of activists would rivet me, but I absolutely could not put this down.
- This book is entirely from the POV of Maddie, a young white woman joining a Black-led movement to preserve a Black neighborhood. She doesn't always handle new information and situations perfectly (or even well), and she eventually has to reckon with her place in the movement and take accountability for actions she does or does not take. I think Kern struck the right balance here - Maddie is not a white savior, but she is given space to catch up on the history and politics she does not know (and even then, she is reprimanded for never bothering to learn these things!)
- Looking at this book from a wider perspective, I appreciated how Kern took the fork in the road that we often romanticize - Gore winning the 2000 election - and showed how even if there was massive movement on the climate, our society would still find a way to use those changes to enrich white people and push out poor and BIPOC people. Honestly, this book is one to give to white liberals who you wish would consider leftist ideas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Addiction, Alcohol, Violence, Rape, Blood, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Racism, Colonisation, Grief, Police brutality, Vomit, War, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Child abuse
Moderate: Homophobia and Suicide attempt
Minor: Pregnancy and Deadnaming
ebook_em's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Free People’s Village is a heavy, immersive read that made me feel equal parts anger, sadness, pride, hope, and cringe. I get the sense that evoking each of those feelings was intentional.
The plot unfolds in an alternate timeline in which Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election and declared a “War on Climate Change.” As a policy researcher, I was so impressed by how Sim Kern revealed what can go wrong in the implementation of liberal policies — like rich people abusing the carbon tax system and greenwashing galore — and how the Democratic platform on climate change is totally insufficient to tackle environmental racism and imperialism. In fact, this story shows how the “war” on climate change could be weaponized in very conventional ways against people of the global majority. The fact that climate policies in this story were used to further expand the scope of policing also felt chillingly realistic.
The coalition of organizations, activists, homeless folks, and others who made up the Free People’s Village seemed very real as well. I loved Kern’s depiction of the boring and mundane aspects of organizing (figuring out how often to empty the port-a-potties is something I’ve had to do and didn’t care to remember, lol) plus the circular, mind-numbing infighting that is inevitable in any long-term organizing effort. Around the middle of the story, there’s an inciting incident when the movement fractures into very different tactics — the secrecy, guilt, and political questions around this incident were really compelling.
I also appreciated the treatment of SA in this book. Rape culture and flimsy restorative justice responses to violence within activist spaces are way more typical than many organizers want to acknowledge. Not including some mention of sexual violence in an encampment setting would’ve felt like a major omission, but it didn’t feel perfunctory as a plot line either. All these examples highlight Kern’s explorations of power dynamics throughout the book: between landlords and tenants, cops and citizens, people with criminal records and those without, Black & Indigenous organizers and white voyeurs, cis and trans people, etc. The depiction of the technologies and media also seemed true to life; in many ways, this book felt like a fiction analog to Zeynep Tufekci’s “Twitter and Tear Gas.”
Now for the aspects that will be unappealing to some readers. The first-person POV of the white main character, Maddie, is cringeworthy more often than not. The cringe factor is intentional, as Maddie is a young white teacher and baby activist entering Black-led organizing spaces for the first time, and she messes up a lot in the process. I thought the author did a pretty good job of not making this a white savior story, though there were times Maddie could’ve taken more ownership of her actions without endless coaching from Black and brown people. Maddie participates in some actions but repeatedly chickens out and mostly does grunt work while her friends and bandmates do the more high-profile leadership work. Even though her inner thoughts are painful to read, I think her perspective will resonate with people. Some readers might also be turned off by the didactic tone of the book. Personally, I don’t mind heavy-handed social commentary in fiction and thought it made sense to learn fundamental theories and principles through Maddie’s naive POV.
Overall, this was a great read that left me with a lot to think about. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.
The plot unfolds in an alternate timeline in which Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election and declared a “War on Climate Change.” As a policy researcher, I was so impressed by how Sim Kern revealed what can go wrong in the implementation of liberal policies — like rich people abusing the carbon tax system and greenwashing galore — and how the Democratic platform on climate change is totally insufficient to tackle environmental racism and imperialism. In fact, this story shows how the “war” on climate change could be weaponized in very conventional ways against people of the global majority. The fact that climate policies in this story were used to further expand the scope of policing also felt chillingly realistic.
The coalition of organizations, activists, homeless folks, and others who made up the Free People’s Village seemed very real as well. I loved Kern’s depiction of the boring and mundane aspects of organizing (figuring out how often to empty the port-a-potties is something I’ve had to do and didn’t care to remember, lol) plus the circular, mind-numbing infighting that is inevitable in any long-term organizing effort. Around the middle of the story, there’s an inciting incident when the movement fractures into very different tactics — the secrecy, guilt, and political questions around this incident were really compelling.
I also appreciated the treatment of SA in this book. Rape culture and flimsy restorative justice responses to violence within activist spaces are way more typical than many organizers want to acknowledge. Not including some mention of sexual violence in an encampment setting would’ve felt like a major omission, but it didn’t feel perfunctory as a plot line either. All these examples highlight Kern’s explorations of power dynamics throughout the book: between landlords and tenants, cops and citizens, people with criminal records and those without, Black & Indigenous organizers and white voyeurs, cis and trans people, etc. The depiction of the technologies and media also seemed true to life; in many ways, this book felt like a fiction analog to Zeynep Tufekci’s “Twitter and Tear Gas.”
Now for the aspects that will be unappealing to some readers. The first-person POV of the white main character, Maddie, is cringeworthy more often than not. The cringe factor is intentional, as Maddie is a young white teacher and baby activist entering Black-led organizing spaces for the first time, and she messes up a lot in the process. I thought the author did a pretty good job of not making this a white savior story, though there were times Maddie could’ve taken more ownership of her actions without endless coaching from Black and brown people. Maddie participates in some actions but repeatedly chickens out and mostly does grunt work while her friends and bandmates do the more high-profile leadership work. Even though her inner thoughts are painful to read, I think her perspective will resonate with people. Some readers might also be turned off by the didactic tone of the book. Personally, I don’t mind heavy-handed social commentary in fiction and thought it made sense to learn fundamental theories and principles through Maddie’s naive POV.
Overall, this was a great read that left me with a lot to think about. My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Racism, Police brutality, Drug use, Violence, Alcoholism, and Vomit
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Rape, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Addiction