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ameserole's review
3.0
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'll admit that after I got The Freedom Race I was pretty excited to dive into. Heck, I was even more excited when I got a buddy to read along with. Even though I'm a smidge late to the buddy read, I honestly wasn't expecting what all went down.. to actually go down.
Now I might sound like a broken record with that statement but some of what happened just left me in shock. Not awe - shock. It hurt that children in this world would first be thankful for not being raped and then immediately jump to being lucky.
Unraped.
Lucky.
On top of all that, we have the lovely racism, slavery, and cruelty to deal with. It shouldn't be a surprise that this book is set in the south. What did surprise me was a couple of other things. For example, women can only be impregnated by their owners - no one else. Babies, of all skin types, are measured and then given a job. Measured how? Oh by the color of the skin.
Guess who gets the better jobs?
There was also this moment where our main character, Ji-Ji, was called a mule by a man and I just wanted to throat punch him. If I was in her position I probably would have committed the deed and stated that I was an actual person and not a mule. That's mostly because I'm a very stubborn and hot-headed person to begin with. I would also probably not survive in this world either.
I guess, in the end, I just have one question for you guys. How far would you run? Me? I hate running but I would knees to chest in this book and be the Forest Gump of the Freedom Race. Even if shit hit the fan and nothing made sense anymore.. I would just run. Far away from this horrible place.
I'll admit that after I got The Freedom Race I was pretty excited to dive into. Heck, I was even more excited when I got a buddy to read along with. Even though I'm a smidge late to the buddy read, I honestly wasn't expecting what all went down.. to actually go down.
Now I might sound like a broken record with that statement but some of what happened just left me in shock. Not awe - shock. It hurt that children in this world would first be thankful for not being raped and then immediately jump to being lucky.
Unraped.
Lucky.
On top of all that, we have the lovely racism, slavery, and cruelty to deal with. It shouldn't be a surprise that this book is set in the south. What did surprise me was a couple of other things. For example, women can only be impregnated by their owners - no one else. Babies, of all skin types, are measured and then given a job. Measured how? Oh by the color of the skin.
Guess who gets the better jobs?
There was also this moment where our main character, Ji-Ji, was called a mule by a man and I just wanted to throat punch him. If I was in her position I probably would have committed the deed and stated that I was an actual person and not a mule. That's mostly because I'm a very stubborn and hot-headed person to begin with. I would also probably not survive in this world either.
I guess, in the end, I just have one question for you guys. How far would you run? Me? I hate running but I would knees to chest in this book and be the Forest Gump of the Freedom Race. Even if shit hit the fan and nothing made sense anymore.. I would just run. Far away from this horrible place.
staystitchy's review
3.0
Thank you to Tor for sending me this arc of The Freedom Race. This book will be published July 13!
It’s been called a blend between The Underground Railroad and The Handmaid’s Tale and I can’t agree more. Every trigger warning should be included here so keep that in mind. It starts a little confusing and slow, there are a lot of characters and there are a lot of different names for things in this future world but the story is very interesting. In this future world there are mostly all the bad parts of the old one we know now mixed with the incredible horrifying mistakes featured in our history. Ji-ji has to run this race through the slavery parts of old America and pass through the bounty hunters, the hybrid people who have suffered mutations from radiation, and such horrific things just to be free in the Dream City. Once Ji-ji starts the actual race the story really picks up but this is not an easy read. It’s really heavy and it sticks with you. This is not a beach read, this is more like a book to be analyzed and dissected as a wake up call.
This book anticipates the frightening direction our nation could be heading toward as it succumbs to its recurring ways of racial prejudice and unrest. Regressing into a segregation-reminiscent caste system, The Freedom Race exhumes and projects past survival stories into the future where cries of resistance harp on our silent calls for hope. Written by one of today’s most committed activists, Lucinda Roy has created a terrifying glimpse of what might be and tempered it with strength and courage. It is a call to justice in the face of an unsettling future. This adult fantasy novel packs a punch, it should be read with care as it contains intense scenes that feature slavery, lynching, and etc.
It’s been called a blend between The Underground Railroad and The Handmaid’s Tale and I can’t agree more. Every trigger warning should be included here so keep that in mind. It starts a little confusing and slow, there are a lot of characters and there are a lot of different names for things in this future world but the story is very interesting. In this future world there are mostly all the bad parts of the old one we know now mixed with the incredible horrifying mistakes featured in our history. Ji-ji has to run this race through the slavery parts of old America and pass through the bounty hunters, the hybrid people who have suffered mutations from radiation, and such horrific things just to be free in the Dream City. Once Ji-ji starts the actual race the story really picks up but this is not an easy read. It’s really heavy and it sticks with you. This is not a beach read, this is more like a book to be analyzed and dissected as a wake up call.
This book anticipates the frightening direction our nation could be heading toward as it succumbs to its recurring ways of racial prejudice and unrest. Regressing into a segregation-reminiscent caste system, The Freedom Race exhumes and projects past survival stories into the future where cries of resistance harp on our silent calls for hope. Written by one of today’s most committed activists, Lucinda Roy has created a terrifying glimpse of what might be and tempered it with strength and courage. It is a call to justice in the face of an unsettling future. This adult fantasy novel packs a punch, it should be read with care as it contains intense scenes that feature slavery, lynching, and etc.
gracieknowles's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.75
kjurewicz's review
3.0
This book was very different from what I expected. The dystopian setting was horrifying yet plausible - reminded me of Kindred (Octavia Butler) mixed with The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood). This was a dense and heavy read. While there were a lot of interesting elements used to build the world, there were also a lot of confusing moments and what felt like plot holes. Definitely not my favorite.
juniperbranches's review
4.0
“Unanswered
yearning can split you wide open, force you to spend the rest of your life
searching for foolish ways to plug up the wound."
This book is set after the second American civil war, after the slave trade has resumed in answer to a dwindling labour supply. It’s a terrifying window into what has been, what could be, and what must be prevented. Told from the point of view of a teenaged girl, Jellybean (Ji-Ji) this novel traces her delicate path from her life as a mule-seed on the planting where she was born into captivity along her desperate race for freedom. Roy weaves elements of past horrors of the slave trade with horrors that are distinctly futuristic, such as most of the eastern seaboard falling into the ocean, mutant wildlife and nuclear radiation into the fabric of Ji-Ji’s quest for freedom.
yearning can split you wide open, force you to spend the rest of your life
searching for foolish ways to plug up the wound."
This book is set after the second American civil war, after the slave trade has resumed in answer to a dwindling labour supply. It’s a terrifying window into what has been, what could be, and what must be prevented. Told from the point of view of a teenaged girl, Jellybean (Ji-Ji) this novel traces her delicate path from her life as a mule-seed on the planting where she was born into captivity along her desperate race for freedom. Roy weaves elements of past horrors of the slave trade with horrors that are distinctly futuristic, such as most of the eastern seaboard falling into the ocean, mutant wildlife and nuclear radiation into the fabric of Ji-Ji’s quest for freedom.
allmyfriendsareinbooks's review
I think Nikki Giovanni’s blurb from the book sums it up best.
“Every now and then a work come along that makes you wonder whether you are reading or dreaming. And you’re not sure it matters which.”
The Freedom Race is a speculative fiction novel that takes place in a future after the second US Civil War, the Sequel. Ji-ji Lottermule is one of many on a plantation in Virginia. She is hoping to win The Freedom Race so she and those closest to her can be free—if she can make it to the City if Dreams. However, there are supernatural factors at play that may derail those plans.
TW: There are very graphic descriptions of life on the plantation, including punishments, in this book.
keishasliterarylabyrinth's review
3.0
Let me preface my opinion by stating that this book is not a leisure book. This is a literary text meant to be analyzed by literary studies students as a case study in speculative fiction. If you read this book for any other purpose, you will be frustrated. If you enjoy challenging books, not in the vocabulary, but in the world-building, the integration of multiple genres in one text, and an alternate future of the Black experience in America, then this is the book for you.
That being said, I enjoyed this book, specifically because of the complexity of world-building and its impacts on individual characters. Sila, the main character’s mom, and Lotter deserve at least two academic articles detailing the psychological effects of slavery on female slaves, the imbalanced master/ slave dynamics, and toxic masculinity/ patriarchal leadership.
The book does seem top-heavy, incredibly complicated, and then kind of thrown together towards the end. I found out that the book is part of a trilogy. I don’t think three books is necessary, maybe a strong duology. Also, the title. Needs to change. The actual freedom race is a minor part of the book and it isn’t her only option out of slavery by the halfway point of the book.
That being said, I enjoyed this book, specifically because of the complexity of world-building and its impacts on individual characters. Sila, the main character’s mom, and Lotter deserve at least two academic articles detailing the psychological effects of slavery on female slaves, the imbalanced master/ slave dynamics, and toxic masculinity/ patriarchal leadership.
The book does seem top-heavy, incredibly complicated, and then kind of thrown together towards the end. I found out that the book is part of a trilogy. I don’t think three books is necessary, maybe a strong duology. Also, the title. Needs to change. The actual freedom race is a minor part of the book and it isn’t her only option out of slavery by the halfway point of the book.
bibliovino's review
4.0
The first third of this book had me clutching my stomach and reading through my fingers. The dystopia Roy creates is gut-wrenching and one of the most horrifying pieces of speculative fiction I have ever encountered. Imagining a separated United States where racism and nationalism have taken root to a institutional degree was a stroke of genius that I pray is in no way prescient.
Jiji is such a strong character, her family and found family such a force, you will root for them at every turn. I wasn’t completely sold on the magical elements and felt the story’s raw beauty was undermined a bit by the fantastical possibilities, but I’m still excited to see where it goes from here.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.
Jiji is such a strong character, her family and found family such a force, you will root for them at every turn. I wasn’t completely sold on the magical elements and felt the story’s raw beauty was undermined a bit by the fantastical possibilities, but I’m still excited to see where it goes from here.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.
abookishwitch's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0