Scan barcode
jentidders's review
3.0
From Rife Magazine comes this anthology of twenty-one essays from young people aged 16-24 covering an intersectional spectrum of topics including racism, ableism, misogyny, Islamaphobia, homophobia, sex, mental health, lack of job opportunities, student debt, poor educational provision, the housing crisis, crime, and the future. (All prefaced with appropriate trigger warnings.)
This generation is not often given a voice, but rather maligned as avocado-munching, snowflake millennials. However, this collection shows that they are actually politically informed, passionate and articulate, and gives an insightful snapshot into what it's like to be young in Britain today.
Thanks for Unbound and Netgalley for the digital copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
This generation is not often given a voice, but rather maligned as avocado-munching, snowflake millennials. However, this collection shows that they are actually politically informed, passionate and articulate, and gives an insightful snapshot into what it's like to be young in Britain today.
Thanks for Unbound and Netgalley for the digital copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
megelizabeth's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
"I worry for those who open their curtains every morning and see the same unchanging town in which opportunity no longer exists - a town in which the chances of leaving are slimmer than ever. I worry because I do not trust that we are being thought about enough. I worry that we are being forgotten."
This is a pretty good collection of essays, covering a variety of important topics. I loved its theme of the importance of young voices, and even though most of what's discussed is fairly surface-level, that's probably to be expected with this style of book. It makes a lot of great points, and I found myself agreeing with much of what was being said.
Naturally, I preferred some essays to others. Most of them are fairly strong, and I found myself particularly drawn in by Chloe Maughan's and Shauna Cobb's contributions. There are also a few that I wasn't such a fan of and that frustrated me for various reasons, which is why I didn't end up rating this more highly.
I still found this to be an interesting and worthy read, and even though I didn't get too much out of it that was new to me, I think it would be great for people looking for an introduction to discussions around UK politics and social issues. It was ultimately, then, for me, a solid enough read, but it's not a new favourite.
This is a pretty good collection of essays, covering a variety of important topics. I loved its theme of the importance of young voices, and even though most of what's discussed is fairly surface-level, that's probably to be expected with this style of book. It makes a lot of great points, and I found myself agreeing with much of what was being said.
Naturally, I preferred some essays to others. Most of them are fairly strong, and I found myself particularly drawn in by Chloe Maughan's and Shauna Cobb's contributions. There are also a few that I wasn't such a fan of and that frustrated me for various reasons, which is why I didn't end up rating this more highly.
I still found this to be an interesting and worthy read, and even though I didn't get too much out of it that was new to me, I think it would be great for people looking for an introduction to discussions around UK politics and social issues. It was ultimately, then, for me, a solid enough read, but it's not a new favourite.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Suicide attempt, Racism, Homophobia, Classism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
Minor: Death
kyatic's review
5.0
Thanks to Unbound and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Let me tell you, there is nothing that, as a 27 year old, makes you feel older than reading a book called Twenty-One Stories from Britain's Youth which then specifies that the nebulous Youth are ages 16-24. I will probably be drawing a pension soon.
But in all seriousness, this book was just great. It's a completely necessary middle finger to all the white, middle-aged male politicians who denigrate the so-called Youth for being unengaged with politics, misinformed and apathetic. This book goes completely against that ridiculous stereotype and shows that young does not mean uncaring.
As always in an anthology book like this, there are some essays which stand out more than others. The final essay in this collection is about how young people can learn from the elderly, and about how ageism affects both ends of the spectrum, and as someone who has taken on a carer role for elderly relatives in the past, this one in particular spoke to me. There are also essays on sexism, fatphobia, racism, the voting age, online harassment, mental health, and the pressures of university, amongst others. Many of these issues do not only affect young people, and it was simultaneously refreshing to see a new perspective on some of them and disheartening to realise that even young people are not protected from bigotry.
The essays on university life in particular were illuminating. As a 27 year old, I was part of the last cohort to pay £3k a year for tuition fees. My year group was the year who voted Nick Clegg into office and then experienced the betrayal of the tuition fee hike, but didn't have to pay up. It made me angry to see what students have to contend with today and the debt they experience because of it.
The voices in this collection are strong and important. The writing is fluent, persuasive and well-informed. I really couldn't find much fault with this collection; I'm sure there'll be the inevitable 'ooh, it's Leftist bias' nonsense from some people at some point, but the fact is that it's a representation of a microcosm of youth voices. It is indicative, not representative, of young people's viewpoints in Britain today, and it's about time that they were listened to. They? We? God, I'm old.
Let me tell you, there is nothing that, as a 27 year old, makes you feel older than reading a book called Twenty-One Stories from Britain's Youth which then specifies that the nebulous Youth are ages 16-24. I will probably be drawing a pension soon.
But in all seriousness, this book was just great. It's a completely necessary middle finger to all the white, middle-aged male politicians who denigrate the so-called Youth for being unengaged with politics, misinformed and apathetic. This book goes completely against that ridiculous stereotype and shows that young does not mean uncaring.
As always in an anthology book like this, there are some essays which stand out more than others. The final essay in this collection is about how young people can learn from the elderly, and about how ageism affects both ends of the spectrum, and as someone who has taken on a carer role for elderly relatives in the past, this one in particular spoke to me. There are also essays on sexism, fatphobia, racism, the voting age, online harassment, mental health, and the pressures of university, amongst others. Many of these issues do not only affect young people, and it was simultaneously refreshing to see a new perspective on some of them and disheartening to realise that even young people are not protected from bigotry.
The essays on university life in particular were illuminating. As a 27 year old, I was part of the last cohort to pay £3k a year for tuition fees. My year group was the year who voted Nick Clegg into office and then experienced the betrayal of the tuition fee hike, but didn't have to pay up. It made me angry to see what students have to contend with today and the debt they experience because of it.
The voices in this collection are strong and important. The writing is fluent, persuasive and well-informed. I really couldn't find much fault with this collection; I'm sure there'll be the inevitable 'ooh, it's Leftist bias' nonsense from some people at some point, but the fact is that it's a representation of a microcosm of youth voices. It is indicative, not representative, of young people's viewpoints in Britain today, and it's about time that they were listened to. They? We? God, I'm old.
chriscole's review
4.0
Such a difficult one to review. There are some really incredibly written essays in here, my favourite actually being the last one written by Tom Greenslade. A really powerful comment on the intergenerational divide in society that manages to hit all the right emotional beats without straying too far into preaching or whining (something that, unfortunately, happened with quite a few other essays).
I really got the sense that, even though these essays are written by people aged 16-24, some of them really strayed too far into angsty teen for me and lacked the nuance and balance needed for the essay topics themselves. It's understandable for some of the essays and their topics but it was too prevalent for me to rate this any higher than 4 stars.
Definitely worth a read. It is so refreshing for me to read young British voices and hear first-hand the struggles and issues they face socially and economically. It feels like a real snapshot of British youth today.
Thanks to Unbound and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for review.
I really got the sense that, even though these essays are written by people aged 16-24, some of them really strayed too far into angsty teen for me and lacked the nuance and balance needed for the essay topics themselves. It's understandable for some of the essays and their topics but it was too prevalent for me to rate this any higher than 4 stars.
Definitely worth a read. It is so refreshing for me to read young British voices and hear first-hand the struggles and issues they face socially and economically. It feels like a real snapshot of British youth today.
Thanks to Unbound and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for review.
dunneniamh's review
4.0
I was very kindly given an e-arc of this book through Netgalley and Unbound Publishing.
I read a review somewhere which suggested that, because all of these authors were under the age of twenty-five, they weren't good writers. I call BS on that one. The young people who bare their hearts and souls and show the brilliance of their minds are fiercely talented. It makes sense that Shukla, the editor, has collected them together.
In this collection of personal essays, young people reflect on the Britain that we are growing up in. Whether they're talking sexism and casual misogyny, racism, Islamaphobia, homophobia, poor mental health, lack of job opportunities, student debt, an unstable job market, 16 year olds not being able to vote- the topics are intelligent, thoughtful and expertly written. Each writer has their own little twist on the subject, but they all come from a place of personal experience. It adds another dimension to the writing and ensures that we're not hearing from the same voices or same perspectives over and over.
I personally identified with a lot of the work about university life and authors who struggled with their mental health during years that were supposed to be 'the best years of your life'. These are young people ready to talk and demand that they be heard. They are the ones growing into a society that is organized against them. We are angry and in debt and watching a world crumble beneath us because people forty years older than us are making the decisions. There is a running theme of Brexit throughout- it's a running theme of the country, so why wouldn't it be included- but it doesn't become hopeless. If anything, there's an optimism that we can be the generation to change things for the better by acknowledging the key issues now and starting to deal with them.
This is a brilliantly authored snapshot into what it's like to be young in Britain today. I would expect no less from something with Nikesh Shukla's name attached to it.
'Rife: Twenty-One Stories from Britain's Youth', edited by Nikesh Shukla, will be released in the UK on July 11th 2019.
I read a review somewhere which suggested that, because all of these authors were under the age of twenty-five, they weren't good writers. I call BS on that one. The young people who bare their hearts and souls and show the brilliance of their minds are fiercely talented. It makes sense that Shukla, the editor, has collected them together.
In this collection of personal essays, young people reflect on the Britain that we are growing up in. Whether they're talking sexism and casual misogyny, racism, Islamaphobia, homophobia, poor mental health, lack of job opportunities, student debt, an unstable job market, 16 year olds not being able to vote- the topics are intelligent, thoughtful and expertly written. Each writer has their own little twist on the subject, but they all come from a place of personal experience. It adds another dimension to the writing and ensures that we're not hearing from the same voices or same perspectives over and over.
I personally identified with a lot of the work about university life and authors who struggled with their mental health during years that were supposed to be 'the best years of your life'. These are young people ready to talk and demand that they be heard. They are the ones growing into a society that is organized against them. We are angry and in debt and watching a world crumble beneath us because people forty years older than us are making the decisions. There is a running theme of Brexit throughout- it's a running theme of the country, so why wouldn't it be included- but it doesn't become hopeless. If anything, there's an optimism that we can be the generation to change things for the better by acknowledging the key issues now and starting to deal with them.
This is a brilliantly authored snapshot into what it's like to be young in Britain today. I would expect no less from something with Nikesh Shukla's name attached to it.
'Rife: Twenty-One Stories from Britain's Youth', edited by Nikesh Shukla, will be released in the UK on July 11th 2019.
booksbynoe's review
4.0
OVERALL RATING: 8.1/10 (you can find the ratings for each essay at the end of the review)
I really enjoyed this collection of essays and the issues explored, from mental health issues and the rental problems the people are facing now in the UK, to religion, diversity, feeling alone and inadequate, sexism, politics and the gap between the youth and the elderly. I learnt a lot from this and although I enjoyed some essays more than others, I believe there is something for every type of reader in this collection.
ALL INDIVIDUAL RATINGS:
Generation Spent: Britain's Rental Crises: 7/10
Rush: 7/10
Gender Divides: 9/10
The Modern Fairy Tale of Mental Health and 'Just Asking for Help': 9.5/10
University Ain't for the Likes of Us: 7/10
I Agree with Thatcher: 9.5/10
Rites of Passage: 9/10
The Latte Drinker That Spilled the Tea: 8.5/10
A Marked Woman: 9/10
Little Miss Sunshine: 8/10
Exclusion: 9/10
My Body, My Choice: 9/10
Half-Truth Histories: Howe Erasing Empire Maintains the Status Quo: 9.5/10
Working with Anxiety: 7.5/10
Conveyor Belt Socialising: An Exposé on Modern Dating: 8/10
Playing the Part: 7.5/10
The University Myth: 8/10
Sweet Sixteen: Kiss, Marry, Vote: 8/10
The Dinner Party: 6/10
Dumping the Green Belt: 7/10
An Intergenerational Conversation: 7.5/10
I really enjoyed this collection of essays and the issues explored, from mental health issues and the rental problems the people are facing now in the UK, to religion, diversity, feeling alone and inadequate, sexism, politics and the gap between the youth and the elderly. I learnt a lot from this and although I enjoyed some essays more than others, I believe there is something for every type of reader in this collection.
ALL INDIVIDUAL RATINGS:
Generation Spent: Britain's Rental Crises: 7/10
Rush: 7/10
Gender Divides: 9/10
The Modern Fairy Tale of Mental Health and 'Just Asking for Help': 9.5/10
University Ain't for the Likes of Us: 7/10
I Agree with Thatcher: 9.5/10
Rites of Passage: 9/10
The Latte Drinker That Spilled the Tea: 8.5/10
A Marked Woman: 9/10
Little Miss Sunshine: 8/10
Exclusion: 9/10
My Body, My Choice: 9/10
Half-Truth Histories: Howe Erasing Empire Maintains the Status Quo: 9.5/10
Working with Anxiety: 7.5/10
Conveyor Belt Socialising: An Exposé on Modern Dating: 8/10
Playing the Part: 7.5/10
The University Myth: 8/10
Sweet Sixteen: Kiss, Marry, Vote: 8/10
The Dinner Party: 6/10
Dumping the Green Belt: 7/10
An Intergenerational Conversation: 7.5/10
rebeccafarren's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
More...