A review by onthesamepage
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

challenging dark 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

4.0

I am the locusts. Ella sends the thought out like a concussive wave, so that it hits every surveillance orb in the neighborhood, every wired cop, every crabtank in the nearby precinct. I am the locusts and the frogs and the rivers of blood.
I'm here now.

I love and fear Tochi Onyebuchi's writing in equal measures, because I always feel like I am missing so much of what he's trying to tell me. But I keep picking up his books anyway.

This is a biting commentary on and criticism of mass incarceration and racism in America. It was extremely relevant when it was published in 2020, and honestly feels even more so now. It's about the feeling of helplessness when someone you love falls victim to systems of injustice, no matter how powerful you may be, but it's also about the power of community, and the idea that people can affect change, no matter how unlikely it seems. 
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