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A review by abaugher
The Roar by Emma Clayton
5.0
Good one! excellent dystopian story: a kidnapped twin, a massive unbreachable wall, a poisoned and barren earth, overcrowding, disease, poverty, and the other extreme for a few extremely wealthy parasites. but the POV is from the kidnapped twin, Ellie, and her brother, Mika, who has been left behind to deal with his sister's supposed drowning. But what really happened is far worse...or better.
A fight-n-flight simulation video game takes hold of the London ghetto and kids get into as if it's their lifeline...which it is, considering that winning to a higher level of competition gets prizes of hover cars, credits, real food (not mold shaped and colored to resemble food), and a chance to move to the Golden Turrets, the height of living in the city.
For Mika, the game takes on an even greater significance, as he's given the chance to see Ellie again.
This could be for a high reading level middle school audience, or an older crowd. There are a few minor stutters in the story, where a seemingly important character gets pushed aside without any explanation, or something that should be a thread throughout the book doesn't get the proper buildup and tie-in. but, then, that could be my faulty memory.
Also, the end is a TOTAL cliffhanger. There is a definite sequel. Aside from there still being a lot of loose ends, the world that Clayton built is just too rich to keep in only one book.
A fight-n-flight simulation video game takes hold of the London ghetto and kids get into as if it's their lifeline...which it is, considering that winning to a higher level of competition gets prizes of hover cars, credits, real food (not mold shaped and colored to resemble food), and a chance to move to the Golden Turrets, the height of living in the city.
For Mika, the game takes on an even greater significance, as he's given the chance to see Ellie again.
This could be for a high reading level middle school audience, or an older crowd. There are a few minor stutters in the story, where a seemingly important character gets pushed aside without any explanation, or something that should be a thread throughout the book doesn't get the proper buildup and tie-in. but, then, that could be my faulty memory.
Also, the end is a TOTAL cliffhanger. There is a definite sequel. Aside from there still being a lot of loose ends, the world that Clayton built is just too rich to keep in only one book.