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A review by katykelly
Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann
5.0
Powerful, accessible and sympathetic.
Sarah Crossan creates poetry with each chapter of her YA novels. In verse, complex and hard-hitting stories are told in fewer but no less powerful words. I fully expect Run Rebel to receive the critical praise and awards that Crossan's books have been showered with, and deservedly.
Each chapter could be a poem, complete in itself, but together they tell us about the life of one teenager, Asian daughter, with a meek and cowed mother working for pennies, an abusive alcoholic father whose needs come before all others, a sister whose rebellion fizzled into an arranged marriage. And Amber herself - with secrets to hide from friends, a not-allowed outlet in running, a secret crush, and rebellious thoughts.
I was right there with Amber. The conflicting pains of her terrifying and restrictive home life, the anger at school spilling out, the need to hide emotion but still a teenage girl at heart. The story shows Amber trying to push at the artificial boundaries set her in life, rebelling in small ways then seeing she may be able to help others as well.
It felt liberating. We see a full cast around Amber - the teachers trying to help, friends who may or may not be a couple, the student who has got on Amber's wrong side and is in turn quashed by her, then we get Amber's mum's perspective, her sister's, and sympathies are spread, Amber is a heroine for more than just herself.
Running as a metaphor for freedom and escape has been used many times in literature and film. Seeing an Asian girl defying custom to continue this shows the reader what is at the heated heart of Amber, and we root for her to find that strength, even if it is going to mean breaking apart what she has always known.
This may upset some readers, there are mental images presented of violence and abuse though not extended or graphic. But this is important and helpful and a story that will incite discussion, passion and empathy.
Loved the style chosen to depict Amber's story. Her own inability to articulate to the world her issues is well documented in verse, the fragmented nature of her world and feelings articulated beautifully. It makes this a book easy to race through to find out if the Rebel really will Run.
Empowering. Challenging. One for ages 13 and above.
Sarah Crossan creates poetry with each chapter of her YA novels. In verse, complex and hard-hitting stories are told in fewer but no less powerful words. I fully expect Run Rebel to receive the critical praise and awards that Crossan's books have been showered with, and deservedly.
Each chapter could be a poem, complete in itself, but together they tell us about the life of one teenager, Asian daughter, with a meek and cowed mother working for pennies, an abusive alcoholic father whose needs come before all others, a sister whose rebellion fizzled into an arranged marriage. And Amber herself - with secrets to hide from friends, a not-allowed outlet in running, a secret crush, and rebellious thoughts.
I was right there with Amber. The conflicting pains of her terrifying and restrictive home life, the anger at school spilling out, the need to hide emotion but still a teenage girl at heart. The story shows Amber trying to push at the artificial boundaries set her in life, rebelling in small ways then seeing she may be able to help others as well.
It felt liberating. We see a full cast around Amber - the teachers trying to help, friends who may or may not be a couple, the student who has got on Amber's wrong side and is in turn quashed by her, then we get Amber's mum's perspective, her sister's, and sympathies are spread, Amber is a heroine for more than just herself.
Running as a metaphor for freedom and escape has been used many times in literature and film. Seeing an Asian girl defying custom to continue this shows the reader what is at the heated heart of Amber, and we root for her to find that strength, even if it is going to mean breaking apart what she has always known.
This may upset some readers, there are mental images presented of violence and abuse though not extended or graphic. But this is important and helpful and a story that will incite discussion, passion and empathy.
Loved the style chosen to depict Amber's story. Her own inability to articulate to the world her issues is well documented in verse, the fragmented nature of her world and feelings articulated beautifully. It makes this a book easy to race through to find out if the Rebel really will Run.
Empowering. Challenging. One for ages 13 and above.