A review by libraryoflanelle
Disobedience by Daniel Sarah Karasik

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

‘Disobedience’ follows Shael as they navigate life in an oppressive and highly surveilled, prison-like system. We follow Shael as they endeavour to escape and, alongside their found family, defy the society they have grown up in.

The themes of transformative justice, identity, queerness, and community (to name a few) are explored within a dystopian world not all too different from our own. Daniel Sarah Karasik is evidently very knowledgeable and in touch with these themes, and this shines through throughout the story, which I really appreciated and long to see more of in fiction.

Unfortunately, the overall story and the prose itself left me disappointed and wanting more. Whilst I enjoyed my time getting to know some of the characters and seeing a glimpse into their worlds, I couldn’t help but long for more detail. With some additional world-building, character-building, and overall fleshing out, this could easily have been a new favourite for me.

If you are interested in these themes and don’t mind a narrative that may leave you longing for more, then this may still be worth checking out if it is already on your radar.

Daniel Sarah Karasik is definitely one to watch, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do next.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.