Thank you Penguin Publishing for this book in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis:

The Bloods are in control and they’re desperate to turn Britain into the world they want to see: right, white, Christian supremist. Anyone who they call abnormal is a target. Amidst the chaos of civil war the country is on the move as small militia groups fight each other and a sea of refugees escapes the cities and the pursuing Bloods.

When her home is destroyed in a bombing raid, Marti must strike out on a mission of her own – to save her father and get his vital software into the right hands. But Marti is mixed race and trans and has her three-year-old brother in tow. Crossing into enemy territory could prove suicidal. Yet Marti’s enemies haven’t reckoned with her indomitable will to survive – and the gun she carries, which has three bullets

Review:

While the message this book is trying to bring across is important, I don’t believe it was delivered in the right way.

It is always good to see YA books hitting the hard topics in hopes to open up young readers minds, educate them more and raise issues that are outside the square box that they call life. You can tell this is what Burgess has attempted but the angst of the main character really tore apart the aim of the book.

Straight of the bat you have a dystopian war-torn England and the setting is brilliant, you get introduced to this brutal world rapidly and there is nothing quite as fun as getting thrown in the deep end. On top of this world you meet Marti, who you know you aren’t going to instantly like and straight off the bat you actually find her arrogant, frustrating and honestly needs a good bloody wake up call. Marti also however has some software on her phone that could assist in fighting against the bloods if it were to be delivered into the right hands.

Look, I understand that the attempt was to have Marti as this toxic character to begin with and then by dropping little easter eggs along the way would assist in the reader growing fonder of her as they progressed through the story, however, that didn’t fly with me. I still wanted to slap her by the end of the book.

Rating: 3/5

Publisher: Andersen Press

ISBN: 97818139130502