The Roar

I rather enjoyed this book and read it in a single sitting (a few hours). A girl, her monkey and a book of poetry from her kidnapper. A boy with an unspoken link to his sister who disappeared. Conspiracy, lies, mutants and a kids' competition that's a bit more than "just a game." Quite a good read! Probably good for a younger audience, but there's no reason an older audience couldn't enjoy it. The opening was a bit 'in media res' (dropped into the story without much background), but the background slowly unfolds throughout the book. A few questions may still remain unanswered though, by the end...

Teenagers usually think the world is against them. But you've got reasons to be suspicious when your twin sister dies mysteriously, as Mika Smith's twin Ellie does (but is she dead?), and you're poor and live behind the equivalent of the Berlin Wall because a manmade plague has killed off all the vegetation and animals. Add an instantly addictive virtual reality game that all the lower-income children of future London want to play in order to win fame and fortune, and the result is an intriguing sci-fi thriller that grabbed me much like The Hunger Games The Hunger Games. Emma Clayton has penned an entertaining read with the requisite science fiction and supernatural elements as well as realistic characters (even the creepy bureaucrat Mal Gorman shows complexity). Mika and his parents are especially sympathetic. Mika is unwavering in his desire to find Ellie, who he suspects is still alive. The cyborg creatures in the novel are particularly freaky. The elements of questioning authority and protecting the environment as well as the backdrop of class struggles are solid staples of sci-fi, as is the hitn that nothing is as it seems. The one quibble I have is that Clayton overuses dialogue tags and adverbs unnecessarily--her dialogue is strong and conveys the emotions of her characters.

This book was a pleasant surprise. Good Science Fiction is hard to write. Too often , the plots are too far-fetched , stretching beyond all reasonable believability. Such was not the case with "Roar". The author has a unique talent and ability to be creative , yet remain plausible. The book is satisfying from start to finish , with great character development , and plot development. I'm sure you will find this a very enjoyable adventure.

The book is set 43 years after a plague that caused all humans to sequester themselves in a small area of the earth behind guarded walls where no other animal life besides humans exists. For the first 30 year conceiving children was forbidden. At the beginning of the story the first generation born since the plague are now reaching their teens. Life behind the wall is overcrowded and stark. Although 400+ pages it does not feel nearly that long and left me hoping for a sequel to be published soon. This is science fiction with no romance throw in to attract a wider audience. Although the publisher stated 3rd grade reading level I would not recommend it for kids under 12 as it is a bit too suspenseful for elementary age group. I would expect that middle school and high school fans of Science Fiction would greatly enjoy this book. As an adult fan of Science Fiction I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it very hard to put down. Emma Clayton does a wonderful job of using words to draw pictures that make the post plague cities come to life in the mind of the readers. I found the characters well developed. There is lots of action throughout the book