Format: ebook
Release Date: April 15th, 2021
Age: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy – Dystopia
Goodreads
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Thank you to Usborne Publishing for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley – views remain my own.
This book was excellent, and I think it’s a really great example of Young Adult that doesn’t talk down to its target audience, but tackles complicated, tricky topics in a slightly satirical way while giving us a solid story and strong protagonist to root for. Be warned though, if you, like me, love dogs, there are some very heartbreaking doggy moments in here.
Gloria is maid to Head of State, Madame Suprema. When a crisis threatens Afalia, the tyrant’s solution is to run away. But knowing the damage this could cause throughout the country, Madame’s husband arranges for Gloria to step into place, hoping the ruler will return once the floods have passed, and no one will be any the wiser. Meanwhile, the city workers set about trying to keep the factories from flooding, while the flood waters rise outside the city, and a dog is separated from his boy.
While we see Gloria trying to act as Madame Suprema, we also get the dog’s POV as he sets out on a quest to find his family. Through the dog, we see what else is happening in the country. I admit, I loved these parts. The animal POV was handled really well, and it added a nice almost-whimsical element while keeping with the tone of the book.
Gloria does her best, and her heart is in the right place, as she tries to do what’s right and make things better for the workers, but she is a teenager, and often makes things worse. There’s no point where you can really blame her though – she sees people suffering, and wants to help them not suffer. She is confronted by the reality of life at every turn, finding herself trying to understand a world that is so blinded by capitalism it simply cannot function in the face of such a big disaster.
There are so many layers to this. It’s satire at its finest, with a very bleak, dark humour underlying the events of the novel. Choices have real, lasting consequences. Characters make mistakes, or act purely in their own self-interests. There are few who manage to hold onto reason, and throughout the novel we see how propaganda is used to influence the public in various ways – the power of newspapers is used to great effect. There’s quite a bit of politics going on here, but not so much it feels like the plot is dragged down in favour of it.
Although they are two very different books, I’d compare it to Perilous Times – another recent favourite. Both look at similar themes but in very different ways, and both are exceptionally British in their satire and humour.
There’s a very 1984 feel to the book, and it really feels influenced by the classic. It’s a commentary on climate change, capitalism, corrupt governments and more. There are moments that are infuriating, heartbreaking, and hopeful, all with a fifteen-year-old girl at its centre. If you like satirical novels with plenty to say and a gripping plot to say it through, definitely pick this one up.
Unwrapping Words 