English language
Published July 29, 2023 by Levine Querido.
In an alternate 2020 timeline, Al Gore won the 2000 election and declared a War on Climate Change rather than a War on Terror. For twenty years, Democrats have controlled all three branches of government, enacting carbon-cutting schemes that never made it to a vote in our world. Green infrastructure projects have transformed U.S. cities into lush paradises (for the wealthy, white neighborhoods, at least), and the Bureau of Carbon Regulation levies carbon taxes on every financial transaction.
English teacher by day, Maddie Ryan spends her nights and weekends as the rhythm guitarist of Bunny Bloodlust, a queer punk band living in a warehouse-turned-venue called “The Lab” in Houston’s Eighth Ward. When Maddie learns that the Eighth Ward is to be sacrificed for a new electromagnetic hyperway out to the wealthy, white suburbs, she joins “Save the Eighth,” a Black-led organizing movement fighting for the neighborhood. At first, she’s only …
In an alternate 2020 timeline, Al Gore won the 2000 election and declared a War on Climate Change rather than a War on Terror. For twenty years, Democrats have controlled all three branches of government, enacting carbon-cutting schemes that never made it to a vote in our world. Green infrastructure projects have transformed U.S. cities into lush paradises (for the wealthy, white neighborhoods, at least), and the Bureau of Carbon Regulation levies carbon taxes on every financial transaction.
English teacher by day, Maddie Ryan spends her nights and weekends as the rhythm guitarist of Bunny Bloodlust, a queer punk band living in a warehouse-turned-venue called “The Lab” in Houston’s Eighth Ward. When Maddie learns that the Eighth Ward is to be sacrificed for a new electromagnetic hyperway out to the wealthy, white suburbs, she joins “Save the Eighth,” a Black-led organizing movement fighting for the neighborhood. At first, she’s only focused on keeping her band together and getting closer to Red, their reckless and enigmatic lead guitarist. But working with Save the Eighth forces Maddie to reckon with the harm she has already done to the neighborhood—both as a resident of the gentrifying Lab and as a white teacher in a predominantly Black school.
When police respond to Save the Eighth protests with violence, the Lab becomes the epicenter of “The Free People’s Village”—an occupation that promises to be the birthplace of an anti-capitalist revolution. As the movement spreads across the U.S., Maddie dreams of a queer, liberated future with Red. But the Village is beset on all sides—by infighting, police brutality, corporate-owned media, and rising ecofascism. Maddie’s found family is increasingly at risk from state violence, and she must decide if she’s willing to sacrifice everything in pursuit of justice.
If you're an activist, or a leftist, or you just want to see a better society than the one we currently live in, you should read this book.
Despite being set in an alternate history, this book really felt like an extremely realistic depiction of everything going on with the left these days. It's pretty brutal and sad, honestly. I really wanted it to end on some utopian note, but it ends in an extremely probable way instead. Maybe that's more important.
Going into the book, it was really hard to read the story through Maddie's voice. She was incredibly annoying, and reminded me a lot of being in university and meeting white college students who would "invade" local organizing spaces and center movements around themselves. I guess in a lot of ways, she reminded me of a younger version of myself that didn't know how to navigate my (relative) privilege in spaces, and maybe I'm embarrassed for that version of my self.
But somehow this story ended up resonating with me, and revealing a lot of the lessons that need to be learned if you want to try to make change in the world. This book felt very much grounded in Sim's own experiences in organizing, especially how large mass movements can be breeding grounds for conflicts between different (and often legitimate) tactics and approaches.
I think the book ends on …
Going into the book, it was really hard to read the story through Maddie's voice. She was incredibly annoying, and reminded me a lot of being in university and meeting white college students who would "invade" local organizing spaces and center movements around themselves. I guess in a lot of ways, she reminded me of a younger version of myself that didn't know how to navigate my (relative) privilege in spaces, and maybe I'm embarrassed for that version of my self.
But somehow this story ended up resonating with me, and revealing a lot of the lessons that need to be learned if you want to try to make change in the world. This book felt very much grounded in Sim's own experiences in organizing, especially how large mass movements can be breeding grounds for conflicts between different (and often legitimate) tactics and approaches.
I think the book ends on a strong note, and it's a note that I have been reflecting on a lot. Simply, we all need to find joy in struggle, because we can't give up even in the face of staggering loss. The stakes are always gonna be high, and there needs to be a way to live joyously in spite of that.
Definitely not a comfortable read. But awesome.
Content warning Spoilers?
coming from the monk and the robot series, i guess i looked forward to this book because i built an unrealistic image of it i suppose. :P
i was expecting a revolution and the building of a new society or community or whatnot. insted, we get this kind of moral message regarding how we should fight despite the fact we might not win?
overall, the writing and the story are amazing, i'm just not sure what was the point of all of this.
the main character wants to be a critique of whiteness, but it also still the main voice we always hear throughout the whole book. and she is super annoying at times and i wonder why we have to stick with her for so long.
anyway, probably, i just had expectations too high and i braced myself for something that was real in my mind only. sad but true.
I enjoyed so many different aspects of this book, the characters, the premise, as soon as this is published I will ask my partner to read this, because I know they will love it. It's real, it's gritty, and so very necessary to read. I didn't fully know what I was in for when I started reading, but as soon as I started I couldn't stop. Excited to read more about this author, they really have a way with words.
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
Purchasable
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