Riot Baby

I’m unsure of what I thought this was going to be before I read it, but what it ended up being did not meet my expectations. I will say, there are the bones to an excellent story in here. It highlights the struggles of a singular family in snapshots of violence perpetuated by racism in the US.

Honestly, I think I would’ve liked it more without the fantasy/ sci-fi aspect. It felt like an odd choice that distracted from the conversations we’re supposed to be having about racism, power dynamics, racial tensions, US prisons, etc.

Finally, the pacing was all over the place to me. It was disjointed, and I can assume that was done purposely to give it a more “raw” tone. However, it made the book feel twice as long as it actually is to me. The way in which the characters tell the story is in staccato, and the frequent time jumps just made me feel like I could never get settled into one aspect of the novel.

Overall, the ideas were there. There were definitely some good topics brought up that I resonated with as a Black woman, but the execution fell flat for me.

A fierce and poignant firecracker of a novella. Onyebuchi does more with 170 pages than most authors do with exponentially more.

3 stars - The author pairs realism and fantasy nicely while tackeling important topics. Although the main character's powers were cool, they were never explained. With that, the first half had me hooked, but the second half kind of lost me. I'm looking forward to reading more of this author

3 stars - The author pairs realism and fantasy nicely while tackeling important topics. Although the main character's powers were cool, they were never explained. With that, the first half had me hooked, but the second half kind of lost me. I'm looking forward to reading more of this author

3.5 stars

I was tempted to give this book a 4 out of 5 at first because I wanted more, not because the story was incomplete or anything (it wasn't). Tochi Onyebuchi takes you on such an emotional journey through the heads of the main characters and through the dystopian cyberpunk police state of America, by the end of the book I could feel the anger of the characters. Masterful storytelling and a story so of our times that it should be required reading. 5/5 p.s. Throughout the book I kept on thinking "Wow, this would make a fantastic graphic novel." So Mr. Onyebuchi, if you ever decide to have a graphic novel adaptation of it, you have my pre-order!

Wow this book truly packs a punch. It is a must read. it is relevant and poignant to what is happening now and has been happening for far too long. It is short but not a fast read. You need to take the time to process and reflect. It is raw and necessary.

A Powerful book that could have used some more connective tissue. Great concept, good at imparting complex feelings and ideas. The structure just made it feel a bit jarring in the execution.

Wow... a lot to take in, dense and fiery and passionate throughout, and reminiscent of a fireball almost. The finale was beautiful and the imagery vivid, but also... I had a hard time connecting to Kev sometimes and once you lose yourself in a sentence you gotta travel up the entire paragraph which kinda bothered me. But a great read nonetheless and I recommend it if you want something short.

I highly recommend getting a copy of the audiobook. The author brings a power to the story that dials it up the experience. I said that right, you aren't reading this book, you are experiencing it. The flow is chaotic, chapter to chapter you are dropped into events and memories without warning. Leading you deeper into the minds of Ella, and Kev. Every piece of their past presence and future are laid out for you to connect with on a deep emotional level. So many words throughout this story are dripping with deep seeded anger, frustration and hopelessness. They all comes together to build a well written tale of survival. Every aspect of this book gives weight to the over all message. Is there a future that isn't riots and incarcerations? I was on edge throughout each chapter, and had no clue as to how the story would end. But it's well worth the read. Ella and Kev are fierce characters with a story worth experiencing. I recommend this book to those that enjoy stories set in our world, with light paranormal aspects to them. Books that leave you with themes and discussions to ponder about our own society.

I restarted the book and I am happy I did. It is very experimental but I liked it.

3.5 stars TW: incarceration, PTSD episodes, racism, street violence Riot Baby is a very interesting book. The sci-fi aspects didn’t make much sense to me, but it was cool to see how powerful Ella actually is. Kev is so well written. I immediately felt for him and his anguish and frustration of potentially being stuck within the criminal justice system for the rest of his life was heartbreaking. Anti-black racism is no small theme in this novel -the way Kev sees himself in pretty much every other prison inmate really shows you the inherence of racism in policing, prison and judicial system. “But some places, you got to deal with the worst of white folk, the terrorists. The places that made money off you by charging you for tickets and scheduling court dates when they knew you couldn’t make it, then fining you for those missed dates if they don’t jail you first, then they say they’ll graciously set you up with a payment plan, then you get a day or two late one month and they put out a warrant, then when they do get you in jail, you gotta post $2,000 bond or some shit like that that they know you can’t pay, and that’s how it starts. While in jail, you miss your job interview, and when you finally get your day in court, they say you gotta change out of your jumpsuit, but you gotta put on the same funky clothes you spent however long getting arrested in and you gotta stand in that courtroom smelling like rotten poom-poom, handcuffed, and you gotta do all you can to even feel like a person still. If you got family, maybe your mama can borrow against her life insurance policy to post your bond.” I felt the main weakness of Riot Baby was its length. 172 pages is just too short to cover such an important topic as racism and it wasn’t nearly enough time to understand Ella’s powers. ”What if I’m the answer? she had asked herself. What if I’m the one we’ve been praying for?” Onyebuchi’s writing is pretty good throughout and he’s really good at portraying emotions. Although at times some sentences awkwardly shifted from an ethereal sci-fi style to out of place cliches like this “It’s a short walk, but it feels like a pilgrimage across a desert.”

3.5 It started kinda weak in my opinion, but evolved really well. The last part definitely made it worth it. The writing didn't exactly work for me, yet I'd recommend it 'cause I'm sure a lot of people would enjoy it.

read. this. fucking. book.

Really interesting. Some beautiful language but I struggled with how it sometimes obscure the narrative. Speaking of which, I’m not exactly what that was. I wish more SF would take chances in the way this book does though.

It was interesting and well written, but I didn't think the bits of sci-fi in it helped the story in any way. There were topics that are worth discussing and I'm glad I read it but not sure if I liked it.

Whoa. This was chilling and heartbreaking, as well as beautiful and poignant. Highly recommend, a must read.