Roar by Emma Clayton

The New York Times - Julie Just

The Roar is exciting, thought-provoking and very hard to put down.

Children's Literature

This book is set in a future London where people live behind The Wall in order to be safe from The Animal Plague just beyond the boundary. This plague caused every animal to turn vicious and attack anyone they came upon. As a result the wall was built and the animals were killed with a poisonous gas that damaged the surrounding environment as well. This is the world that Mika has always known. His life however is changed forever by the disappearance of his twin sister Ellie. To make matters worse a secret organization is recruiting mutant children. They are used to fight in virtual reality games that are more than what they seem. This is the author's first novel for children and I often read these books with great trepidation when I hear of this. People often think that the jump from novels written for adults to those written for children is an easy one. This is not true, yet this author manages to not completely lose sight of the intelligence and the interests of her intended audience. At times, not surprisingly, the book feels inspired by manga and anime. This makes it fun and almost visual in its approach to setting, events, and locations. Reviewer: Monserrat Urena

VOYA

In a future in which animals have contracted a horrible plague that makes them hungry for human flesh, all humans retreat to the northern part of the world behind The Wall. While the rich reside in golden turrets above London, the masses are forced to live in flooded slums. Thirteen-year-old Mika knows that his twin sister is still alive despite government claims that she drowned. When the Youth Development Foundation holds a contest for a chance to fly a real Pod Fighter, Mika knows it is his only chance of finding his sister. Clayton's debut novel is a sure-fire hit with teens young and old alike. Boys especially will like the action- and suspense-packed story, filled with harpoon guns, video games, and espionage. The plot is jumbled, going in many different directions, which might distract older readers while at the same time holding teens with shorter attention spans. The novel's extensive length sets up a sequel, allowing readers a chance to look forward to another action-packed volume. The world is creative and filled with secrets and danger at every turn, keeping readers guessing which direction the characters will be forced to go next. Although not the most polished or sophisticated of novels, it will prove popular with teens, with little violence and no objectionable language. Teens will roar for more of this must-have for any library. Reviewer: Robbie Johnston

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8

In a bleak future, humans use terrible chemicals to fight The Animal Plague that causes all of the world's animals to go rabid and renders most of the planet uninhabitable. The population now cowers in overcrowded walled cities. Mika, 12, and his parents live in London in terrible conditions. His twin, Ellie, supposedly drowned a year earlier, but Mika is convinced that she still lives. He's right. The story begins with Ellie and a tiny monkey named Puck fleeing a spaceship in a stolen Pod Fighter. Sadly, their attempt to escape is foiled by the evil Mal Gorman, who has a plan to co-opt the entire first generation of children born after the Plague and make them into an army for his own nefarious purposes. And Gorman has special plans for kids like Mika and Ellie, whose mutations give them unique abilities. To save his sister, Mika will have to win a contest involving simulator battle games and many deadly challenges, using abilities he never knew he had. The story starts fast and never slows down. While the bad guys are a bit stereotypical, the good guys are interesting and realistic. There's a touch of the supernatural, some interesting philosophical questions, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave readers hungry for more. Give this one to readers not quite ready for Orson Scott Card.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

Kirkus Reviews

On a future Earth, 12-year-old Ellie pilots a fighter pod from an orbiting space station to England. Although she's determined to reunite with her parents and twin brother Mika, she is recaptured by government agents. How Mika discovers the secrets of their dystopian society and begins to seek a peaceful solution to them propels the exciting, suspenseful plot. In fact, this compulsive read should not be started at bedtime if readers intend to get any sleep. Echoes of Ender's Game and the Tripod Trilogy lend interest to Clayton's skillful blending of science-fiction tropes into an original novel. Transportation pods, monstrous cyborg animals, advanced healing techniques and the scientific study of ESP provide the details that make this world work. The book's climax, although satisfying in itself, does not resolve all readers' questions or tie up the loose ends that provide an enticing glimpse of possibilities for future volumes. Since it ends with a walloping cliffhanger, here's hoping a sequel appears in our not-too-distant future. (Science fiction. 10-12)

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