User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
At only 173 pages,
Riot Baby is a quick read that you can easily breeze through over the course of a weekend, but there is plenty to sink your teeth into here. Equal parts love and rage, this is the kind of novel you turn over slowly and carefully in the back of your mind, feeling the edges of it like you would a coin. Intense, fierce, and impossible to forget.
The story follows Kev who is born the day of the Los Angeles riots of 1992 that were spurred by the savage beating of Rodney King and the subsequent acquittal of the police officers who had partaken in it. The author then moves through time and space, diving into achingly remembered moments of Kev’s life: now a child with endless potential, now a teen who knows fear in the shape of the faces of those who are supposed to protect him, now a young man spilled, like a seed from a smashed fruit, into the killing chill of a world ruled by the endlessly ravenous wolf of injustice and systemic racial oppression. A world where Kev has to fight for the simple privilege of drawing air into his lungs.
This carefully layered narrative across the decades works splendidly well, and gives the impression that every moment in Kev’s life had happened before it even happened, that it is happening now, has never stopped and will never stop happening; like a skip in a DVD endlessly throwing the reader backward and forward in time. That sense of
nowness, of persistent, almost unbearable reality lends the novel a compelling urgency.
Meanwhile Kev’s sister—Ella—dreams. Ella has tremendous supernatural powers, but as strong and unbending as she is—powerful enough to fly, to pierce through the earth to the other side of the world, to reach into the depths of one’s mind and
twist—she cannot save her brother from a world bent on punishing him for the simple crime of being a young Black man existing in public space. And for most of the novel, Ella, who has slipped into some great hollow place within her, only visits Kev in prison in psychedelic visions, as both of them try to gather up the strings and wind themselves nearer, nearer—through bleak, scoured-cold landscapes, and rooms without air—until they can finally meet each other in the middle. Until they can stand back to back, instead of living with their backs to the wall, ruled by fear of death.
All we can do is the work. I recognize it’s not enough to preach free love. We have to combat free hate as well.
There’s a gathering of something hard and unyielding at the core of this novel, a roar of anger and pain at the injustices of the world, the losses to which we see no end, only the far horizon, stretching on and on. And at the impunity, the hollowness of political platitudes, like threadbare cloth worn so thin that you could see light and shadow through its fabric. Onyebuchi makes it very clear that there’s nothing
dystopian about his story. This is a lived reality for so many Black people in America, as undeniable as sight and touch, and the solidity of that truth runs like a vein through the novel, carried by the swift-running current of the author’s lucid yet dreamlike writing.
Riot Baby, after all, is a stirring story of resistance, and hope blooms on the pages like fungi after rain. It’s also a call to action. To make war against that old instinct Ella and Kev had to make war against—the instinct to freeze, to retreat, to cradle your anger in your hands until the flame went out safely—and to stand up to darkness, to fear, to injustice. To stand up for each other, arms entwined like a net to carry the heaviest burden. In one of the most powerful moments in this novel, Ella admits that she had wanted her brother to just survive, but, at the end,“in her chest, it becomes a cruel thing to ask him to do.”
Survival is not enough, insists
Riot Baby, only freedom is.
Rating: really liked it
I love the ideas here, the genre blurring, how the narrative grapples with what it means to be black in this country. There are some issues. The transitions are odd. I get the purpose but it became more frustrating than interesting. And I think the book needs another 40 or so pages so that parts of the story could expand. But still, great book.
Rating: really liked it
Ugh. This book got glowing reviews from many of my friends, but it just did not work for me. It has passion and anger — but it takes more than that to make a good story.
Passion and anger and strong emotions can only carry it so far. N.K. Jemisin and P. Djèlí Clark use these to create powerful stories. This one, unfortunately, falls quite short.
Maybe if it was just a realistic fiction dealing with criminal justice system and its faults, it could have been better. Maybe if it was a fiery opinion piece on incarceration, it would have made for a better read. But it incorporated - or at least tried to - fantastical elements which did not combine well with the main narrative thread. It’s like the author took two separate, unrelated ideas and tried to force them together,
but instead of cohesion these ideas just jarred and jumbled, leading to plot holes and a nagging feeling that it’s an unfinished draft that needs more work.It addressed issues and messages at the detriment of character development, especially that of Ella. What do I know of Ella by the end of it? That every time she’s on page, she somehow acquires yet another superpower - teleportation, telekinesis, precognition, time travel — off page — and yet absolutely zero is ever done to help anyone that she’s supposedly cares about? It is not integrated into the story, feels like a gimmick that’s only needed for the ending (that vision of ruthless retribution), and is a prime source of eyebrow-raising, especially every time she “levels up” without explanation or much consequence. It’s described as her “Thing”
and that’s what it felt like - a “thing”, undeveloped and vague and jarring. And that damn implanted chip - the idea behind it is clear but the execution is slapdash and messy, and it’s just another “thing”. And, honestly, so are the Stepford-like compounds that are introduced and then fizzle out - just a “thing” that could have been interested if explored and developed properly.
I can’t quite pinpoint what it was about the writing style itself that kept me at arms length in this story, but something about it just kept a wall between me and the book. It had that half-finished quality of a quickly jolted down outline that was supposed to be revised and tightened, but wasn’t, leaving “things” unfinished and vague.
Really, it feels that the author is counting on the readers’ existing anger about injustices perpetuated in this world. But to create a good story, you can’t just rely on the existing feelings; then it’s not a story but a manifesto, which is a wholly different bag of chips.
To add to it all, I’m a determined pacifist, so the message in the end further soured already lackluster reading experience.
“So much death, but there’s joy in it.” No, I can’t agree; violence for me - a pacifist - is not acceptable regardless of which side it comes from. Burn down the old to build the new is a tempting but juvenile solution that is yet to work well.
1-2 stars.
———
In the acknowledgements, Onyebuchi credits N.K. Jemisin and her The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season / The Obelisk Gate / The Stone Sky with teaching him how to “write angry”. I’d advise reading that series instead — that would be a better use of your time.
———————
My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Rating: really liked it
Book 4 of 30 for my 30 day reading challenge!
I don't think I've ever read a book this short, that succeeded at everything it could have accomplished even if given 400 more pages. The broadness of this idea and setting, paired with the intimacy of this family narrative could not have been a more perfect balance. We've got some big themes like racial injustice and incarceration in a dystopian setting, but also a beautiful sibling dynamic at the heart of the story that is simply moving.
I'm so glad I picked this up, Tochi is a new auto-buy for me and I'm yet again impressed by Tor and their championing of bold and unique novellas.
Rating: really liked it
I received an uncorrected proof copy of Riot Baby in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Tochi Onyebuchi and Tor.
Riot Baby begins in Compton, USA depicting topics that could have been straight out of an N.W.A song. Racism, police brutality, gang banging etc... This chapter is presented by a young lady Ella who is one of the two point of view perspectives. At the culmination of the chapter Ella's mother goes into labour in the midst of a brutal riot and gives birth to her little brother. Kev, the riot baby.
As mentioned, the first of the two point of view perspectives is that of Ella. She has special powers which she refers to as the Thing. She can look at a person and can see visions of their past and future sufferings. She can Travel which means she can disappear to other places, can Shield to make herself invisible, can appear as an astral phantom, can destroy items with her mind... she can even make rats heads explode without looking at them. It is as if she is taking all the anger and despair that she witnesses and is building the emotions up to something that could be cataclysmic. Her views are presented in the third-person perspective.
The second main player is Kev, the titular Riot Baby. His viewpoint is presented in the first-person. He's an intelligent young black individual who spends a lot of time reading and fixing computers. He's also street-wise and knows a simple bad decision can equate to death in the hood. His narrative arc is full of depth which is surprising for a tale this short. He ends up being incarcerated for little more than being a young black gentleman. His time in jail is horrendous featuring some notorious and harrowing scenes, it changes him completely, and it fucks up his mind. The only thing that keeps him sort of sane or focused are visits he receives from his sister that are "both mundane and supernatural."
At 173 pages, this was an intense, occasionally challenging and utterly unique novella. It combines elements of science fiction, dystopian ideals, racism, supernatural powers, change, and oppression but it is ultimately about a close family and their love for each other. In these 173 pages the events that take place cover approximately 28 years. It goes from a nowadays Compton to a dystopian futuristic existence where emotions and choices are essentially taken away from black individuals. During this period Ella spends her whole time watching and drawing in the pain of reliving unjust deaths.
I will admit that I didn't fully understand a few sections when watching historic events or walking on different plains whilst the characters' bodies were still alive in the real world. It also switches sporadically occasionally from past, current, future and even point of view perspectives. This isn't really a negative, I just had to concentrate deeply to fully appreciate the full tale and it's three-dimensional depth. For me, this was between 3-4 stars up until the final 10 pages which were phenomenal and pushes Riot Baby up to a solid 4-star read. Onyebuchi is a popular YA author but there is no denying that this novella, his first-time releasing adult fiction is extremely dark and graphic in its nature. Certain scenes were nail-biting in their intensity and other occasions were so brutal that if this was a film then they would be the look away from the screen moments.
Riot Baby is a thrilling, intense, nail-biting read that transcends genre and has an ending of biblical proportions. Adult, often extreme but highly recommended.
Rating: really liked it
------------------VIDEO REVIEW------------------
23/7/20
Finally a book review is up! :D
3/1/20
This book was definitely better the second time around! I think that if you aren't familiar with (black) history/culture in America you're going to have to work a little more in order to understand everything. Having done it, I would ay it was well worth the efoort and definitely would recommend reading it. My review will come out at the start of February.
27/9/19
A sincere thank you to tor.com for sending over a copy of this book!
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Rating: really liked it
oooh, goodreads choice awards finalist for best science fiction 2020! what will happen?******************************
fulfilling my 2020 goal to read (at least) one book each month that was given to me as a present that i haven't yet gotten around to reading because i am an ungrateful dick.nothing i can say about this book is going to resonate as much as the author's own words, so:
This book, like its title character, saw a fiery birth. Formerly a swirl of disembodied phrases and feelings and half-characters, the story of Ella and Kev began to coalesce while, in Paris, I learned of the non-indictments of the police officers responsible for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. After the revelation of the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of Laquan McDonald, I began to hear, with greater force, the stirrings of Ella's voice and Kev's. Each new horrifically regular death, whether upon initial police contact or later during police or carceral custody, made clearer what I wanted to say. Because while I mourned, I thought of the families left behind and how the orbit of hurt at the center of which sits each of these tragedies is spread almost beyond imagining. In a fiction genre that traffics in the impossible, I wondered how such people, such families, might find themselves situated.
What might the opposite of injustice look like?
too many orbits, too many obits
to anyone who needs to hear this: please stop making the world terrible.
come to my blog!
Rating: really liked it
damn
Rating: really liked it
incredible scope and astounding intimacy. this book covers so much in so little time. as the author says in his acknowledgements, this book is "angry, the type of angry that still leaves room for love." Highly recommend.
Rating: really liked it
Riot Baby, though short, is powerful. It is a book that punches you in the gut with each of its 174 pages.
It is the story of siblings Ella and Kev and how structural racism defines their lives, beginning in childhood. Kev is the Riot Baby, born during the LA riots of 1992, Ella the sister with mysterious powers. Their childhood is fraught with danger, and violence is an everyday affair. Somehow they survive into adulthood, when Kev is unjustly arrested and incarcerated, as so many young black men are in America.
The story fluctuates between Kev's experiences and Ella's. Ella too is incarcerated, trapped in the justifiable anger that consumes her. All her life she's had visions, and through them witnesses countless acts of police brutality against Black people. She also witnesses their oppression countless times in her everyday life.
My only problem with this book is that at times it moved around too much and many times it wasn't immediately clear if the scenario was actually happening or was a vision. Reality would become jumbled. Were we in the past, present, or future?
In passionate and at times poetic prose,
Riot Baby reminds us of the many injustices and atrocities Black people face every day in America, a country that is steeped in structural and cultural racism. It is not a book to read if you want to cover your eyes, comfort yourself, and insist we live in post-racial times.
The book ultimately leaves us with a glimmer of hope that things can get better and eventually will. It points out however, that change cannot happen if people remain silent.
Riot Baby, though fiction, is a call to action on the part of everyone who cares.
Rating: really liked it
Disjointed storytelling that jumps back and forth between Ella & Kev's PoV + bounces about timelines without warning or explanation. Hard hitting & thought provoking because it doesn't hold our hand or spell things out for us.
Stirring, poignant & powerful!
Packs a mighty punch for a novella, it hits on many levels at once - phew...Strap in & hang on *gulp*
PS - the cover is so striking!
Edit 10/3/21
Another I'm silly proud of for my booksta thoughts...altho please go easy on the photo! Not sure what happened me there, far from my finest moment & peak #lazybookstagrammer lowkey/highkey self-fulfilling prophecy I guess 🙈
Rating: really liked it
This is my third attempt with this author and it’s probably my last. I just don’t think he is very good at writing fantasy. This novella is a combination of fantasy and realism. Ella has all sorts of powers (time travel, teleportation, ability to see the future), but none were explained or seemed to be applied in a useful way. The realistic parts of the book about the criminal justice system were better. 2.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
damn
Rating: really liked it
”We don’t get where we’re going by matching hate for hate.” This is an odd little story. I’m not sure I understood it all. But I hope I got enough of it that I know what Toni Onyebuchi is trying to say. It jumps around a lot. So be prepared to really pay attention.
My favourite part is when Onyebuchi describes using algorithms that are coded to persecute POC as the same as cops making conscious decisions. This is very powerful to me. Thus stating, systematic racism is no different than allowing a computer to run a program and determine the outcome. It’s 100% predictable. Sadly I think this absolutely true. People have been coded to react a certain way based on the colour of someone’s skin.
My privileged white girl self is completely at a loss on how to break things down and fight back to help all POC most days. Certainly understanding is the obvious first step. I desire to do more and so am trying to consume ownvoices fiction and truly listen to what is being said. Questioning my own thoughts and actions regarding race; and no longer letting family or friends make casual racist remarks. It’s long past time to call people out for what they say and how they say it. I certainly felt that part of Riot Baby was about driving home how many riots and times this issue has crept to the surface; and then been beaten down again with no change. I hope that this 2020 riot push back doesn’t go away until true progress can be made.
No one story or book will change everything; but like The Hate U Give, I think Riot Baby is a wonderful contribution to stating the issues in a way to give a different perspective. It’s very important we continue this conversation and change the delivery to get to more people. I recommend reading this, even if you feel a bit lost like I did, just so you can experience a perspective you’ve likely never seen/heard before. Thank you to Onyebuchi for providing this unique and moving story.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Rating: really liked it
I thought this was stunning. The writing was all kinds of gorgeous.
I think it's a perfect companion piece to watching Do the Right Thing or reading Between the World and Me or The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism.
Note, each of these references are a bit more hardcore than the last. But it's all related.
After all my previous readings over the last few months, this is a perfect companion piece and a microcosm for what's been happening in America for hundreds of years. Particulars change, but the fundamental injustice remains the same.
In this particular book, written so well, we have some pretty conflicted psychology and super-powers that are more a fantastic spice to a story that is becoming increasingly more universal than an actual superhero tale.
Of course, with this much injustice, this much hate despite wanting to stop the hate, the REAL conflict is revealed. And it's not violence.
It's the pressure. We need to know it for what it really is. If we want to solve this problem, we need to recognize that we create our own hells. All of us.
