*This ARC was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
About The Book
'Cassie goes to a prestigious academic school where girls have only just been admitted after decades of it being single-sex. When a female student from the school anonymously posts about the sexual abuse she has suffered and the school does not act properly, Cassie knows that she needs to take matters into her own hands. She and her friends prepare for battle - with a strike, an assembly, as well as outside school spending their weekends protesting to save the woodland from development. But will her activism only make things worse, or will she succeed in righting the wrongs that so many choose to ignore? And could there be a more personal reason for her behaviour?'
My Thoughts
I read Activist in one day; the day it arrived from the publisher. I wasn't sure I'd be approved for an ARC of this book, as I haven't reviewed anything like it in the past, but I'm really grateful that I did, because I feel like I learned a lot from this one. Not only in terms of the subject matter, but also in regards to writing.
Activist is a novel in verse, which was one of the main things that drew me in, and made me request an early copy. I really enjoy reading (and writing) novels in verse, but I don't own so many of them, which I'm hoping will change as I start to work on my own novel in verse!
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that it dealt with two really important topics; fighting against sexism and sexual abuse, and protecting our planet and wildlife. I wasn't sure how the author would combine both these topics, but I think it was done really well.
There are quite a few content/trigger warnings for this book: s*xual *ssault / r*pe / s*xual vi*lence towards minors specifically. While I did struggle a lot reading specific scenes featuring these topics, I think it was overall written well, so that it was serious enough to get the point across successfully. I do think readers need to be made aware before going into this book, however, that these scenes are incredibly hard to read, especially in a book for a younger audience.
That being said, I think this book did an excellent job at dealing with such an emotive, and awful subject matter. It delves into topics that nobody wants to have to read about, but that are incredibly important all the same. There were scenes in the book which made me cry, and others that left me filled with rage. The way that some of the characters speak, and the things they say to Cassie and her friends is absolutely disgusting, but of course, that is the point. I think this book brings to light aspects sexism that people like to pretend does not impact young people.
The secondary plot follows Cassie trying to save an area of woodland which she lives by, and has a lot of sentimental attachment to. This woodland is being destroyed in order for a new residential area to be built, and Cassie and the local community protest against this. There are various protest scenes throughout the book, both against the woodland development and against the s*xism and s*xual vi*lence that her and her friends experience at their school. These scenes were written in a way that makes you feel as though you're there witnessing it, and it really does pack a punch.
I would recommend this book to other readers, but I do urge you to consider the trigger warnings, and whether you are comfortable reading these scenes, as they are very hard-hitting in my opinion.
Have your read Activist? Or will you be picking it up? Let me know in the comments!