What happens when society wants you banged up in prison for a crime your parents committed? That’s the situation in which Ant finds herself – together with her little brother Mattie and their foster-parents, she’s locked up in a new kind of family prison. None of the inmates are themselves criminals, but wider society wants them to do time for the unpunished ‘heritage’ crimes of their parents. Tensions are bubbling inside the London prison network Ant and Mattie call home – and when things finally erupt, they realize they’ve got one chance to break out. Everyone wants to see them punished for the sins of their mum and dad, but it’s time for Ant to show the world that they’re not to blame. A new nail-bitingly taught YA suspense thriller, from author of the bestselling ITCH series, Simon Mayo.
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This is technically a young adult book, I suppose in the vein of Hunger Games or Maze Runner. It's certainly pretty dark with plenty of despair and a bit of death.
In a dystopian version of the UK the children of uncaptured criminals are imprisoned in their stead. Locked into a ‘strap' physically attached to their spine these ‘strutters' pay for a crime they didn't commit. The plot follows 16 year-old Ant and her 11 year-old brother as prisoners riot and the system starts to fall apart.
I liked this book but I didn't love it, it was well written, interesting, good characters with depth and backstories etc. Mayo paints pictures with his words and the premise is terrifyingly believable but it didn't really ‘grab' me at any point. It's also pretty long and although there are some exciting moments I found the ending a bit of a let down.
