The Free People's Village
Ratings4
Average rating4.8
15
Ratings4
Average rating4.8
From environmental journalist and founder of the #TransRightsReadathon Sim Kern, comes the eat-the-rich climate fiction you won't want to put down: In an alternate 2020 timeline, Al Gore won the 2000 election and declared a War on Climate Change rather than a War on Terror. For twenty years, Democrats have controlled all three branches of government, enacting carbon-cutting schemes that never made it to a vote in our world. Green infrastructure projects have transformed U.S. cities into lush paradises (for the wealthy, white neighborhoods, at least), and the Bureau of Carbon Regulation levies carbon taxes on every financial transaction. English teacher by day, Maddie Ryan spends her nights and weekends as the rhythm guitarist of Bunny Bloodlust, a queer punk band living in a warehouse-turned-venue called "The Lab" in Houston's Eighth Ward. When Maddie learns that the Eighth Ward is to be sacrificed for a new electromagnetic hyperway out to the wealthy, white suburbs, she joins "Save the Eighth," a Black-led organizing movement fighting for the neighborhood. At first, she's only focused on keeping her band together and getting closer to Red, their reckless and enigmatic lead guitarist. But working with Save the Eighth forces Maddie to reckon with the harm she has already done to the neighborhood--both as a resident of the gentrifying Lab and as a white teacher in a predominantly Black school. When police respond to Save the Eighth protests with violence, the Lab becomes the epicenter of "The Free People's Village"--an occupation that promises to be the birthplace of an anti-capitalist revolution. As the movement spreads across the U.S., Maddie dreams of a queer, liberated future with Red. But the Village is beset on all sides--by infighting, police brutality, corporate-owned media, and rising ecofascism. Maddie's found family is increasingly at risk from state violence, and she must decide if she's willing to sacrifice everything in pursuit of justice. "Full of furious kindness, radical community, passionate politics, and authentic friendships, The Free People's Village is a sharply-written paean to hope, set in a vivid, brilliantly imagined future that alternately filled me with loathing and yearning. From the carefully crafted timelines to the intensely real characters, this was a story that yanked me into its world and didn't let me surface for hours. You live because you still can, and you organize because you still can, and you fight because you still can." - Premee Mohamed, Nebula Award-winning author of And What Can We Offer You Tonight "A thought-provoking, exciting ride. The Free People's Village is a mesmerizing portrait of revolutions -- the internal ones that call us to find and fight for the best versions of ourselves; the external that consume, invigorate, and demand as they explore paths to justice. Grounded in an imaginative landscape and rounded out by an inclusive, complex cast, this novel masterfully explores identity, morality, and the choices we make as vehicles that hold radical power in the quest for liberation. More than a love letter to Houston, its bayous, and people forgotten and remembered, Sim Kern's world sings with possibility, hope, and joy that will leave you laughing--and crying -- -long after the last bomb has dropped." -- Ehigbor Okosun, author of Forged by Blood "Beautiful, brilliant, and unflinching, The Free People's Village will both inspire you and devour you...in the best possible way." -- Nicky Drayden, author of Escaping Exodus and The Prey of Gods
Reviews with the most likes.
As per usual when I really, really love something I feel entirely inadequate to review it. I received an ARC of this book, I finished reading well ahead of publication date and yet here we are 3 days post publication date and I still haven't been able to string a coherent sentence that might entice someone to read this book together.
I adored this book, I loved the characters and how real they came across as. It was uncomfortable to read at time but in a way that felt important and like it was opening ground for conversations that need to happen. It's complex, nuanced, and raw. It made me cry a couple of times but it also invited me to look in the mirror.
If you've ever had your heart broken by a social movement you need to read this book, it's both healing and bracing.
I think this book comes at a time where we really need that type of fiction immensely, something that isn't about a hero, that isn't about someone who saves the day and makes it all better but about how revolution and societal change doesn't happen overnight and that sometimes (most of the time actually) it's about doing what you can when the opportunity arises and slowly building towards these opportunities. Also it's an excellent reminder for white people (such as myself) that being cringe and getting called out on it isn't the worst thing and that we can still do some good and grow which is often too easy to forget.
And because I always like to see it: points for casual/comfortable use of neopronouns.
