Outwalkers by Fiona Shaw - ADVISABLE

Outwalkers by Fiona Shaw 404 pages. David Fickling Books. 2019. $17. Content: PG

Language: PG: 3 swears (0 "f"); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

In this dystopian novel, set in a future England, children left orphaned for any reason is put into the Home Academy. It is more like a prison than a home. Jacob escapes and goes to pick up his dog, Jet. Together they need to find a way out of England and into Scotland. The Coalition runs everything and can track anyone at any time. At birth children have been implanted with a chip in their neck. Jacob and Jet are “taken in” by a gang of kids calling themselves the ʘutwalkers. They live by four very strict rules. They each have a small symbol tattooed into the base of their neck that identifies them as part of the ʘutwalkers, a small ʘ. These kids cut the chip out of Jacobs neck, and together they make their way north in a dirty, gritty environment. They are constantly on the alert and they band tighter, eating what they can find when they can find it.

This was a fabulous book. This was a very intense, well written, fast paced book. Jacob is a very believable hero. I felt his hope and his despair and was scared for him and his fellow travelers. Their trek through the old subways of London is harrowing and suspenseful. The kids in the book came alive and I was “rooting” for them all the way through the books. They meet a lot of obstacles and they are always hunted by the Coalition, and many others that are ready to turn them in to the Coalition. The characters are fantastic and the setting is very believable. This is a “must read” kind of book.

Reviewed by: Ellen-Anita Librarian