LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Raw and heart-rending, inspirational and hopeful, Louisa Reid's Activist is a beautiful, vital book with the power to help readers mend, make readers mad, and make readers rise. An empowering novel-in-verse about speaking up and refusing to be kept down by the individuals and institutions that perpetuate misogyny.
At the start of a new school year Cassie wishes her mum had let her move from prestigious Castle College. In its toxic environment male pupils send abusive messages and explicit photos to their female peers just as a girl makes an anonymous post about being sexually abused at a party. “Calm down, love,” Cassie is told by boys she went to nursery school with, “boys we loved/in the way you loved yourself/when you’re too young to understand/all the ways/the world will make you change.” This dagger of an excerpt cuts to the core of one of the book’s themes - the need to stop the structural misogyny that sees formerly sweet little boys turn into sexist young men.
When the school fails to take action about the abuse inflicted on “All the girls silently suffering/and blaming themselves/for something that is never their fault”, Cassie takes action - rallying pupils to strike, speaking out at debates – with her friend Lori reminding her that it’s “not just white women… I want to talk about how it is for girls of colour, /how race matters in this, /that white woman, that goddam white school, needs/reminding/that feminism isn’t all about them.”
Brilliantly capturing the elemental strength it takes to fight back, and the possibilities of positive change through persistent activism that harnesses rage (in addition to her actions against misogyny, Cassie also protests against the destruction of a local woodland), this is an exceptional story of courage and faith.
Joanne Owen
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Activist Synopsis
When an anonymous student posts on a website about the sexual abuse she suffered, and the school fails to deal with the situation, Cassie and her friends know it is time to act.
A powerful verse novel about speaking and standing up for what's right.
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?
A powerful, timely verse novel about the need to act and stand up for what's right.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781913101749 |
| Publication date: |
13th October 2022 |
| Author: |
Louisa Reid |
| Publisher: |
Guppy Publishing Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
323 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Young Adult Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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Press Reviews
Louisa Reid Press Reviews
A raw, unflinching verse novel for 14+ filled with white-hot, justified rage - Guardian
There is disillusionment and frustration alongside the desire to improve the world, and an awareness that speaking up is often punished. Yet even if silence is more tempting, Reid reminds us, it is dangerous in its own way; silence is / a sea of drowning / girls. An angry, yet hopeful, call-to-arms. - Irish Times
Activist achieves the perfect balance between heartbreak and hope in a compulsive and beautifully written story. I want girls to read this, I want boys to read it. I want it to be required reading for teachers, heads and parents everywhere! - Teri Terry, author
I devoured every word in an evening, the power of it resonating in my core. It left me trembling. - Kathryn Evans, YA author
I cannot wait to get this incredible and inspiring book into the hands of young people. Louisa Reid writes with such poetic beauty and yet there is a raw power to the words too. Just stunning! - King's Chester School Librarian
Powerful and passionate, Activist embraces the fury of young women who refuse to be silenced. An anthem to raising your voice, to standing your ground and to the friends who help you find hope where none seemed possible. Exquisite. - Amy Beashel, author
Strong, heartfelt and oh so powerful...Louisa's ability to play with language, to write so succinctly with such depth is wonderful. - Emma Perry, author
Raw and heart-rending, inspirational and hopeful, Louisa Reid's Activist is a beautiful, vital book with the power to help readers mend, make readers mad, and make readers rise. An empowering novel-in-verse about speaking up and refusing to be kept down by the individuals and institutions that perpetuate misogyny. - LoveReading
Author
About Louisa Reid
Louisa Reid is 35 years old, married with two young daughters and currently teaches English in a girls' school in Cambridge. She is originally from Cheshire, studied English at Oxford and has lived in London and Zurich. Her pupils are definitely not the inspiration for her characters in her novels but witnessing their passion for great fiction inspired her to write for young adults.
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