How Samantha Smart Became a Revolutionary

Gr 9 Up—This Hunger Games—like entry will entice dystopian fans. The unsettling setting—a nation divided after the election of an alt-right puppet candidate named King—is fully prescient and points to 20th-century totalitarian regimes in Chile, Argentina, and Germany, as well as to the iconic Che Guevara. King enlists civilians to participate in a paramilitary force called The Elite and a silent war rages against opponents of the government: the "revolutionaries" who see themselves as "defending basic rights to information and freedom of expression." Samantha, who is poor and white, and her politically engaged black best friend Kayla, are both college soccer stars, neither blatant stereotypes but authentic teens who find themselves propelled into social media stardom, reminiscent of Katniss and Rue. A blend of sports writing, romance, and political commentary, the chapters are told in two time periods—now and then—and are woven together with news flashes in different typeset. While primarily plot-driven, there is substantial character development. Samantha has a college football star boyfriend Brady, whose alt-right family sways his politics. This creates a Shakespearean rift between them. Samantha's grandfather's voice, presented as quotations in the opening of several chapters, clearly guides her desire to resist censorship, lack of privacy, and unethical monopolies. The explicit description of torture sessions and political tensions from hacking to brute force are difficult to read but are appropriate to the themes. The exploration of humanity and self-preservation set this book apart.