I heard about Riot Baby during a readathon that I was participating in. Previously, I was unfamiliar with this author and this work. I’m glad that’s changed though because I though this was such an interesting book.

Riot Baby follows two siblings, one of which was born during the Rodney King Riots. They are surrounded by a system that victimizes, criminalizes, and then incarcerates their peers. When they reach a breaking point, we start to see hints of powers they’ve both been containing. 

This is in some ways a dystopia, but in some ways it isn’t. We have a system that is set up to function against a certain group of people. The reason that I won’t call it an outright dystopia is because those injustices are just slight escalations of the things that already happen on a day to day basis in the states.

What’s most impressive about this book is how it can delve into such deep themes in such a short page count. It all made sense as written, but also left me wanting more of the story. All in all, a solid read.