Blame

By Author / Illustrator

Simon Mayo

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Penguin Random House Children's UK

ISBN

9780552569071

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

07-07-2016

Synopsis

What happens when society wants you banged up in prison for a crime your parents committed?

That's the situation in which Ant finds herself - together with her little brother Mattie and their foster-parents, she's locked up in a new kind of family prison. None of the inmates are themselves criminals, but wider society wants them to do time for the unpunished 'heritage' crimes of their parents.

Tensions are bubbling inside the London prison network Ant and Mattie call home - and when things finally erupt, they realize they've got one chance to break out. Everyone wants to see them punished for the sins of their mum and dad, but it's time for Ant to show the world that they're not to blame.

A new nail-bitingly taught YA suspense thriller, from author of the bestselling ITCH series, Simon Mayo.

Reviews

Ant and her brother Mattie are in prison for crimes their parents committed. They are 'heritage criminals', guilty of heritage crime: a previously undetected crime committed by your parents or grandparents for which you are held responsible. Sounds a little harsh, doesn't it? Children atoning for the sins of their parents, punishment metered out to next of kin in the absence of the real perpetrator. But if those children have profited from the crimes of their parents isn't it right and just that they should ultimately repay society? Isn't it? It's unnerving, but follows a disturbingly rational thought process that placates the simmering masses baying for justice in uncertain economic times. Someone must pay. Simon Mayo gives us Ant. An angry, feisty, rebellious, non-compliant teen. Unable to be silent, unable to accept the injustice of the system that has incarcerated her and her brother. Ant is not your standard heroine. She knows she is not to blame. But what can she do against a whole prison and justice system? An entire society? Furthermore, is she playing into the hands of a more sinister foe? The cruel and unreadable Assessor Grey. Gritty, unglamorous, raw. A fast paced and tense glimpse of a dystopian future; beautifully rendered by Simon's words, we can feel the rebellion and tension. 480 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Catherine Purcell, librarian.