The Outrage

Disturbing, heartbreaking and terrifyingly believable - this is dystopia at its absolute best. The characters, beautifully and honestly rendered, live in your mind long after finishing the book. Themes of courage, love and forgiveness run alongside the overwhelming hatred, fear and ignorance. Ultimately, despite the sheer awfulness of the events (and they are awful and in places gory and graphic), the reader is left with a sense of hope that justice can and will prevail and that love in its many forms will survive and must be celebrated. The Outrage is a timely and important novel.

416 pages / Reviewed by Helen Walker, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+

Hussey’s thought provoking dystopian YA novel The Outrage shines a spotlight on the injustice of man's inhumanity to man. Sadly, his chilling portrait of a fragmented country, whose government resolves to stamp out what it perceives as difference, is not so improbable with the echoes of the Nazi regime evident today in totalitarian regimes. Homophobia and transphobia are still prevalent even where communities have made strides to celebrate and embrace diversity. Stonewall's mission is to "Imagine a world where everyone feels free to be who they are wherever they are" and Hussey's book serves as a warning of what could happen if people let prejudice win.

The Outrage is a nightmarish vision of the persecution of LGBTQ+ communities in a fragmented England as they lose civil liberties and hatred and injustice spiral out of control. It is a heartfelt message about the importance of representation and human rights. Told in the first person voice of Gabe while effectively using flashbacks, it is a story of star crossed lovers torn apart, of devoted friendship, of the importance of being loved for who you are, of quest and of sacrifice. Compelling, nuanced, tender, troubling and disturbing it is also a treasure trove of intertextuality as Gabe and his Rebels' group discover a secret past among deserted ruins which gives them a glimmer of hope.

Hussey's narrative has echoes of Orwell as he describes the Machiavellian machinations of a corrupt government that engineers events to generate insecurity and fear of the unknown. His characters are well rounded, his set pieces are cinematic and the plot offers surprises. He asks the question, why does an authoritarian government think it has the right to punish people for choosing whom they want to love?

At the core of the novel is the message that history is cyclical - a wheel on which seismic events turn shaping political decision making, influencing thought currents and seeking scapegoats for social problems. The novel includes an enlightening Foreword from performance poet Jay Hulme highlighting the precarious nature of hard won LGBTQ+ rights and the horrors of Section 28 legislation, an engaging Afterword with Hussey's thoughts, and organisations who can assist readers if they have been affected by issues raised in the book.

While not suitable for younger year groups, it offers relevant points for discussion among a group of older teens. This would be an insightful read for an LGBTQ+ Senior school club, GCSE History, Politics and Social Education classes. Trigger Warnings - Homophobia, Self-Harm, Violence, References to suicide

416 pages / Reviewed by Tanja Jennings, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+

A book billed as 'The Handmaid’s Tale for LGBTQ+ YA' was never going to be a comfortable read but nothing can quite prepare the reader for the harsh and shocking reality of The Outrage.  The very best speculative fiction works because it creates a world we believe to be completely and terrifyingly possible - even recognisable.  In The Outrage, Hussey skilfully writes an all-too plausible future England ruled over by a far-right government led by a stop-at-nothing, power-hungry Protector, where immigrants are seen as Degenerates, homosexuality is illegal and needs 'fixing', food is in short supply, healthcare is non-existent, libraries have been closed down 'because no-one used them', and books and media not promoting the government's message have been banned. This is a society in which there are strict rules for everything.  Inevitably, and thankfully, such societies have rule breakers and rebels - wannabe film-maker Gabe, determined to fight for a freer and fairer future, whose only crime is being gay - and in love, in secret, with the son of the Chief Inspector of Degenerate Investigations himself...  

The skill of the dystopian world-building in The Outrage is more than matched by the strength of the characterisation and careful plotting.  We care deeply for sensitive, determined Gabe and his loyal group of Rebel friends and allies who stand up for each other even when it would be easier to back down - and we fear for their future from the very first chapter.  The clever flipping back and forward in time of the narrative from Now to Then fills in the back story for each of the characters making them more rounded and believable, ramping up the tension with every chapter.  Even the characters we don't see - the Librarian responsible for hiding boxes of now illicit DVDs from recent past popular culture -  feel very real.  The way these DVDs are interwoven into the story to explain the recent history of LGBTQ+ rights is nothing short of genius and creates the superb ending to the story, an ending which shows the importance of fighting for representation and respect, an ending which offers hope of a brighter future for everybody.

The Outrage is so much more than a completely unforgettable dystopian thriller, it is also a swoony, same-sex love story you’ll become completely wrapped up in.  Every school library needs several copies so that every single student can see themselves positively represented.  It is also the perfect choice for a tutor reading programme at KS4/5, offering so much to talk about - homophobic language, trans rights and transphobia, terrorist attacks, repatriation, hate crimes, climate change and ethnic cleansing to name but a few. The Discussion Questions included at the end are detailed and thought-provoking.  The excellent Foreword by Jay Hulme and Afterword by the author put the story into context today and show how much PHSE, History and Media Studies Departments need this astonishing book too.   

It will make you cry, make you angry and, most importantly, make you want to act to make a difference.  It is a book you won’t forget reading, a warning that we cannot be complacent, that the root causes of hatred must be tackled and that the recent small victories in the UK are very fragile and could all too easily and suddenly be taken away.   It is a book that will both appeal to, and appal, YA readers.  It is a book which, to borrow the words of Gabe, "has the power to change minds.  Even save lives".

416 pages / Reviewed by Eileen Armstrong, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+