The Upper World

This book will appeal to the older teen that enjoys science fiction, maths, physics or London street fiction. The Upper World follows two main characters, Esso and Rhia. Esso is hit by a car and discovers that he has the ability to see glimpses of the future, which don't bode well for his gang of friends. He becomes haunted by a vision of a bullet fired in an alleyway which has devastating consequences. He needs to try to travel in time to keep his friends alive.  Esso struggles with staying on the right path and finds that it is all too easy to get caught up in the neighbourhood gang violence. He is also looking for some way to de-escalate the situation so that the events that he has seen happening don't occur.

Rhia, a foster child, is living in the future, 15 years from now. She is searching for answers from her past. Her mother died when she was young and the past holds the key to understanding the parents that she never got to meet. She is a rising football player who finds a keen interest in physics thanks to her new tutor Dr Esso. She starts to do better in school but is knocked off the rails by a change in family circumstances. She is also forbidden from meeting with Dr Esso.

I think my favourite parts of the book were reading about Rhia's heartbreak at the injustice she suffered and Esso's struggle to stay on the right path. These were the parts of this book that really gripped me.

This YA novel will soon hit Netflix so will likely be very popular and the author studied quantum physics at Oxford University, so the theories are all carefully explained in the appendices. It is a fast paced book that takes turns in sharing both characters' stories. I think this book will be a bit like marmite, you'll either love it or you'll hate it.

368 pages / Reviewed by Clair Bossons, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+