Rating: 4 out of 5

Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy, 4 Stars, Diverse 

People who should read this: If you’re wanting to read own-voice books that talk about today’s topics in an emotional story. 

“I am the locusts, and the frogs, and the river of blood.”

There’s so much anger in Riot Baby, it literally drips off the page. But all of it is beautifully written, like a narrative of emotions. 

Riot Baby is not so much a story as an out-pouring of anger for black people. Even Onyebuchi admits that it was written from a place of anger. It’s his response to what’s been happening in the world. And it’s not a story that should be taken in the literal sense of a story. The world isn’t explained well. Ella’s power makes no sense. The plot jumps around. There is no clear ending.

I see the book as snippets of narrative that needed to be digested separately. If you look at the powerful moments for what they were meant to showcase and less about their role in the story, you can see how amazingly written Riot Baby is. I’m worried that a lot of people are going to pick it up and expect more. I know that I did at first. Yet, I stepped back to finally see the beauty in it and to appreciate the book in a different way. 

If we do look at it as a story, I have a few questions. Why was it so short? The book is only 176 pages. There is definitely room to expand and there were enough loose ends to make it grander. Onyebuchi could have expanded on his idea. I think it would have been even better that way. 

What was the point of Ella’s powers if nothing was really fleshed out in the plot? Is Onyebuchi used to writing something without a level of disbelief? Were Ella’s powers used solely to get the reader to different points in history? Besides being able to see another person’s memories, even getting to see her brother in jail, it didn’t lend well to the story in my opinion. Instead, it bogged down my ability to see the point of the story as I tried to figure out what was going on. 

I really just want to pick apart Onyebuchi’s brain to understand what he was trying to say with Riot Baby. If I know the person can see past the forest for the actual trees, I might just recommend the book. I walked away with a mountain of emotions and feelings and a deeper understanding of the pain that black people have had to endure. 

Happy Reading 

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 96/175