Book Review | The Outrage
Title: The Outrage Author: William Hussey Published: 13th May 2021 Publisher: Usborne Genre: YA, Dystopian, Contemporary Rating: 5/5 stars
“You know, when you live in a time of progress, it seems that progress is the only possible way. The idea that everything we’d gained, all of those hard-won rights, could be taken away from us, and that open minds could be closed again? But then the Outrage happened.”
Welcome to England, where the Protectorate enforces the Public Good. Here, there are rules for everything – what to eat, what to wear, what to do, what to say, what to read, what to think, who to obey, who to hate, who to love. Your safety is assured, so long as you follow the rules.
Gabriel is a natural born rule-breaker. And his biggest crime of all? Being gay.
Gabriel knows his sexuality must be kept secret from all but his closest friends, not only to protect himself, but to protect his boyfriend. Because Eric isn’t just the boy who has stolen Gabriel’s heart. He’s the son of the chief inspector at Degenerate Investigations - the man who poses the single biggest threat to Gabriel’s life.
And the Protectorate are experts at exposing secrets. -Goodreads
My thanks to NetGalley and Usborne for the eARC of The Outrage to review.
I read William Hussey’s previous book Hideous Beauty last year, and I fell head over heels in love with his writing. I sobbed my way through his book mind you, but I still adored every single page! Thus, I was very confident that I would adore his new book too.
In The Outrage we follow Gabe, who is a gay teen living in a future Britain, although its not too difficult to imagine this isn’t far off in some regards, where being gay has been outlawed. Following an event called The Outrage, anyone who is gay, transgender, or basically different in any way, is taken away to camps. We follow Gabe as he tries to survive school and day to day life, while still being true to himself.
Gabe is a brilliant character. I remember falling in love with the characters of Hussey’s previous book, and these characters are no different. I love how brave and angry Gabe was about everything, he wasn’t going to accept the way life was, he was determined to love who he wanted without anything holding him back. The love Gabe has for his friends, and the group of friends themselves was so sweet and heartwarming. I love a strong group of friends!
The setting of this novel, a futuristic Britain that isn’t all that impossible to imagine, is terrifying. The Britain might not be as far away as we think. A country ruled by a fear of otherness, ruled by hatred and bigotry is absolutely terrifying to me. Despite the bleak setting, this novel is one of hope. Hope that future generations will fight back, and that in the end love will prevail.
Overall I loved this novel. It’s not an easy read, but it is an important novel about love and acceptance and I do highly recommend The Outrage to everyone!
Buy The Outrage from Waterstones here.
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