Underdogs: Uprising

Underdogs #4

by Chris Bonnello

It’s the last days of the war. The fate of humanity is at stake. The stage is set for the Underdogs’ final battle.After thirteen months of vicious warfare, the fight between the Underdogs and Nicholas Grant’s forces is almost at an end. The neurodiverse heroes of Spitfire’s Rise have fought a war to be proud of, however their greatest challenge still lies ahead.In this epic conclusion to the series, the world is on the brink of annihilation and the survival of humankind hangs in the balance. Grant is finally in a position where he could be defeated – but, once again, the Underdogs do not have numbers on their side. They must overcome the odds that have been stacked against them since day one and infiltrate New London to prevent global destruction. Uprising sees the Great British Rebellion come to a head in a cataclysmic showdown. Nobody knows what the country and the wider world will look like once the dust settles around the survivors; the only certainty is that the final night of the war will determine the destiny of the human population.

Genres: Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

Published August 5, 2025

Reviews

[Liza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best penultimate book I could have finished this year with, in part because it beautifully finished a series that's been dear to me since it first came out, and In part because I don't want to finish my last book of the year crying as much as I am at the moment 😅

Not that that's a bad thing. As a PDA'er, I've always felt things strongly, and there's no better way to read this book than to pour everything you are into it. Because that's clearly how it was written.

[Jenny Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Representation is a word you hear a lot about in current discourse and is the subject of much debate. 'Is it truly necessary?' ask many. 'Must the characters we identify with be so very like us?'. The answer to the latter question is of course no. The power of human empathy and good storytelling can put you in the shoes of a shape shifting centaur from a far flung planet who also happens to be an accountant for a sluglike businessman, after all. Such quieries, however, often ignore the fact that many people are given no choice because they simply do not see those who bare close similarity to themselves in fiction. This is as true for neurodivergent people as many other minority groups. Particularly when narritives created from an outside perspective are discounted.

The Underdogs series by autistic former teacher and current advocate/author/creator of Autistic Not Weird Chris Bonnello gives the ND community representation in spades. Taking to crowdfunded publishing in perhaps a case of the process imitating the title of the art, Bonnello grew a movement united around a powerful idea: what if society would one day come to look to and depend on people often left at it's margins for hope and salvation?

Underdogs follows the brutal war between a group of students from Oakenfold Special School and ruthless dictator Nicholas Grant, driven by his twisted idealism to imprison the population of Great Britain in oppressive citidals with alarming efficency. The students and a handful of other escapees from the day of Grant's triumph face desperate odds in their battle to survive the machinations of their enemy, let alone succeed in reclaiming the country for its people. Given their previous challenges, it is a feeling the Oakenfold cohort are well used to, with diagnoses running the full gamut from ADHD to autism, from dyslexia to Down's Syndrome. They are, as their mantra goes, united by thier differences.

Through his nuanced cast of characters, Bonnello delivers heartfelt and often sorely needed messages of self worth, self love and self acceptance into the heart of the communities they represent whilst challenging the preconceptions of thier abilities and characteristics often held in wider society. A telling mirror is held up when the Underdogs are subjected to incredulity or degradation by those they oppose. On the other hand, there will be many times an ND reader will point and nod as they relate to what they see. I don't think I have ever seen stimming depicted in fiction before, for instance. The series truly is a decisive and fairly epic takedown of anti neurodivergent abelism.

Of course the Underdogs, the titular fighting force that grows out of the sole ragtag group to escape Takeover Day with the support of inspiring adults who simply 'get it', are no mere mouthpieces for these ideas. They have foibles, inner lives, motivations and narratives of their own, forging familial bonds with each other. The reader roots for every one to overcome what they face, feeling as proud of their successes and as saddedned by thier losses as if they were flesh and blood.

The series is perfectly balanced, delivering genuinely thrilling, interesting and evocative action sequences, thought (and feeling!) provoking introspection and compelling interactions with equal force. It also pulls no punches with regard to the devastating impact this situation is having on the Underdogs numbers and thier mental wellbeing, especially given the significant struggles, both internal and external, already present in their lives. The war is fought because it is necessary. The glory comes from the resilience on display rather than the very present violence. The author has the creative courage to make death a true possibility, nay even probability, for each of our heroes without resorting to ham fisted shock factor. Every death has impact and narrative or thematic weight. Similarly, every victory is uncontrived and earned.

In short, Underdogs is an amazing series and, from my perspective as a neurodivergent woman, an important one. I love that it exists in the world and hope it continues to widen it's readership and scope of influence now that it is done.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

You were rescued by people you spent your lives being told to underestimate. By autistic students, dyslexic kids, people with ADHD and anxiety…. We were underdogs long before we gave ourselves the name. So when you get out of here, when we start putting society back together, try to make it suck less for us. Make it so that we have just as good a shot at success as everyone else. Make sure our brains are as appreciated as everyone else's. Make sure we're accommodated as much as everyone else. Because all those "accommodations" we were given in the past? Accommodations aren't special treatment. The world was already accommodating everyone else without question?'

In 2020 I was picked as a judge for the Guardian Not The Booker Prize – the judges role to be to pick from among a shortlist chosen by public votes (with the public vote also counting heavily towards the final decision)

As written up by Galley Beggar’s Sam Jordison in his write up here https://www.theguardian.com/books/202..., I made a very strong case for Underdogs: Tooth And Nail and the unique way it provides voice (not to mention adventure and excitement) for neurodiverse characters. – see from 3:30 to 6:15 here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3XQ5...)

In my strong case I explained that this was the second book in a series and that the third book was at the time being crowdfunded (which I decided to support via Unbound together at a later date with the fourth and last in the series – which is this book).

My review of the first three books are here

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The book is very much in the same simple, dystopian, young adult adventure story style as the first three, and like those gains its uniqueness and literary value from the neuro-diverse teenagers who formed the majority of the Underdogs: the remaining resistance to the plans of Nicholas Grant, who has already succeeded in enslaving almost the entire population of the UK via a vast army of killer drones and who now has wider plans for the rest of the world.

In this novel the Underdogs after the hugely violent episodes of the third book are down to no more than a dozen (and some way fewer than that as the book progresses, which does slightly reduce the diversity of their group) and they rendezvous with a UN representative for a final all out assault on Grant’s New London headquarters in an attempt to temporarily disable his missile shield to allow the UN to attack in advance of Grant enacting a plan to disable the world’s satellite operations before a genocidal assault on humanity. It quickly becomes clear to them that the mission is likely a suicide one, as the UN attack will by necessity involve some fairly indiscriminate bombing.

Meanwhile in New London, Oliver Roth – Grant’s boy assassin (one of an equally dwindling list of Grant’s inner command) ruthlessly exposes a covert group of traitors in his organisation.

Overall a fitting conclusion to an important series

'That's all we want …. and all we've ever wanted ……… To be appreciated. Because we were the ones who fought and died for you. We were the ones who knew it'd be thankless, but fought for you anyway. We were Britain's last line of defence... and to honour the dead, we freed the living. We were the Underdogs of Spitfire's Rise.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Bonnello’s ‘Underdogs’ series had me hooked from the start. The fourth and final instalment does not disappoint.

It took me longer to read ‘Uprising’ than any of the first three books, for the simple reason I didn’t want it to end. It was exciting and an emotional rollercoaster, not just an adventure but a rare insight in neurodivergent minds.
I will miss these heroes of Spitfire’s Rise. Their strengths and their weaknesses, their flawed perfection.

This is neurodiversity and disability representation in fiction at its best.
United by our differences.

[Karen Kitching · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been hopelessly hooked on the whole series but this final chapter was everything I could ask for. Twists, turns and shocking moments continue to pepper the narrative liberally leading up to an explosive final confrontation.

[Jen Nishi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, heart pounding end to an excellent series. I found my hands sweating and my eyes leaking tears throughout this book. Excellent descriptions of ptsd and sensory overload. Excellent exploration of war and loss. Just an excellent book period.