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Thrive
In a time and place where the gulf between the haves and the have-nots has grown painfully wide, Olivia lives a life cushioned with abundance.
Until the day she is kidnapped and held for ransom by Hannah, a girl from a very different kind of life.
Olivia discovers a taste for things not commonly condoned in her world: black-market books, daring friends, wild creativity.
From the depths of factory oppression to the dizzying heights of vigilante rooftops, Olivia travels the margins of society, where the misfits gather and build homes for themselves out of whatever they can get their hands on - and fight to make a life worth living.
Until the day she is kidnapped and held for ransom by Hannah, a girl from a very different kind of life.
Olivia discovers a taste for things not commonly condoned in her world: black-market books, daring friends, wild creativity.
From the depths of factory oppression to the dizzying heights of vigilante rooftops, Olivia travels the margins of society, where the misfits gather and build homes for themselves out of whatever they can get their hands on - and fight to make a life worth living.
226 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
27 people want to read
About the author
Mary Borsellino
45 books56 followersMary Borsellino has written fiction and essays about sci-fi and fantasy, including a book of academia about Robin the Boy Wonder and a critically acclaimed novel about what the Devil likes about rock and roll. They live in Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 15, 2017
Well, Mary Borsellino can tell a good story. For me, this novel was almost an even combination of Marlee Jane Ward's Welcome to Orphancorp (and honestly kind of what I'm expecting from Psynode when I finally get around to it) and also Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha.
On the surface, these are very different books, but what they have in common is the gritty, dystopian world feel. Particularly with Beyond Shame, which also shares the same class separation as does Thrive.
Olivia is kidnapped for ransom as she is on the upper class side of that class divide. Hannah is her captor but, instead of terrorising her, she gives her books to read off the restricted list, opening her eyes and bringing to her a love of books that lasts and changes her even after she gets rescued. It's not very long after returning to her old live that she finds it too small for her and goes out to seek something else.
That's when she finds Sam. I didn't know about Sam, because a large number of the reviews I've read mention only Hannah. But Sam, as far as I'm concerned, was just as important to Olivia's life and growth as Hannah. And, in every scene that had the three of them together, I was so, so moved.
Far from having a sibling-like relationship with Sam, I would go so far as to say the three of these characters have a borderline romantic relationship with one another, or would do were it not a truly apocalyptic world they live in. Actually, one of the things I liked was that Mary didn't explicitly say what nature of relationship the three of them shared. We got hints of their life, such as the high regard they held for each other, the fear of losing each other, sleeping in the same bed together, sacrificing themselves for each other.
Honestly, it was beautiful. All over. An unputdownable book.
On the surface, these are very different books, but what they have in common is the gritty, dystopian world feel. Particularly with Beyond Shame, which also shares the same class separation as does Thrive.
Olivia is kidnapped for ransom as she is on the upper class side of that class divide. Hannah is her captor but, instead of terrorising her, she gives her books to read off the restricted list, opening her eyes and bringing to her a love of books that lasts and changes her even after she gets rescued. It's not very long after returning to her old live that she finds it too small for her and goes out to seek something else.
That's when she finds Sam. I didn't know about Sam, because a large number of the reviews I've read mention only Hannah. But Sam, as far as I'm concerned, was just as important to Olivia's life and growth as Hannah. And, in every scene that had the three of them together, I was so, so moved.
Far from having a sibling-like relationship with Sam, I would go so far as to say the three of these characters have a borderline romantic relationship with one another, or would do were it not a truly apocalyptic world they live in. Actually, one of the things I liked was that Mary didn't explicitly say what nature of relationship the three of them shared. We got hints of their life, such as the high regard they held for each other, the fear of losing each other, sleeping in the same bed together, sacrificing themselves for each other.
Honestly, it was beautiful. All over. An unputdownable book.
November 10, 2021
So this was such a cool book because it followed the story of Olivia in a world where there is a massive divide between the rich and the poor. Basically the rich have everything and the poor are used as workers - literally they have put 'ports' into their bodies and use them to power stuff....gross!
Anyway, Olivia is kidnapped but then befriends her kidnapper and decides she wants to live in the poor world with them. It goes through her experiences etc as she hangs out with this new and exciting group of people and follows them around as they go about their business.
Definitely a cool book! Such great detail in the writing and in the world building that it was easy to follow and keep track of what's going on. Well done, great book!
This was sent to me by Clandestine Press in exchange for an honest review.
Anyway, Olivia is kidnapped but then befriends her kidnapper and decides she wants to live in the poor world with them. It goes through her experiences etc as she hangs out with this new and exciting group of people and follows them around as they go about their business.
Definitely a cool book! Such great detail in the writing and in the world building that it was easy to follow and keep track of what's going on. Well done, great book!
This was sent to me by Clandestine Press in exchange for an honest review.
June 10, 2015
“In a time and place where the gulf between the haves and the have-nots has grown painfully wide, Olivia lives a life cushioned by abundance. Until the day she is kidnapped and held for ransom by Hannah, a girl from a very different kind of life. “
I was riveted by Mary Borsellino’s beautifully written and compassionate portrait of a girl discovering a world beyond her narrow privileged world. Fairy tale and comic book references are woven elegantly into the text. I especially loved is that discovering reading – banned hardcopy books – is a trigger for Olivia’s escape into a world of daring friends and freedom and that love and friendship carry more power for change than the usual violence that dystopian fantasy novels carry. Though the world is cruel, the end is full of hope. And the prose rips along. I couldn’t put it down and read the whole thing right through in a day.
One of the most powerful things about this book is that it could be set in the dark corners of our current world with only a few trends taken to the logical extreme. “It’s the survival of the fittest. The strong eat the weak. That’s how nature works,” says Olivia’s Dad. How often have we heard that from our politicians and our movies! The factory worker section evoked the lives of factory workers making ipads in Asia today and the title thrive is a slang for people who don’t quite measure up to the social norms who are designated as failing to thrive and sent away to institutions.
This is an intelligent and exciting young adult book for people with heart AND brains. Borsellino deserves to be better known.
I was riveted by Mary Borsellino’s beautifully written and compassionate portrait of a girl discovering a world beyond her narrow privileged world. Fairy tale and comic book references are woven elegantly into the text. I especially loved is that discovering reading – banned hardcopy books – is a trigger for Olivia’s escape into a world of daring friends and freedom and that love and friendship carry more power for change than the usual violence that dystopian fantasy novels carry. Though the world is cruel, the end is full of hope. And the prose rips along. I couldn’t put it down and read the whole thing right through in a day.
One of the most powerful things about this book is that it could be set in the dark corners of our current world with only a few trends taken to the logical extreme. “It’s the survival of the fittest. The strong eat the weak. That’s how nature works,” says Olivia’s Dad. How often have we heard that from our politicians and our movies! The factory worker section evoked the lives of factory workers making ipads in Asia today and the title thrive is a slang for people who don’t quite measure up to the social norms who are designated as failing to thrive and sent away to institutions.
This is an intelligent and exciting young adult book for people with heart AND brains. Borsellino deserves to be better known.
August 23, 2015
Mary Borsellino is my favourite YA author you’ve probably never heard of. With Thrive, she does for dystopian lit what The Wolf House did for vampires: creates an elegantly-crafted tale which should appeal to fans of the genre and non-fans alike. Thrive is sprinkled liberally with references to classic works of dystopian lit as well as to films, comic books, and fairy tales; it would be neat to do a book club compiling the texts mentioned here and comparing them.
In the best near-future SF tradition, Thrive holds an only slightly distorted mirror to contemporary society. The characters are well-drawn and feel like people you could personally know, if you or they had been born in a different era. Mary’s earlier works, The Wolf House series and The Devil’s Mixtape, were as much of a joy to reread as to read the first time; I look forward to experiencing Thrive the same way.
In the best near-future SF tradition, Thrive holds an only slightly distorted mirror to contemporary society. The characters are well-drawn and feel like people you could personally know, if you or they had been born in a different era. Mary’s earlier works, The Wolf House series and The Devil’s Mixtape, were as much of a joy to reread as to read the first time; I look forward to experiencing Thrive the same way.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews