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Battle Ground #0.5
Making Trouble
Mailing list exclusive novella. Sign up and download Making Trouble FREE from the Taller Books website - clickable link in author bio.
Fifteen-year-old Topher Mackenzie has a complicated life. His Mum is in Australia, his Dad is struggling to look after him, and Auntie Charlie is the only person who understands. When his girlfriend is forced to leave the UK after a racist attack, Topher faces a choice: accept the government’s lies, or find a way to fight back.
The Battle Ground series is set in a dystopian near-future UK, after Brexit and Scottish independence. Making Trouble takes place before the events of Battle Ground, and can be read at any point in the series.
Fifteen-year-old Topher Mackenzie has a complicated life. His Mum is in Australia, his Dad is struggling to look after him, and Auntie Charlie is the only person who understands. When his girlfriend is forced to leave the UK after a racist attack, Topher faces a choice: accept the government’s lies, or find a way to fight back.
The Battle Ground series is set in a dystopian near-future UK, after Brexit and Scottish independence. Making Trouble takes place before the events of Battle Ground, and can be read at any point in the series.
Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2019
7 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Churcher
17 books48 followersMy new standalone UKYA novel is here, and gathering five-star reviews and award nominations!
Angels
is the LGBTQ+ YA story you've been waiting for: friendship, identity, attraction, disasters ... and finding your wings.
Available now!
All seven books of my near-future #UKYA dystopia series are available now on Amazon! Download Book One, Battle Ground , Book Two, False Flag , Book Three, Darkest Hour , Book Four, Fighting Back , Book Five, Victory Day , Book Six, Balancing Act , and Book Seven, Finding Fire and Other Stories for Kindle. Paperbacks are also available, and you'll find all seven books on Kindle Unlimited. For help with international downloads, visit the Taller Books website.
For a FREE tie-in novella, Making Trouble, and bonus short story, Lost Cause , visit freebook.tallerbooks.com.
Award-winning YA author and passionate YA reader. Always looking for the next great YA novel, whether it's a dystopia with an awesome female lead, a historical adventure, or a contemporary High School drama.
SF and dystopia are my comfort zones, but I'll step outside my happy place in pursuit of a good story. I have a book-buying habit, and a large library at home (I think of it as a portal to other worlds). I love physical books, and curling up in front of the fire to read. I firmly believe that there is no such thing as too many books - just not enough book shelves.
Available now!
All seven books of my near-future #UKYA dystopia series are available now on Amazon! Download Book One, Battle Ground , Book Two, False Flag , Book Three, Darkest Hour , Book Four, Fighting Back , Book Five, Victory Day , Book Six, Balancing Act , and Book Seven, Finding Fire and Other Stories for Kindle. Paperbacks are also available, and you'll find all seven books on Kindle Unlimited. For help with international downloads, visit the Taller Books website.
For a FREE tie-in novella, Making Trouble, and bonus short story, Lost Cause , visit freebook.tallerbooks.com.
Award-winning YA author and passionate YA reader. Always looking for the next great YA novel, whether it's a dystopia with an awesome female lead, a historical adventure, or a contemporary High School drama.
SF and dystopia are my comfort zones, but I'll step outside my happy place in pursuit of a good story. I have a book-buying habit, and a large library at home (I think of it as a portal to other worlds). I love physical books, and curling up in front of the fire to read. I firmly believe that there is no such thing as too many books - just not enough book shelves.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 19, 2020
Making Trouble (Battle Ground #0) (2019) by Rachel Churcher is a wonderful introduction to the author’s Battle Ground series.
The book follows protagonist Topher MacKenzie who is facing many huge issues at just fifteen years old. His Mum is now living in Australia and he is living with his father in the UK following his parents’ split and his girlfriend is been forced to leave the UK after a racist, xenophobic attack where there was prejudice about her being Muslim too. Caught in a world where people he loves tend to have to leave for one reason or another, Topher is feeling a lack of security and a mounting fear about the future. Add into this his wonderful moral compass for trying to make things right and fair and you have a character with a lot on his plate especially for someone so young. But he is strong but he also shows his vulnerability and these two things mixed together make him a very relateable character who is easy to like.
The cast of characters in this story are great. Alongside Topher, his parents and his girlfriend we have his auntie Charlie, her boyfriend and a host of characters who are involved with Charlie and her boyfriend in trying to make things equal and fair even if it is not always by the right means. The author really strikes the right tone however in showing how they are pushed into these methods by an increasing unjust system and prejudiced attitudes.
The twist at the end of this book is outstanding. I did not see it coming at all and the writer really managed to throw everyone off the scent there so a great bit of a mystery element there which I very much appreciated.
There is great emotion placed between a great plot here. You get super engrossed in a story which is talking about serious issues and very much invested in the characters.
A brilliant read and a great introduction to the series and the characters.
The book follows protagonist Topher MacKenzie who is facing many huge issues at just fifteen years old. His Mum is now living in Australia and he is living with his father in the UK following his parents’ split and his girlfriend is been forced to leave the UK after a racist, xenophobic attack where there was prejudice about her being Muslim too. Caught in a world where people he loves tend to have to leave for one reason or another, Topher is feeling a lack of security and a mounting fear about the future. Add into this his wonderful moral compass for trying to make things right and fair and you have a character with a lot on his plate especially for someone so young. But he is strong but he also shows his vulnerability and these two things mixed together make him a very relateable character who is easy to like.
The cast of characters in this story are great. Alongside Topher, his parents and his girlfriend we have his auntie Charlie, her boyfriend and a host of characters who are involved with Charlie and her boyfriend in trying to make things equal and fair even if it is not always by the right means. The author really strikes the right tone however in showing how they are pushed into these methods by an increasing unjust system and prejudiced attitudes.
The twist at the end of this book is outstanding. I did not see it coming at all and the writer really managed to throw everyone off the scent there so a great bit of a mystery element there which I very much appreciated.
There is great emotion placed between a great plot here. You get super engrossed in a story which is talking about serious issues and very much invested in the characters.
A brilliant read and a great introduction to the series and the characters.
August 9, 2019
This is a dystopian story that is aimed at Young Readers, and I have to say this Older Reader really enjoyed it as well. Living in the UK for Bex and her friends is different, there are tensions about which side should be supported. Misinformation and fake news make it difficult for the friends to know which is the right side to be on, or even if there is a right side.
There is the side of the Government, surely they have the nations best interests at heart. But then the terrorists are fighting for the people as well! Bex, Dan, Margie, Saunders and others have to decide who they will join up with. The weight of their decisions emerges throughout the story.
Some elements could be seen as relevant in today’s society. This for me is a good thing as it is something a YA reader can relate to. Fake news or propaganda as it used to be known is everywhere in society. Manipulation of the truth leaves you wondering who to trust. For Bex and her friends, it gives rise to discussions and arguments as they believe they support the better side. It leads to the friendship fracturing as they are taken from their school to a Training Camp.
This has been an enjoyable read with a well-paced flow to it. There is plenty of action to keep the pages turning. I like a good amount of conspiracy in my reads and this has a level that felt right for the intended audience. I think YA Readers would really enjoy Battleground, I certainly did.
There is the side of the Government, surely they have the nations best interests at heart. But then the terrorists are fighting for the people as well! Bex, Dan, Margie, Saunders and others have to decide who they will join up with. The weight of their decisions emerges throughout the story.
Some elements could be seen as relevant in today’s society. This for me is a good thing as it is something a YA reader can relate to. Fake news or propaganda as it used to be known is everywhere in society. Manipulation of the truth leaves you wondering who to trust. For Bex and her friends, it gives rise to discussions and arguments as they believe they support the better side. It leads to the friendship fracturing as they are taken from their school to a Training Camp.
This has been an enjoyable read with a well-paced flow to it. There is plenty of action to keep the pages turning. I like a good amount of conspiracy in my reads and this has a level that felt right for the intended audience. I think YA Readers would really enjoy Battleground, I certainly did.
January 17, 2020
A short but punchy companion novella to the excellent Battle Ground series, this tells the story of teenager Topher. Living in a Britain of the near future, he can’t really remember what it was like to live in a country with freedom of speech and freedom of movement, he only knows that the country is broken. Suffering under what is effectively martial law, society surrendered its freedom in exchange for safety, and only a few realise how high a price that was to pay.
Unwittingly drawn into his aunt’s band of freedom fighters, it’s not long before Topher is in trouble, serious trouble, and the author convincingly conveys his rising sense of panic as he’s left alone and hunted through the dark alleys and backstreets of London.
Well written, there’s a crisp sparseness to the prose which suits the genre and plot, and the reader is swept along with Topher into a heart-stopping climax that leaves you wondering right up until the last line. With strong believable characters and an intriguing premise that is so close to what might become our future it is unsettling, this is a brilliant addition to the world the author has created in the Battle Ground series, and provides a tantalising backstory to one of the series main characters.
Unwittingly drawn into his aunt’s band of freedom fighters, it’s not long before Topher is in trouble, serious trouble, and the author convincingly conveys his rising sense of panic as he’s left alone and hunted through the dark alleys and backstreets of London.
Well written, there’s a crisp sparseness to the prose which suits the genre and plot, and the reader is swept along with Topher into a heart-stopping climax that leaves you wondering right up until the last line. With strong believable characters and an intriguing premise that is so close to what might become our future it is unsettling, this is a brilliant addition to the world the author has created in the Battle Ground series, and provides a tantalising backstory to one of the series main characters.
December 13, 2019
Making Trouble is basically Charlie’s background story, but it is told from the perspective of her fifteen-year-old nephew.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and the twist was unexpected and shocking.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and the twist was unexpected and shocking.
April 7, 2019
Exciting young adult sfi fi! Makes me want to read more!
June 23, 2020
I really enjoyed this novella. It started at a pace with crisp dialogue carrying the plot. Topher is 15 and the story is told through his eyes, as his girlfriend leaves the UK to escape prejudice and violence aimed against her in a dystopian future. The story moves rapidly, and feels punchy and fast; all the more real, as it is told in the present tense. Dialogue - always natural - drives the action... but becomes more internalised, transforming into thought and emotion when the storyline spirals into danger and action. Descriptions are punchy and to the point, the action exciting, the twist totally unexpected. This realise a great novella. I really cared about the characters. A great YA read! A 'must' to read the rest of the Battle Ground series.
October 21, 2021
A frighteningly realistic near future is the setting for this novella, part of the Battleground Series which I will now no doubt devour as a result of reading Making Trouble. Well written and fast-paced, it’s a compelling story about a teenaged boy wanting to rebel against a society which is responsible for forcing his girlfriend to flee the country because of the colour of her skin. We follow Toph as he is pulled in different directions, dealing with a mother who has left for a better life, a father who appears to have given up and an aunt who shows the fight and determination he will need.
A lovely ‘taster’ of things to come in what looks like an excellent series.
A lovely ‘taster’ of things to come in what looks like an excellent series.
June 30, 2023
This novella is sooooo good. It has short fast paced chapters which are great to read on the go and dip in and out of. It’s fast paced, building tension, and almost every chapter ends of a cliff hanger. Christopher’s motivations are relatable even though his situation is hopefully one we’ll never find us in. The dystopian England was scary and realistic.
Now, I need to read the rest of the series!
Now, I need to read the rest of the series!
August 4, 2022
Good story!
I liked the way Rachel took what could be a headline from the recent past and turns it into a good story. This is a good lesson for us, but it doesn’t have to be about color! It could be about anything that is “different” from the population around us. Good job, Rachel!
I liked the way Rachel took what could be a headline from the recent past and turns it into a good story. This is a good lesson for us, but it doesn’t have to be about color! It could be about anything that is “different” from the population around us. Good job, Rachel!
July 23, 2019
A great introduction to what promises to be a great series.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews