What do you think?
Rate this book
The Activists
Rats and Frauds Beware—Activists Are Coming to Save Democracy
Four young activists, Izzy, Zoom, Roxy, and Fritz, make it their mission to agitate against the decay of democracy. In their travels to New York, Washington DC, and through the heartland, they confront our political frauds and the fools who voted for them. When they become the target of violence in a rural town, they engage the community and find creative and entertaining ways to shake citizens out of their narrow-minded lethargy.
Rats and frauds beware. The activists in this political fairy tale participate in a variety of whimsical events: A figure reminiscent of the Pied Piper entices frauds to march as rats into the Potomac River; an artist paints a portrait of the wannabe dictator and incorporates the hues from a donkey’s ass; and ticks find their way onto the scalps of white nationalists.
The Activists confronts the turmoil in America with satire, bits of magic, drumming, art, rhyming, and political theater. Similar to the Parkland activists and the likes of Greta Thunberg, the novel’s protagonists are passionate about the future and take action. If you want political change, you will find this novel stimulating and amusing.
Four young activists, Izzy, Zoom, Roxy, and Fritz, make it their mission to agitate against the decay of democracy. In their travels to New York, Washington DC, and through the heartland, they confront our political frauds and the fools who voted for them. When they become the target of violence in a rural town, they engage the community and find creative and entertaining ways to shake citizens out of their narrow-minded lethargy.
Rats and frauds beware. The activists in this political fairy tale participate in a variety of whimsical events: A figure reminiscent of the Pied Piper entices frauds to march as rats into the Potomac River; an artist paints a portrait of the wannabe dictator and incorporates the hues from a donkey’s ass; and ticks find their way onto the scalps of white nationalists.
The Activists confronts the turmoil in America with satire, bits of magic, drumming, art, rhyming, and political theater. Similar to the Parkland activists and the likes of Greta Thunberg, the novel’s protagonists are passionate about the future and take action. If you want political change, you will find this novel stimulating and amusing.
- GenresYoung AdultEbooksFiction
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 7, 2020
13 people are currently reading
839 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 1, 2021
Timely adventure
Mr Link is in touch with how our country was and is suffering from a past president that almost ruined American.
There still may be lingering groups who believe that man, who would be a king or dictator, if given the opportunity.
Yes it is about the here and now but is also about a group of related kids that have learned how to time travel and discover a different society that for better or worse is depressing.
They set out to try and change one small town and if successful task the rest of America to wake up and become more aware of what we can lose if we don't become involved.
It's just a story, or is it?
Mr Link is in touch with how our country was and is suffering from a past president that almost ruined American.
There still may be lingering groups who believe that man, who would be a king or dictator, if given the opportunity.
Yes it is about the here and now but is also about a group of related kids that have learned how to time travel and discover a different society that for better or worse is depressing.
They set out to try and change one small town and if successful task the rest of America to wake up and become more aware of what we can lose if we don't become involved.
It's just a story, or is it?
October 23, 2020
This is a heavy handed satire of our current political circumstances as experienced by four interesting and enthusiastic young activists. It's told with humor and imagination but if you're politically sensitive on some of these issues you may not enjoy it. I liked the kids and I liked the message that the young people will be the agents of change. From my experience with the young people around me I think there might be some truth in that.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
November 3, 2020
I received a copy of this ebook through a Goodreads giveaway. This is my honest review. I felt the plot had a lot of potential and could have made a great book. The presence of the narrator was distracting at the least and obnoxious when it pulled me away from the story. The narrator utilized the deus machina literary device on more than one occasion and literally asked the reader to suspend disbelief. Of course you want your reader to suspend disbelief, but you don't directly ask them to. You give them a reason to suspend disbelief. This story didn't give me a reason. There was far too much telling rather than showing in the story. The characters were flat, static, and lacked complexity. The characters did not develop more throughout the story. I realize this was a satire. I have read satire and liked it. I realize that this was a young adult novel. I have read and liked those. Young adults do not like being referred to as kids or talked down to in books. If and author is going to put cursing in the book then do it, or just say they cursed an expiative. Don't just insert a funny word like "goof" it's jarring to the reader every time you see it. It also comes off as talking down to the young adults reading the book.
October 11, 2020
Thanks to Goodreads for the giveaway. Maybe it was a fault with me but I couldn't finish reading this book. I had trouble finding/following the storyline. I could understand the issues and the players but didn't find enough humor or curiosity to read further. Maybe I will pick it up again.
September 29, 2020
I will start this review out by saying that I do not typically read political satire. Though I am, as a registered voter in the upcoming 2020 election, trying to understand more viewpoints on the current political situation in the United States. So, when I saw this book about young activists wanting to change American politics in the Goodreads giveaway, I decided to enter. And I won a free copy of this book for Kindle on Goodreads. Here is my honest review.
It is very clear in the book's description (if you are the type of person that reads them) that it is satire. If you know you're not a fan of satire, this book will not be for you. But, if you are and if you are more well-versed than the average Joe in American politics, then you should like this book. I am neither of these things, so that is where my rating mainly comes from.
Here are the positives of this book (in my opinion). It is pretty clear who some of the major players are, though they tend to remain unnamed in the book. I was easily able to pick up on all of the Donald Trump references, and any time Mike Pence appeared. These references become more obvious the further you get into the book. I also liked Link's writing style. I felt like the prose was easy to read despite the interwoven and numerous parts of the story. I also quite enjoyed the narrator.
Here are my negatives for this book. I felt like most of the satire went over my head. I could understand that something was being said about the issues of race, immigration, education, income inequality, taxation, and white supremacy. But, I felt like I was not getting the significance of the satirical situations presented. There were also so many different events and storylines and time-periods that made it feel a bit jumbled. I felt like I had to take notes to remember what happened, where, when, and what it was saying about American politics today.
That being said, if you are a fan of political satire, you may enjoy this book. If you are not, then it may not be as enjoyable of a read for you.
It is very clear in the book's description (if you are the type of person that reads them) that it is satire. If you know you're not a fan of satire, this book will not be for you. But, if you are and if you are more well-versed than the average Joe in American politics, then you should like this book. I am neither of these things, so that is where my rating mainly comes from.
Here are the positives of this book (in my opinion). It is pretty clear who some of the major players are, though they tend to remain unnamed in the book. I was easily able to pick up on all of the Donald Trump references, and any time Mike Pence appeared. These references become more obvious the further you get into the book. I also liked Link's writing style. I felt like the prose was easy to read despite the interwoven and numerous parts of the story. I also quite enjoyed the narrator.
Here are my negatives for this book. I felt like most of the satire went over my head. I could understand that something was being said about the issues of race, immigration, education, income inequality, taxation, and white supremacy. But, I felt like I was not getting the significance of the satirical situations presented. There were also so many different events and storylines and time-periods that made it feel a bit jumbled. I felt like I had to take notes to remember what happened, where, when, and what it was saying about American politics today.
That being said, if you are a fan of political satire, you may enjoy this book. If you are not, then it may not be as enjoyable of a read for you.
September 3, 2020
I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
This book wasn't particularly for me. While it was satire it felt a little heavy handed for me. Maybe it's just political exhaustion, but it felt a little too goofy for my taste at times.
I can see this being a good book for people who are good at disengaging from headlines or really enjoy satire.
This book wasn't particularly for me. While it was satire it felt a little heavy handed for me. Maybe it's just political exhaustion, but it felt a little too goofy for my taste at times.
I can see this being a good book for people who are good at disengaging from headlines or really enjoy satire.
November 12, 2020
I received this book as a giveaway, but this is my honest review...
I really enjoyed this book! It's told in a very unique way and bends reality into an entertaining story! There are a lot of lessons and events that are kept slightly vague so that the reader can add their own experiences and views to the story, which is very creative! I would recommend this book to anybody and everybody!!!
I really enjoyed this book! It's told in a very unique way and bends reality into an entertaining story! There are a lot of lessons and events that are kept slightly vague so that the reader can add their own experiences and views to the story, which is very creative! I would recommend this book to anybody and everybody!!!
January 14, 2022
Interesting young adult novel. Gives young readers something to think about in the American political realm. If you're a far right Republican you'll hate it. If you're independent it will make you think. If you're a far left Democrat you'll really enjoy it. Definitely creates discussion which is what I think the author was going for.
October 5, 2020
My rating largely dropped due to misalignment of expectations. I was looking for a political thriller and the book was more of an allegory. It was heard for me to follow the connections between the different adventures and I mostly found key words from current events thrown in as the only connection.
September 22, 2020
Thanks to River Grove Books and Goodreads for the giveaway. Thought provoking book!!
November 8, 2020
Unique read
January 22, 2021
Not for me but I think others might enjoy it.
December 30, 2020
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Too many politics in 2020.
January 2, 2021
Written simply, at the young adult level ... I'm on page 64, and I've laughed out loud several times now, which is exactly what I needed!
A bit like tweens do Vonnegut/Gunter Grass, with an unmistakably German flavor in the storytelling. I'm guessing this will provide some much needed entertainment and encouragement about the state of America in 2020.
In some ways, this book reads like the subtitles on a YouTube video where the pictures and graphic content carry the message. A video treatment, with the graphic impact of driving across the plains and into a city, and the physical appearances of the young people, their various physiques and style choices, would probably come across as a "wow, that totally captures it!" sort of experience. If you want to enjoy it, you'll need to fill in the visual details yourself.
As another reviewer said, this is an allegory, not a political thriller. Some will laugh at the satire, others will find the lack of specific sensory description of setting with well-fleshed out characters annoying. This book would be useful for people who are doing deep canvassing, to help develop insights into how to engage across political divides. The story is deceptively simple, and the portrayal of non-violent communication techniques in fraught political circumstances is quite subtle. The point here may not have been creating a deathless work of great literature, but rather giving people stuck in today's quagmire of political growling and shrieking a few ideas on creative alternatives for breaking loose into a more positive cycle of interactions.
A bit like tweens do Vonnegut/Gunter Grass, with an unmistakably German flavor in the storytelling. I'm guessing this will provide some much needed entertainment and encouragement about the state of America in 2020.
In some ways, this book reads like the subtitles on a YouTube video where the pictures and graphic content carry the message. A video treatment, with the graphic impact of driving across the plains and into a city, and the physical appearances of the young people, their various physiques and style choices, would probably come across as a "wow, that totally captures it!" sort of experience. If you want to enjoy it, you'll need to fill in the visual details yourself.
As another reviewer said, this is an allegory, not a political thriller. Some will laugh at the satire, others will find the lack of specific sensory description of setting with well-fleshed out characters annoying. This book would be useful for people who are doing deep canvassing, to help develop insights into how to engage across political divides. The story is deceptively simple, and the portrayal of non-violent communication techniques in fraught political circumstances is quite subtle. The point here may not have been creating a deathless work of great literature, but rather giving people stuck in today's quagmire of political growling and shrieking a few ideas on creative alternatives for breaking loose into a more positive cycle of interactions.
March 16, 2022
Contrived
I found this novel hard to read. Not because of big words or hard concepts, but because the narrative is boring & many of the adventures were left dangling.
I would not recommend this book to anyone.
I recieved this eBook in a Goodreads giveaway and am in no way obligated to give a positive review.
I found this novel hard to read. Not because of big words or hard concepts, but because the narrative is boring & many of the adventures were left dangling.
I would not recommend this book to anyone.
I recieved this eBook in a Goodreads giveaway and am in no way obligated to give a positive review.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews