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Three Bullets
The Bloods are in control and they’re desperate to turn Britain into the world they want to see: right, white, Christian supremist. Anyone who they call abnormal is a target. Amidst the chaos of civil war the country is on the move as small militia groups fight each other and a sea of refugees escapes the cities and the pursuing Bloods.
When her home is destroyed in a bombing raid, Marti must strike out on a mission of her own - to save her father and get his vital software into the right hands. But Marti is mixed race and trans and has her three-year-old brother in tow. Crossing into enemy territory could prove suicidal. Yet Marti's enemies haven't reckoned with her indomitable will to survive - and the gun she carries, which has three bullets . . .
When her home is destroyed in a bombing raid, Marti must strike out on a mission of her own - to save her father and get his vital software into the right hands. But Marti is mixed race and trans and has her three-year-old brother in tow. Crossing into enemy territory could prove suicidal. Yet Marti's enemies haven't reckoned with her indomitable will to survive - and the gun she carries, which has three bullets . . .
240 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2021
5 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Melvin Burgess
91 books435 followersMelvin Burgess is a British author of children's fiction. His first book, The Cry of the Wolf, was published in 1990. He gained a certain amount of notoriety in 1996 with the publication of Junk, which was published in the shadow of the film of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting, and dealt with the trendy and controversial idea of heroin-addicted teenagers. Junk soon became, at least in Britain, one of the best-known children's books of the decade.
Burgess again courted predictable controversy in 2003, with the publication of Doing It, which dealt with underage sex. America created a show based on the book, Life As We Know It. In his other books, such as Bloodtide and The Ghost Behind the Wall, Burgess has dealt with less realist and sometimes fantastic themes. In 2001 Burgess wrote the novelisation of the film Billy Elliot, based on Lee Hall's screenplay. Polyphony is typical for his most famous novels.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/melvin...
Burgess again courted predictable controversy in 2003, with the publication of Doing It, which dealt with underage sex. America created a show based on the book, Life As We Know It. In his other books, such as Bloodtide and The Ghost Behind the Wall, Burgess has dealt with less realist and sometimes fantastic themes. In 2001 Burgess wrote the novelisation of the film Billy Elliot, based on Lee Hall's screenplay. Polyphony is typical for his most famous novels.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/melvin...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
February 21, 2021
I got an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I had to DNF (which I’ve never done before with a book) due to how offensive and insensitive it was.
The writing was very...odd, almost cringe, especially in context with what the book surrounds. The portrayal of the main character did not sit right with me at all and I think a lot of readers could easily be offended while reading.
There’s rape jokes and slut shaming from the main character, who was portrayed very poorly. The MC was also very unlikable (which is stated at the start of the book but I didn’t actually think I’d dislike her.)
I always try to give a book a chance, and when seeing that the author was a white, cis man, I was hesitant on reading a book where it’s from the POV of a mixed race, trans girl....and I was right.
If I could rate this with no stars, I would. Please don’t waste your money on buying this and go and support books that have good and respectful representation.
I had to DNF (which I’ve never done before with a book) due to how offensive and insensitive it was.
The writing was very...odd, almost cringe, especially in context with what the book surrounds. The portrayal of the main character did not sit right with me at all and I think a lot of readers could easily be offended while reading.
There’s rape jokes and slut shaming from the main character, who was portrayed very poorly. The MC was also very unlikable (which is stated at the start of the book but I didn’t actually think I’d dislike her.)
I always try to give a book a chance, and when seeing that the author was a white, cis man, I was hesitant on reading a book where it’s from the POV of a mixed race, trans girl....and I was right.
If I could rate this with no stars, I would. Please don’t waste your money on buying this and go and support books that have good and respectful representation.
March 12, 2021
This was, to be frank, quite possibly the worst book I've ever read in my life. If I could rate it zero stars I would, and if I could rate it - stars I would jump at the chance. Never before have I been so ready to tell people to never read a book.
The main thing I was left wondering was how could this possibly be published? It is offensive in every place you look, even using slurs that a white cishet man should not be using at all. Let alone through the mouth of a mixed race trans girl.
Speaking of which, I can firmly believe this man has never spoken to a teenager in his life, let alone a black/mixed race trans one. The writing is crude and unreadable and I wish I hadn't stuck to the end. I wish I'd never picked it up in the first place, if I'm completely honest.
Between the absurd amount of r//pe jokes, slutshaming, racism, generalisations, oppression olympics, transphobia, and terrible assumptions of how a black teen would speak, the plot was lacklustre and hardly there.
The idea for this book is a sound one, and I am genuinely upset it turned out like this. It isn't the most creative or interesting but I might at least have rated it a 3 star based on plot alone, however, there was hardly any plot at all, and I barely knew who any of the characters were. They were all unlikeable and forgettable, and I wish I could forgot this book with all of my being.
The only way I managed to get through this book was the thought of coming to write this review, spite, and talking to some friends about how terrible it is.
0/10 do not read this book, you will regret it.
The main thing I was left wondering was how could this possibly be published? It is offensive in every place you look, even using slurs that a white cishet man should not be using at all. Let alone through the mouth of a mixed race trans girl.
Speaking of which, I can firmly believe this man has never spoken to a teenager in his life, let alone a black/mixed race trans one. The writing is crude and unreadable and I wish I hadn't stuck to the end. I wish I'd never picked it up in the first place, if I'm completely honest.
Between the absurd amount of r//pe jokes, slutshaming, racism, generalisations, oppression olympics, transphobia, and terrible assumptions of how a black teen would speak, the plot was lacklustre and hardly there.
The idea for this book is a sound one, and I am genuinely upset it turned out like this. It isn't the most creative or interesting but I might at least have rated it a 3 star based on plot alone, however, there was hardly any plot at all, and I barely knew who any of the characters were. They were all unlikeable and forgettable, and I wish I could forgot this book with all of my being.
The only way I managed to get through this book was the thought of coming to write this review, spite, and talking to some friends about how terrible it is.
0/10 do not read this book, you will regret it.
September 16, 2021
I really couldn’t get into this book and I loved the whole premise of this book and was hopeful of the themes it could explore such as racism and transphobia but it really let me down.
I understand that the author wanted to describe his main character, Marti, as self-deprecating and selfish because she is living in a war zone where she is effectively the enemy. The main aggressor are the ‘Bloods’ whose manifesto is based on bigotry and zero tolerance for anyone different from that; Marti is mixed race and trans.
Marti’s dream of running off to Amsterdam to enjoy her teenage dream is opposed to her moral need to deliver her father’s important research to those fighting against the Bloods; everything a great dystopian YA needs at its core. However I found the whole book so uncomfortable; there are frequent jokes about kidnap and r/pe and the whole narrative felt insincere with a main character I didn’t feel grew that much from her experiences.
I will say I loved ‘Junk’ by Burgess but this one really didn’t hit the mark for me and I hate to say that about any book but despite an original plotline I just wasn’t convinced by the end story, just not for me.
I understand that the author wanted to describe his main character, Marti, as self-deprecating and selfish because she is living in a war zone where she is effectively the enemy. The main aggressor are the ‘Bloods’ whose manifesto is based on bigotry and zero tolerance for anyone different from that; Marti is mixed race and trans.
Marti’s dream of running off to Amsterdam to enjoy her teenage dream is opposed to her moral need to deliver her father’s important research to those fighting against the Bloods; everything a great dystopian YA needs at its core. However I found the whole book so uncomfortable; there are frequent jokes about kidnap and r/pe and the whole narrative felt insincere with a main character I didn’t feel grew that much from her experiences.
I will say I loved ‘Junk’ by Burgess but this one really didn’t hit the mark for me and I hate to say that about any book but despite an original plotline I just wasn’t convinced by the end story, just not for me.
August 24, 2021
The blurb sounded pretty action-packed, if a little ambitious, so I thought I'd give it a go. I definitely should have read some of the reviews beforehand because this was such a mess. It managed to be boring even though loads of stuff happens but that's probably because there's no explanation for anything and too much happens for how short the book is.
I thought this was YA, but the constant references to sex, swearing, racism etc made me think otherwise. The sex/prostitution/slut shaming angle was particularly frustrating to read about - it came off as very insensitive, as well as repetitive.
I am convinced that the author has never spoken to a teenager, let alone a mixed race and/or trans teenager. The way the main character spoke was very unbelievable and completely irritating. And I absolutely cannot bear to see 'Lo!' written another time.
Maybe read other people's reviews about this book, but I really didn't enjoy it, and frankly, don't think it should ever have been published at all.
I thought this was YA, but the constant references to sex, swearing, racism etc made me think otherwise. The sex/prostitution/slut shaming angle was particularly frustrating to read about - it came off as very insensitive, as well as repetitive.
I am convinced that the author has never spoken to a teenager, let alone a mixed race and/or trans teenager. The way the main character spoke was very unbelievable and completely irritating. And I absolutely cannot bear to see 'Lo!' written another time.
Maybe read other people's reviews about this book, but I really didn't enjoy it, and frankly, don't think it should ever have been published at all.
July 21, 2022
this book is the epitome of why cis white men should stay in their lane. it's the book that had an lgbt book tour cancelled because the readers thought it was transphobic, misogynistic, and racist. the only people who could enjoy this are people who have never spoken to a trans and/or mixed race teenager in their entire life.
September 20, 2021
Nope nope, big nope. This 100% isn’t Burgess’s story to tell. I don’t think he’s even met a Black trans teenage girl.
I DFNed at 90 pages because I just couldn’t take any more. The MC making rape jokes, slut shaming, abusing & neglecting her 3-year-old brother, her vile selfishness and apathy, and just . . . So much more.
And the writing is pretty terrible too, so there’s no redeeming features of this book at all.
I DFNed at 90 pages because I just couldn’t take any more. The MC making rape jokes, slut shaming, abusing & neglecting her 3-year-old brother, her vile selfishness and apathy, and just . . . So much more.
And the writing is pretty terrible too, so there’s no redeeming features of this book at all.
July 10, 2022
Cawpile: 5* 9.00
Ok. So. This came out right on the borderline of 5* for me.
Before I read it I *did* see some of the very low reviews, however, with it being a Melvin Burgess, and me remembering how much I enjoyed ‘Junk’ and the massive cultural bashing that that got in certain areas I decided to trust him and give it a go.
And my first point is a piece of advice, and that is… listen to it on audiobook.
I think the audio gives the feel of the story *much* better than plain text would, you can feel the characters better, their situations, and I think definitely something stands out very blatantly which I’m not sure people giving the low reviews are understanding. And that is my second point..
My second point being that Marti is *not* a reliable narrator. She is a Teenager in the middle of a lot of emotional turmoil, and she even says at various times things like you think I’d tell you the truth? Who do you think you are?
This makes for a very interesting book working out through clues which parts may be true or her bragging. Or even her covering up things she doesn’t want to talk about that have happened to her.
My final point is to address something that is in the majority of the negative reviews. That the book is transphobic.
I truly think this is not the case. We are looking at this through Marti’s eyes. Someone who wants to be an out and proud woman. Who doesn’t want to have to hide who she is. And yet… the circumstances that she is in mean that those around her are telling her that to be *safe* it would be *safer* if she *hid* in mens clothes while they travelled.
It is not that those around her don’t like who she is. They are not being transphobic. They just *know* that if she is *caught* and *exposed* as being trans then she will be tortured and killed for it.
In fact when she herself calms down and thinks about it logically she agrees with them and does as they say.
It isn’t the book that is transphobic. It is the hate groups. And none of the reviews call the book racist, so it can’t be that it is the hate group’s behaviour they are confusing with a theme of the book.
I think overall this is a very Melvin Burgess-y look at what life would be like if groups like Britain first got any power through the eyes of a non-white trans teenager.
You can’t say you ‘enjoyed’ a book like this. More you ‘experienced’ it and it made you think.
Ok. So. This came out right on the borderline of 5* for me.
Before I read it I *did* see some of the very low reviews, however, with it being a Melvin Burgess, and me remembering how much I enjoyed ‘Junk’ and the massive cultural bashing that that got in certain areas I decided to trust him and give it a go.
And my first point is a piece of advice, and that is… listen to it on audiobook.
I think the audio gives the feel of the story *much* better than plain text would, you can feel the characters better, their situations, and I think definitely something stands out very blatantly which I’m not sure people giving the low reviews are understanding. And that is my second point..
My second point being that Marti is *not* a reliable narrator. She is a Teenager in the middle of a lot of emotional turmoil, and she even says at various times things like you think I’d tell you the truth? Who do you think you are?
This makes for a very interesting book working out through clues which parts may be true or her bragging. Or even her covering up things she doesn’t want to talk about that have happened to her.
My final point is to address something that is in the majority of the negative reviews. That the book is transphobic.
I truly think this is not the case. We are looking at this through Marti’s eyes. Someone who wants to be an out and proud woman. Who doesn’t want to have to hide who she is. And yet… the circumstances that she is in mean that those around her are telling her that to be *safe* it would be *safer* if she *hid* in mens clothes while they travelled.
It is not that those around her don’t like who she is. They are not being transphobic. They just *know* that if she is *caught* and *exposed* as being trans then she will be tortured and killed for it.
In fact when she herself calms down and thinks about it logically she agrees with them and does as they say.
It isn’t the book that is transphobic. It is the hate groups. And none of the reviews call the book racist, so it can’t be that it is the hate group’s behaviour they are confusing with a theme of the book.
I think overall this is a very Melvin Burgess-y look at what life would be like if groups like Britain first got any power through the eyes of a non-white trans teenager.
You can’t say you ‘enjoyed’ a book like this. More you ‘experienced’ it and it made you think.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2024
Im not sure I've ever DNF-ed a book so quickly. I had barely made it 60% through when I decided... I just couldn't be bothered to keep trying with this book.
'Three Bullets' is worse than terrible.
It tells you in the first few lines that you will not like the main character, but I think I, like many others, didn't expect to genuinely despise her. Whether this was a purposeful literary choice or not I don't know, but either way it makes the book utterly hateable. This book is sexist, slut shaming and incredibly crude. And not crude in an effective harsh-realities-of-life-during-war kind of way, but rather in a simply gross way. It even felt racist and transphobic at times, which goes against what the book seems to be trying to achieve - not to mention that this black trans woman's story is written by a white cisgender man.
On top of that, the writing is downright egregious (I'm pulling out the big words, that's how bad this is). Novels or poetry in non-standard English to represent a dialect or accent can be very effective. Our voices and accents are part of our identity, and identity is a big theme throughout this book (or at least should be). But it's written as if Burgess has never even seen a teenager and has instead made a bad assumption of how a black teenager would speak. There was no emotion in the writing either, other than disgust and vanity. Here is the only quote I wrote down from the book, but I think it sums it up:
'The room had shrunk. And I was like WTF?'
'Three Bullets' is worse than terrible.
It tells you in the first few lines that you will not like the main character, but I think I, like many others, didn't expect to genuinely despise her. Whether this was a purposeful literary choice or not I don't know, but either way it makes the book utterly hateable. This book is sexist, slut shaming and incredibly crude. And not crude in an effective harsh-realities-of-life-during-war kind of way, but rather in a simply gross way. It even felt racist and transphobic at times, which goes against what the book seems to be trying to achieve - not to mention that this black trans woman's story is written by a white cisgender man.
On top of that, the writing is downright egregious (I'm pulling out the big words, that's how bad this is). Novels or poetry in non-standard English to represent a dialect or accent can be very effective. Our voices and accents are part of our identity, and identity is a big theme throughout this book (or at least should be). But it's written as if Burgess has never even seen a teenager and has instead made a bad assumption of how a black teenager would speak. There was no emotion in the writing either, other than disgust and vanity. Here is the only quote I wrote down from the book, but I think it sums it up:
'The room had shrunk. And I was like WTF?'
July 17, 2021
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Thank you Penguin Random House for this book in exchange for an honest review
While the message this book is trying to bring across is important, I don’t believe it was delivered in the right way.
It is always good to see YA books hitting the hard topics in hopes to open up young readers minds, educate them more and raise issues that are outside the square box that they call life. You can tell this is what Burgess has attempted but the angst of the main character really tore apart the aim of the book.
Straight of the bat you have a dystopian war-torn England and the setting is brilliant, you get introduced to this brutal world rapidly and there is nothing quite as fun as getting thrown in the deep end. On top of this world you meet Marti, who you know you aren’t going to instantly like and straight off the bat you actually find her arrogant, frustrating and honestly needs a good bloody wake up call. Marti also however has some software on her phone that could assist in fighting against the bloods if it were to be delivered into the right hands.
Look, I understand that the attempt was to have Marti as this toxic character to begin with and then by dropping little easter eggs along the way would assist in the reader growing fonder of her as they progressed through the story, however, that didn’t fly with me. I still wanted to slap her by the end of the book.
Bookstagram
Website
Thank you Penguin Random House for this book in exchange for an honest review
While the message this book is trying to bring across is important, I don’t believe it was delivered in the right way.
It is always good to see YA books hitting the hard topics in hopes to open up young readers minds, educate them more and raise issues that are outside the square box that they call life. You can tell this is what Burgess has attempted but the angst of the main character really tore apart the aim of the book.
Straight of the bat you have a dystopian war-torn England and the setting is brilliant, you get introduced to this brutal world rapidly and there is nothing quite as fun as getting thrown in the deep end. On top of this world you meet Marti, who you know you aren’t going to instantly like and straight off the bat you actually find her arrogant, frustrating and honestly needs a good bloody wake up call. Marti also however has some software on her phone that could assist in fighting against the bloods if it were to be delivered into the right hands.
Look, I understand that the attempt was to have Marti as this toxic character to begin with and then by dropping little easter eggs along the way would assist in the reader growing fonder of her as they progressed through the story, however, that didn’t fly with me. I still wanted to slap her by the end of the book.
July 24, 2021
Meh. Regret paying £13 for this, nothing really happens it hints at a lot of stuff but never goes into detail. Never explains why the whole thing happened no back story or anything
October 21, 2023
Ugh 😑, I understand that this is a ya book, however, I didn’t appreciate the language at all. DNF for me.
January 20, 2023
“My name is Martina. You won’t like me, not many people do.”
Well, yeah, that’s correct. It’s not easy to dislike you after you’ve made all the effort to be the most unlikeable character in your own fucking story. And I don’t mean the interesting, layered, understandable kind of unlikeable. That would have been totally fine but,, oh well. Guess you can’t be picky here.
This was my first complete flop read of 2023 and I’m not even sure why I ever found the synopsis on the back only mildly intriguing. I’m starting this review with the positive points, which are 1) the fact that it was only like 250 pages long and I could swallow it pretty quickly, 2) the premisse which seemed cool at first. That’s kind of it. I’m somehow still convinced that this entire thing was written by a 12 y/o, because there is no other way to find an excuse for the sheer stupidity that went into this piece of literature.
The main character was a dry, emotionless sheet of paper written in an inconsistent manner. She kept sexualizing her own best friend, making dumbass jokes about everything, being a shameless slut shamer and acting whiny and selfish as shit. I guess you can say that I didn’t like this light style of writing which was supposed to be funny and entertaining. It wasn’t. It was just completely disgusting and respectless, to put it briefly. Awfully heavy and important topics were handled within two paragraphs and a wannabe-sarcastic comment. This book just tried too hard to be cool, but it failed. Marti clearly thought she was above everyone else and she acted in the most dumb way possible in order to demonstrate that.
The plot was nothing new or really compelling to me, it seemed mediocre for most of the time. Dystopias often feel very mundane to me because all their systems are so similar and nothing is explored properly. This book fell in that category. Of course I respect that the topic of repressed minorities is very important and we should, indeed, talk about it. But in which way?? the main character here just used her inferior position as an excuse for her horrible personality so she could yell at everyone how poor and special she was. wow, what an interesting critique on racism !!
All in all, I don’t wanna insult that book or the author, but it was just plainly bad for me. Or maybe it was written for a younger audience (which seems weird to be said because I’m not even fucking old) but even then, I wouldn’t recommend it.
Well, yeah, that’s correct. It’s not easy to dislike you after you’ve made all the effort to be the most unlikeable character in your own fucking story. And I don’t mean the interesting, layered, understandable kind of unlikeable. That would have been totally fine but,, oh well. Guess you can’t be picky here.
This was my first complete flop read of 2023 and I’m not even sure why I ever found the synopsis on the back only mildly intriguing. I’m starting this review with the positive points, which are 1) the fact that it was only like 250 pages long and I could swallow it pretty quickly, 2) the premisse which seemed cool at first. That’s kind of it. I’m somehow still convinced that this entire thing was written by a 12 y/o, because there is no other way to find an excuse for the sheer stupidity that went into this piece of literature.
The main character was a dry, emotionless sheet of paper written in an inconsistent manner. She kept sexualizing her own best friend, making dumbass jokes about everything, being a shameless slut shamer and acting whiny and selfish as shit. I guess you can say that I didn’t like this light style of writing which was supposed to be funny and entertaining. It wasn’t. It was just completely disgusting and respectless, to put it briefly. Awfully heavy and important topics were handled within two paragraphs and a wannabe-sarcastic comment. This book just tried too hard to be cool, but it failed. Marti clearly thought she was above everyone else and she acted in the most dumb way possible in order to demonstrate that.
The plot was nothing new or really compelling to me, it seemed mediocre for most of the time. Dystopias often feel very mundane to me because all their systems are so similar and nothing is explored properly. This book fell in that category. Of course I respect that the topic of repressed minorities is very important and we should, indeed, talk about it. But in which way?? the main character here just used her inferior position as an excuse for her horrible personality so she could yell at everyone how poor and special she was. wow, what an interesting critique on racism !!
All in all, I don’t wanna insult that book or the author, but it was just plainly bad for me. Or maybe it was written for a younger audience (which seems weird to be said because I’m not even fucking old) but even then, I wouldn’t recommend it.
November 2, 2021
Brutal, frightening look through trans eyes at a dystopia that feels too close for comfort.
An unlikely and unlikeable narrator/hero(ine), a country turned inside out with religious extremism and violence. A mission. A journey through the bleak, dangerous and frightening landscape of Britain as it could be, with Marti as our guide.
She's honest in her loathing, amusing in her putdowns, and hard to dislike really, despite everything.
It sounds like a typical plot - young person has access to some vital technology that could make a difference to the 'war effort' and must travel through danger to deliver it to those that can make use of it. But this is Marti we are talking about, who doesn't care for anyone but herself and getting to Amsterdam for sex and drugs. Not even her little brother (the whiny creature) or fanciable best friend Maude.
Marti shows us the hellhole that Britain has become, with different groups of radicals attacking the country, with those who aren't straight and white on the run as refugees, with 1984-esque brainwashing and microchips. It's visually quite startling in its descriptions, and watching three teenagers/children navigate it is hard to read and follow.
Burgess has never shied away from graphic detail, whether sexual or violent, and warning - he doesn't here either. It's alarming, upsetting and bound to cause a stir, especially with race and gender issues mixed into an already explosive mix of a plot.
Brutal to its characters, Burgess refuses to go easy on us or them, and I know I looked up from the pages feeling relieved it was all contained within. Powerful and memorable characters, it deserves to be a mini-series.
Not an easy read, and one for older teens really, who are prepared to have their ideas about 'happy endings' shattered.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
An unlikely and unlikeable narrator/hero(ine), a country turned inside out with religious extremism and violence. A mission. A journey through the bleak, dangerous and frightening landscape of Britain as it could be, with Marti as our guide.
She's honest in her loathing, amusing in her putdowns, and hard to dislike really, despite everything.
It sounds like a typical plot - young person has access to some vital technology that could make a difference to the 'war effort' and must travel through danger to deliver it to those that can make use of it. But this is Marti we are talking about, who doesn't care for anyone but herself and getting to Amsterdam for sex and drugs. Not even her little brother (the whiny creature) or fanciable best friend Maude.
Marti shows us the hellhole that Britain has become, with different groups of radicals attacking the country, with those who aren't straight and white on the run as refugees, with 1984-esque brainwashing and microchips. It's visually quite startling in its descriptions, and watching three teenagers/children navigate it is hard to read and follow.
Burgess has never shied away from graphic detail, whether sexual or violent, and warning - he doesn't here either. It's alarming, upsetting and bound to cause a stir, especially with race and gender issues mixed into an already explosive mix of a plot.
Brutal to its characters, Burgess refuses to go easy on us or them, and I know I looked up from the pages feeling relieved it was all contained within. Powerful and memorable characters, it deserves to be a mini-series.
Not an easy read, and one for older teens really, who are prepared to have their ideas about 'happy endings' shattered.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
February 5, 2022
I tried twice to force myself to finish this book, and I just don't hate myself enough.
This is bad. Really, really, appallingly written. Immediately I knew I wouldn't like it because people were trying to write cool with-it books like this when I was a teenager, and it was already passé and embarrassing then. I don't know how old Burgess is but this reads like a great example of why you should never try to write from the point of view of someone who has different life experiences than you - which is generally not a view I agree with, but boy is it hard not to reading this. On a very basic level, the language is dated. Carbon-dated. The syntax, the slang... All it would take is 30 minutes on TikTok to realise this is the equivalent of your grandfather asking what tunes are hip these days.
The book is immensely shallow. The main character doesn't really have a character so much as a collection of stereotypes pulled from fear-mongering articles about The Youth and strung together with swearing and complaining about her younger brother. She even describes herself as having tantrums. The writing tries to paint her as unlikeable, but there really isn't anything substantial enough to not like. This level of development would be piss poor in a book for the 8-12 market, but for a book that has NOT FOR YOUNGER READERS on the cover, it's frankly insulting.
That this is the character chosen to show the reader Burgess' world says more about what the author thinks of his audience than anything else, and it is not nice. The idea behind the word seems interesting, if quite stale, but the chunks of exposition inserted almost randomly into the stream-of-consciousness "narrative" is messy at best.
Overall, this is an atrocious book with no redeeming qualities and I'm shocked it was published. Everyone involved should feel ashamed of themselves. Teenagers deserve better.
This is bad. Really, really, appallingly written. Immediately I knew I wouldn't like it because people were trying to write cool with-it books like this when I was a teenager, and it was already passé and embarrassing then. I don't know how old Burgess is but this reads like a great example of why you should never try to write from the point of view of someone who has different life experiences than you - which is generally not a view I agree with, but boy is it hard not to reading this. On a very basic level, the language is dated. Carbon-dated. The syntax, the slang... All it would take is 30 minutes on TikTok to realise this is the equivalent of your grandfather asking what tunes are hip these days.
The book is immensely shallow. The main character doesn't really have a character so much as a collection of stereotypes pulled from fear-mongering articles about The Youth and strung together with swearing and complaining about her younger brother. She even describes herself as having tantrums. The writing tries to paint her as unlikeable, but there really isn't anything substantial enough to not like. This level of development would be piss poor in a book for the 8-12 market, but for a book that has NOT FOR YOUNGER READERS on the cover, it's frankly insulting.
That this is the character chosen to show the reader Burgess' world says more about what the author thinks of his audience than anything else, and it is not nice. The idea behind the word seems interesting, if quite stale, but the chunks of exposition inserted almost randomly into the stream-of-consciousness "narrative" is messy at best.
Overall, this is an atrocious book with no redeeming qualities and I'm shocked it was published. Everyone involved should feel ashamed of themselves. Teenagers deserve better.
July 27, 2021
I bumped this book up my TBR list because I was so excited by the prospect of it. I fan girl over Melvin Burgess with Bloodtide/Bloodsong being some of my favourite books. Having grown up reading his books (and regularly revisiting them) I was excited by the prospect of what this book entails.
I'll admit that I'd read into the book before I started. I went on the website discussing the three books all set in the dystopian future and so knew what I was reading about. Lucky I did because I think if I'd gone in there blind I'd have been even more confused. The book itself feels like it's trying to be clever by being so dismissive of the main character, but it creates a feeling of ingenuinty that I really didn't enjoy. Mari, our main character, doesn't really like herself, and she already knows from the beginning that you're not going to like her, it's true, you won't. She doesn't have a lot of redeeming features, and this isn't the type of book where you're surprised at the end by a character transformation, or at least I wasn't.
There were some really great parts of this book, parts that made me cry, parts that made me gasp in shock. There were parts I really liked, but as a whole, this wasn't the best read. The topic is a great one, it's something we need to have more conversations about. There's a real risk that as a society we're firmly heading in the wrong direction. But perhaps the tone that it was presented with was not right. Too flippant? Too.... I don't know. I just, I wanted to love this book, I was so excited about it, but, yeah, ultimately, I was disappointed.
**I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for my own personal and honest review**
I'll admit that I'd read into the book before I started. I went on the website discussing the three books all set in the dystopian future and so knew what I was reading about. Lucky I did because I think if I'd gone in there blind I'd have been even more confused. The book itself feels like it's trying to be clever by being so dismissive of the main character, but it creates a feeling of ingenuinty that I really didn't enjoy. Mari, our main character, doesn't really like herself, and she already knows from the beginning that you're not going to like her, it's true, you won't. She doesn't have a lot of redeeming features, and this isn't the type of book where you're surprised at the end by a character transformation, or at least I wasn't.
There were some really great parts of this book, parts that made me cry, parts that made me gasp in shock. There were parts I really liked, but as a whole, this wasn't the best read. The topic is a great one, it's something we need to have more conversations about. There's a real risk that as a society we're firmly heading in the wrong direction. But perhaps the tone that it was presented with was not right. Too flippant? Too.... I don't know. I just, I wanted to love this book, I was so excited about it, but, yeah, ultimately, I was disappointed.
**I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for my own personal and honest review**
June 28, 2021
Melvin Burgess is a unique voice in YA literature but I’m not entirely convinced he has hit the right note with this one. Set in a dystopian England, where The Bloods are in charge and as right wing Christian fundamentalists, you can imagine there are a lot of people they don’t like.
Marti is a mixed race trans girl and when her house gets bombed, killing her mum, she goes on the run with her toddler brother and Maude - a young woman her mum took in. Marti has some software on her phone that could help the fight against the bloods but it needs to be delivered into the right hands. Marti states from the beginning that the reader will not like her and at times her selfishness is astounding but as her struggle goes on you do start to see a different side to her.
This is a book I will purchase for the school library but I’m not expecting it to jump off the shelves but it may just get into the right hands.
Marti is a mixed race trans girl and when her house gets bombed, killing her mum, she goes on the run with her toddler brother and Maude - a young woman her mum took in. Marti has some software on her phone that could help the fight against the bloods but it needs to be delivered into the right hands. Marti states from the beginning that the reader will not like her and at times her selfishness is astounding but as her struggle goes on you do start to see a different side to her.
This is a book I will purchase for the school library but I’m not expecting it to jump off the shelves but it may just get into the right hands.
February 21, 2024
I found this in the online library and liked look of it, great idea but I’m not sure how to feel about it, but it definitely got me thinking. It was a random pick for my drive to work and I needed a free read(broke life). The main character is hard to read, especially the first half. She is raw and full on. I’m still not sure how I feel about this. However I’m glad stuck to it because I needed to see the whole platter. Then I at least got to see her character development cos FMC is so hard to read!
I really liked the idea but the main character was hard to deal with. The thing is I work with teenagers and some of them I can see responding in similar ways as the main character.
Make sure check triggers there lots of talk of r&pe, r@sism, supremely, voilenc3. Every type of ism.
The background story and what’s going on is super interesting. But hard to deal with main character, Marti but as we go along we get a tad more insight.
I really liked the idea but the main character was hard to deal with. The thing is I work with teenagers and some of them I can see responding in similar ways as the main character.
Make sure check triggers there lots of talk of r&pe, r@sism, supremely, voilenc3. Every type of ism.
The background story and what’s going on is super interesting. But hard to deal with main character, Marti but as we go along we get a tad more insight.
Read
March 6, 2021Another interesting read from the godfather of YA (and it is most definitely a YA book!). I couldn't connect at all with the main protagonist and without that emotional connection I can find it hard to get so drawn into the story. But then I'm not the target audience and I can see how this book would appeal to some, and I did find it gripping and kept on reading with an almost mesmerising sense of wanting to know what on earth was going to happen next. It's set in an all-too believable dystopian England where civil war is tearing the country apart and dividing the population, with the Pure Bloods wanting to eradicate anyone who doesn't look like them or doesn't hold the same beliefs. Marti is Black and trans, so is desperate to escape with the rest of the refugees but keeps finding her journey thwarted.
August 18, 2021
I was curious to read another Melvyn Burgess book, having read Junk many years ago and rereading it just recently. For me that book is one of the stand out books of its time and instrumental in the birth of the YA genre.
This book has slightly missed the boat for me. Set in a dystopian future with a far right movement taking over Britain by force. It obviously draws on current situations around the world but I found the main character pretty unlikeable and I wasn't really a fan of the style of writing, with the MC talking to the reader.
It was ok but not another Junk.
This book has slightly missed the boat for me. Set in a dystopian future with a far right movement taking over Britain by force. It obviously draws on current situations around the world but I found the main character pretty unlikeable and I wasn't really a fan of the style of writing, with the MC talking to the reader.
It was ok but not another Junk.
March 8, 2022
When reading this book I was wasn't really surprised on the large theme of racism that he chose to really focus on, staying true to his nature. The dystopian world was something that was truly interesting but I would've liked to how how it came to be in the first place. While in many cases, authors use the 'fade into black' skill to avoid scenes of rape, torture or prostitution, Melvin Burgess addresses them outright and does not make it only something that a single character would have trouble with.
October 25, 2021
I did not like this book at all. However, the emotional way in which transphobia and racism were at the forefront and treated with respect. I did not like the characters, feeling that they could have been developed better than they were. It made me aware of how horrible people can be in today's society.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for giving me this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for giving me this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.
March 2, 2022
I’m not sure I would have enjoyed this book quite as much if I had read it myself. I think I would have got very irritated with Matty and may have thrown the book across the room. However, the audio book was brilliant. Ibinabo Jack totally understood the character she was representing and threw herself into the role. At times she was practically spitting acid in expressing Matty’s anger. She is fabulous, and so is Melvin Burgess.
August 16, 2022
This book is so bad lol
Usually when a character claims that the reader won't like them it's self-deprecating and they're actually a sweetheart. Not so with Marti - she sucks! In fact, everyone does.
No one is likable, the writing is horribly confusing and clunky, and the only thing it has going for it is a dystopian setting in the UK with lots of placename drops. And that only works if, like me, you're from the UK and care about seeing those placenames. It wasn't enough though.
Usually when a character claims that the reader won't like them it's self-deprecating and they're actually a sweetheart. Not so with Marti - she sucks! In fact, everyone does.
No one is likable, the writing is horribly confusing and clunky, and the only thing it has going for it is a dystopian setting in the UK with lots of placename drops. And that only works if, like me, you're from the UK and care about seeing those placenames. It wasn't enough though.
July 26, 2021
ALL MY OWN OPINIONS! It started off funny I found her bluntness funny but then it just got rude. I didn’t like how the author kept trying to put everything in and force it so it would be in the book. I didn’t like the unnecessary sex scenes and how he portrayed the character. I don’t like how he sexualised maudie so much just no.
February 20, 2022
This has raw emotion bursting from the page, just what I'd expect from this author. It is uncompromising and yet somehow manages to be uplifting - Marti really is a good person deep down, but a victim of circumstance. As ever the research is meticulous, the author taking time to talk to people who have been there.
July 10, 2023
A disturbing dystopia. A Great Britain in a civil war. The Bloods remind me of the dystopia in the Handmaid’s Tale of Margaret Atwood. Again, a fight against religious fanatics. This time seen through the eyes of young, black trans person. A raw and mostly brutal environment is created where survival is the main purpose.
August 9, 2021
Three Bullets is another thought-provoking and compelling read from Melvin Burgess who always manages to write books that keep you hooked and make you think because of the issues and subjects covered within the story, and this was no different.
September 19, 2021
It was certainly fast paced and action packed...
But. The main character was flawed, unlikable, and so far from the author (white man vs black trans teen), never really stacked up with the depth I’d expect from this kind of thing.
In a dystopia with so much going on, the world building is shallow.
But. The main character was flawed, unlikable, and so far from the author (white man vs black trans teen), never really stacked up with the depth I’d expect from this kind of thing.
In a dystopia with so much going on, the world building is shallow.
April 27, 2021
I enjoyed this book. The situation was frighteningly believable and although the main character was difficult to like, Marti was facing circumstances that very few of us have to face
May 30, 2021
Another excellent genre defying novel from Melin Burgess
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