This is an incredibly strong and powerful story and the perfect book for young adults. The novel dives head first to James, a clearly terrified but brave twelve-year-old who has found himself fighting a war that he never saw coming across the United States of America. He wants nothing more than to go back to when life was normal, to a time before his Dad left the home where he was happy with him, his Mom and sister Emily.

His description of his war-torn country, after months in the bunker created by his Dad, dodging bullets and bombs, looking after the younger children, having lost their childhood to the war that they were fighting, you just want to reach out and make everything better for him, for them all. That’s how creative the writing is in this novel, you could picture it, see it, smell it, feel it. Such a good example of an exceptional read for young adults. It is artfully written and the emotional connection with James is wonderful.

There is no doubt that James, even from the beginning of this story, is an absolute legend. The description of children as young as six, being part of The Risers creates the suspense. I was desperate to find out what had happened in the United States for such young children to be fighting such a barbaric war. It’s truly horrifying what James had witnessed and you are behind him all the way.

The book is definitely a crossover novel with YA and adults in a similar way to The Hunger Games or The Divergent series. It is definitely compelling and hard to put down, the rich imagery definitely stands-out.

But it’s the relationship James has with his father which is totally heartfelt. Because that’s the day that changed everything for him and was probably what turned him into such a driven leader. He idolises his Dad and wanted to be like him, probably not appreciating that he was a carbon copy of him all along. An exceptional read that I would definitely recommend.