#ADGIFTED all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Calm by S.J. Baker

Book Info
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Thriller
Length: 288 Pages
Published: September 19, 2024
Publisher: Neem Tree Press
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214512403-calm
Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/h6Cmfmk

In this enthralling dystopian YA thriller where emotions become weapons, the fight for humanity’s true essence takes centre stage.
In a near-future Britain, society’s calm facade conceals a sinister truth: the state maintains its control by meddling with the nation’s water supply. The result? A population lulled into apathy. Lulled, apart from a courageous few known as the Resistors.
New Resistor Owyn joins lifelong Resistor Tiegan in a fierce quest for freedom. Spurred on by the promise of a mass Resistance, they ignite a chain of events that shakes the foundations of Britain’s oppressive regime.
One thing is clear: the price of freedom is higher than they ever imagined.

About the Author
S. J. Baker teaches English in a secondary school in Hull, where she does her best to pass on her own love for reading and writing to her students. Books have always loomed large in Ms. Baker’s life, so it was perhaps inevitable that after completing a degree in English Literature at Cambridge she should train as a teacher and spend her career sharing her love of story-telling with young people. Reading aloud to her own children as they grew up confirmed her in the belief that we learn much about life and how to live well from the books that we read. She lives in East Yorkshire with her husband and two exuberant black Labradors.

My Review I’ve just watched #Uglies on Netflix, I didn’t realise it was a book too, I’m going to have to read them. So another dystopian novel, to make sure people don’t rise up and complain about their lives, they have chemicals in the water to calm them down. Or in uglies it’s beautify them, both results in hollow people, with no emotions. I’m a highly emotive person, I couldn’t imagine having to hide that side away from everyone like one of our main characters has too, she is completely unaffected by the water, and needs to hide her true self to stay alive. We have a dual set of main characters, they are relatable, loveable and you’ll be on the edge of your seat at times with worry for them. I was wholly invested in their lives, their dilemmas and rooting the whole way through. I need to know that another book is coming, I can’t wait to see more of this tale and world unfold.