Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I read Rob Muchamore's book Killer T and really enjoyed it! So I couldn't wait to dive into this one. Full of weird and wonderful creatures, the plot is so unique and really drew me in! I felt like the characters were really engaging and fun to read. So I would highly recommend this book is you're looking for a dystoopian-ish sci-fi with great pacing!

This is an intense read that focuses on the very different lives of A* student Georgia in England, and closeted Julius in Nigeria. I found that Julius' story was a lot more detailed than Georgia's therefore I connected more to his character - possibly as I have had issues with Muchamore's writing of female characters in the past. For most of the story, the characters have nothing to do with each other so it is interesting to see how and when their timelines converge.

This is a rollercoaster of a book which manages to cover everything from racism, homophobia and political corruption. It’s vastly ambitious but manages to engage the reader in the plight of Georgia and Julius. I really didn’t know what to expect with this book and I still don’t really know how to categorise it, but I think it’ll go down a storm with teenagers. It’s very much not aimed at boys or girls, either, and I think will have almost universal appeal, which is a difficult thing for a YA book to do.

(Thanks to the publishers for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

Muchamore's writing is, as always, fast-paced and engaging. I've read and enjoyed Muchamore's books since I was 11 - I love that he understands that his teen readers are intelligent and doesn't preach as I've seen other YA authors do on occasion. He presents difficult situations and poor decisions, and allows readers to come to their own conclusions.

I enjoyed reading about Georgia and Julius, and thought the two stories were handled well - I know a few other readers thought the two stories should almost have been two separate books, but I really liked the contrast.

I noticed quite a few editorial issues, including problems with consistency (Collins' car swaps between being a BMW and a Mercedes, SJ's girlfriend is Norwegian in one paragraph, Danish in the next), and missing words. I was unsure whether this was a corrected proof or not, and will not be including this in my reviews elsewhere.

"He felt every bit an awkward giant. Fifteen years old and seven thousand kilometres from anyone who loved him."

* * * 
3 / 5

Robert Muchamore writes fantastic YA novels about contemporary topics concerning teenagers: racism, sexuality, the wealth gap, mental health, and family. Arctic Zoo is no different; it is bold and ambitious and diverse, but it also felt a little disjointed. I am a huge fan of Muchamore's CHERUB series and I was thrilled to read something with his characteristic style that still managed to feel totally new with original characters.

"For Duke, seeing Julius skate was like going to a family party and seeing your grandma start breakdancing"

Georgia is a British teenager who races drones because it makes her dad happy and spends her money on fancy stationary. Her world is turned upside down when her sister commits suicide and in an attempt to feel closer to her, Georgia becomes involved in political activism. On the flipside, Julius lives in Nigeria. His family is fabulously wealthy; his mother is a business tycoon and the power behind her brother's political campaign. But there's one thing she won't forgive: having a gay son. 

Arctic Zoo felt like two books in one. The book begins with the two teens in a British mental health unit and then flashes backwards in time to show how they got there. We alternate chapters between Georgia and Julius and for 90% of the book the two have nothing to do with each other. Sure, their stories are linked via themes of politics, power, family, and discovering yourself, but I felt that this could have easily been split into two books without losing very much. 

"It had all made sense. It had all been leading to something. Georgia had never known precisely what the something way, but she'd believed hard work and A-stars would take her to better places"

Both characters are very compelling. Georgia withdraws from her parents and gets more involved with her sister's boyfriend and his political protests. One day she joins a street march and ends up getting photographed as she leaps over a barricade whilst stuff is being smashed around her. This photograph makes the front cover of a bunch of newspapers and suddenly Georgia becomes a kind of public figure, offered a bunch of interviews and modelling contracts. I found this a touch far-fetched, but rolled with it anyway. 

Julius struggles to get along with his brothers, constantly seen as the odd one out. He withdraws and spends more and more time with his best friend Duke, an openly out young gay man whose father is a vocal critic of Julius' family. Meanwhile, tensions are rising in Ondo as political campaigns become more and more violent. Julius is a very sympathetic character and his journey is an interesting one - I was definitely curious how he would go from a wealthy family in Nigeria to being detained in Britain. 

Like I said, both of their stories are very compelling in their own ways and touch on some important issues. I think the book suffered from having Julius and Georgia as very separate characters, such that the book felt like two smaller books in one. But I definitely enjoyed how Muchamore has written something very different to his CHERUB books whilst still being about teenagers and extremely relevant. 

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of Arctic Zoo.

An interesting book by Robert, an introduction to more adult topics, felt like it had a lot of potential and was very busy with ideas from the outset. Did feel it fizzled out over the last quarter of the book. Introduced the topics but didn't really explore them in a great deal of depth. Mental health, environment, social economic and sexuality it had it all, maybe too much. That's not to say it wasn't and enjoyable two stories in the one book. Have ready all the RM books and will continue as they are an enjoyable read.

I really struggle with the writer’s style. Much like Killer T, I love the premise, but struggle with the execution. There’ll be a very happy audience awaiting this release though.

This is Robert Muchamore's second book published with Hot Key, and both books show a marked departure from his Cherub and Henderson's Boys style. I haven't read Muchamore's Rock War books, so I can't really compare, but certainly, it's a very different style of read to what I'm used to from Muchamore. That said, Arctic Zoo has many similarities to Killer T - and a brief easter egg in-text actually shows that they're set in the same universe, which is fun. Muchamore's universe is Brexit-agnostic, however, as more in-text references show. No mention of whether or not the political nonsense currently ongoing took place in Georgia and Julius's worlds.

Anyways, with the preliminaries done. Arctic Zoo is another example of how engaging Muchamore's writing is. I read this very quickly, over the course of perhaps two days, and found myself drawn back to it, wanting to see how it developed. Julius and Georgia are two very different main characters, living their lives on different continents, and seeing how they move towards each other and their lives end up intertwining is interesting. I've got a particular dislike of stories which don't intertwine by the end of the book, but this one does, and it wraps everything up in a satisfying way which makes this a solid standalone novel.

I think my main problem with this book - and the reason why I, personally, couldn't give it more than a three-star review - was how brutal it was. There is serious violence peppered throughout the book, often completely senselessly, and even our main characters, who are generally portrayed as sympathetic, likeable characters, are capable of truly shocking acts. Both characters are young when the book starts - only fourteen - and impulsive in the way which comes with feeling like an invincible teenager. But throughout the book, the narrator doesn't look at any of this with a critical eye. Georgia and Julius make some seriously questionable moral decisions, and there isn't really any assessment of how or why they came to make these decisions, whether there was an alternative, or anything like that.
I was also - in my own, extremely ignorant way - a little sketchy about the depictions of Nigeria. Julius, one of the main characters, is an immensely privileged son of a wealthy Nigerian family, and there is a lot of discussion of the corrupt nature of Nigerian society. But throughout the book the description felt pretty skeevy to me - a lot like a superior white man pointing out how terrible things are in Nigeria, and how they must work harder to make themselves more civilised. There was a lot of scope in Arctic Zoo to make critical comparisons with British society, where the rest of the book is set, and how attitudes of cronyism, nepotism, and corruption cross borders and cultures. Where Muchamore saves himself is by pointing out that White Saviours are not a trope that can fix any issues with this - change must come from within. His critical understanding and depiction of this in the latter parts of the book saves Arctic Zoo from being intensely condescending.

I'm not sure this book was really the right thing for me. Brutal violence and homophobia, a lack of critique of those things, and a disjointed story meant that it didn't tick enough boxes to be a winner for me. But that said, I'm sure there are plenty of people it would really resonate with, and open their eyes to structures of power, protest, and change (as well as the intrinsically blinkered view of the media and their interest only in things which are edgy). So it's not a terrible book. It's just not for me.