Review of I Predict a Riot, by Catherine Bruton

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Explosive, emotional drama, perfect for fans of Meg Rosoff and Annabel Pitcher.

Welcome to Coronation Road - a kaleidoscope of clashing cultures and parallel lives. There's Maggie and her politician mum in their big house. There's Tokes and his mum in a tiny bedsit, running from trouble. And there's the ruthless Starfish gang, breeding fear through the neighbourhood.

Amateur film-maker Maggie prefers to watch life through the lens of her camera. In Tokes, she finds a great subject for her new film. And when violence erupts, led by the Starfish gang, Maggie has the perfect backdrop. But as the world explodes around her, Maggie can't hide behind the lens anymore . . .

My Review

I was gripped by this novel right from the start. It is a rollercoaster ride about the lives of children involved in and affected by gangs in urban Britain.  What is impossible not to find truly gripping Is the shocking thing that main character Maggie says on the very first page of this novel:  "One of my friends is dead and the other might as well be. All because of me." This hooks the reader. Throughout the whole novel I kept wondering what the fates of the two good friends she makes, Tokes and Little Pea (aka 'da Pea'), were going to be.

The reader gradually falls in love with Maggie, a shy girl who hides behind camera lenses and bright hair. The reader gradually falls in love with Tokes, a positively heroic and admirably moral boy who has a troubled past, another mystery which has the reader desperate for answers. The reader gradually falls in love with Little Pea, a restless member of the dreaded Starfish Gang, and a boy who is used to hard gang life and is unfathomable to the reader; where do his loyalties truly lie?

The novel is a rollercoaster ride, set in an extremely violent summer, when the Starfish Gang make the city burn...

There are hundreds of mysteries in this novel, even small ones like what colour is Maggie's hair really? It was full of gripping questions and even more gripping answers. I thought this novel was truly amazing, and so am going to award it:

So, do you like the picture? I'm going to try to use them from now on! I hope you like it!