The Roar
Encyclopedia
The Roar is a 2009 novel by British author Emma Clayton
. It was published in the United States
and the United Kingdom
by Chicken House.
When the plague began then entire population banded together and built a solid metal wall 50 feet high and several feet thick. On the top of the entire wall there is an electrified fence and guns mounted every few yards. It has been said that the fence could shred a rhino
to pieces. Behind this wall the population that survived has been living for 30 years. Many things have come about since space is limited. The government created a law that forbade people to have children. The Northern Hemisphere
is where the population has gone to survive. Outside of "The Wall" the majority of the population has been made to believe that it is covered in a yellow poisonous dust that was used to kill all living things, because of the plague. The plague was actually a ruse so that the richest and fortunate people could save the planet from global warming by crowding the population together and only letting a select few live in the area beyond The Wall. This leads into a war, that is continued in the sequel The Whisper written by the same author, Emma Clayton.
In the beginning of the book, Ellie is flying a Pod Fighter, along with a Capuchin monkey named Puck that Mal Gorman gave to her. They are flying over the Atlantic Ocean
, and she flies toward her home, Barford North. There, Mal's forces try to kill her. Soon, her Pod Fighter is shot down, and she is forced into flood-waters. Mal Gorman captures her, and she in her anger she accidentally nearly kills him with the mutant powers she has. She was outnumbered, captured, and taken to the Lab to be examined with Puck, for they were both clearly underestimated.
Back home, Mika does not believe she is dead. He still grieves at her absence. He sleeps in her bed, and does not move. Eventually, his parents send him to school. At his school, he meets a new person - a boy named Kobi. During the day, a nurse comes from the Youth Development Foundation. She tells all the children that they will have to drink a product called "Fit Mix". Mika refuses to drink it, and is punished with a 100 credit fine and a week long suspension. During his suspension, he has strange dreams. Once, he has a dream of a dog he calls Awen, who reappears in his conscious states and acts as his guide in the book. His nightmares consist of people with televisions for heads who he calls the "Telly Heads".
When his suspension is finished, all the kids seem to be obsessed with a new arcade game called Pod Fighter. He decides to try it out and he finds that he is very good at it. Soon, he learns that there will be a competition with prizes of a new companion (a companion is a like a futuristic cell phone), a hover car, and a new house in the Golden Turrets in London. The Golden Turrets are a set of large fancy turrets that are painted gold and made up of enclosed apartments for the very wealthiest people in London. At school, the kids take "Fit Camp". While taking the camp, the instructor pushes them to the limit. He makes them exercise when they are out of breath, and they do unimaginable exercises until their feet bleed. But none of them know that they are being prepared for something else.
Later, Mika makes his way up the Pod Fighter chart and moves to the second round after winning the first round of a Pod Fighter competition, with his faithful gunner, Audrey, a new girl with Borg eyes. Audrey also seems to be a love interest for Mika. Mika, Audrey and one hundred other kids are selected to do further training at a fake island. They are taken to the fake resort that resembles the Caribbean Islands. While their parents relax, they are given numerous physical challenges. They give the children a new challenge with harpoons; shooting Borg fish. Mika is accidentally hit but is quickly healed. Before he moves on to the next round they do strange experiments on him and teach him to move things with his mind. In his first test, he is paired up with a boy named Reuben, his arch-enemy. They both lift up a red ball with their mind, and accidentally set it on fire. While the room is being cleared out, they nearly kill each other.
After some of the special children with slight mutations (including Mika and Audrey) are given extreme tests, like meeting Borg wolves, while in a cage to see how the Borg wolves will react to them, he is taken to a military base in Scotland
called Cape Wrath
. There he has more tests done to him. After staying for a while, they have a dinner where they announce the winners. He meets Mal Gorman, who to Mika resembles one of the Telly Heads from his dream, and the rest of the Youth Development board. Mika is announced the winner. Mr Gorman tells Mika he can have his sister. He needs to know he can trust him so he tells Mika he wants him to come to the military base at 8:00 pm.
When Mika goes to his new home in the Golden Turrets, there is an uproar: the government has taken all the children from The Shadows for a war no one knows about. Mika and Audrey escape to get away from the horde of people in a pod fighter. They go over the wall and see that there is a forest with animals and people. They are outraged and fly back to the military to find Mal and ask him why he has been lied to. Mal tells him that 30 years ago the plague was faked by a group of people who wanted the world for themselves. Mal was trying to make an army of children to fight off the people in the southern hemispheric. And he says that he overworked the children in fit camp to prepare them for war.
After he lets Mika see Ellie for the first time in a year, and thet finally embrace each other. After meeting with Ellie, they fly a Pod Fighter back towards Barford North, hoping to tell their family of the good news.
2009, won the Yorkshire Coast Book Award and was selected for the USBBY 2010 Outstanding International Books Honor List and the 2010 Texas Lone Star Reading List.
Emma Clayton
Emma Clayton is a British children's novelist and author of dystopian thriller, The Roar. The Roar was nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2009, won the Yorkshire Coast Book Award and was selected for the USBBY 2010 Outstanding International Books Honor List and the 2010 Texas Lone Star Reading...
. It was published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Chicken House.
Overview
The Roar takes place in a "post-apocalyptic" world where a disease known as the "plague" infects every animal and causes them to turn wild and attack humans.When the plague began then entire population banded together and built a solid metal wall 50 feet high and several feet thick. On the top of the entire wall there is an electrified fence and guns mounted every few yards. It has been said that the fence could shred a rhino
Rhino
Rhino is a colloquial abbreviation of rhinoceros"Rhino" may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Rhino , a character from the Marvel Comics universe and sometime-foe of Spider-Man...
to pieces. Behind this wall the population that survived has been living for 30 years. Many things have come about since space is limited. The government created a law that forbade people to have children. The Northern Hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
is where the population has gone to survive. Outside of "The Wall" the majority of the population has been made to believe that it is covered in a yellow poisonous dust that was used to kill all living things, because of the plague. The plague was actually a ruse so that the richest and fortunate people could save the planet from global warming by crowding the population together and only letting a select few live in the area beyond The Wall. This leads into a war, that is continued in the sequel The Whisper written by the same author, Emma Clayton.
Plot
The story follows twins Mika and Ellie. Mika and Ellie live with their parents in the poverty stricken area behind The Wall on the first level in a fold out apartment located in Barford North. Ellie has been kidnapped and is being held by the leader of the Youth Development Foundation, Mal Gorman. Although everyone says that Ellie is dead, Mika refuses to believe that she is. Even a year after Ellie's "death", Mika still believes his sister is alive. His parents seek help from a strange old lady named Helen who always seems to know more than she says.In the beginning of the book, Ellie is flying a Pod Fighter, along with a Capuchin monkey named Puck that Mal Gorman gave to her. They are flying over the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, and she flies toward her home, Barford North. There, Mal's forces try to kill her. Soon, her Pod Fighter is shot down, and she is forced into flood-waters. Mal Gorman captures her, and she in her anger she accidentally nearly kills him with the mutant powers she has. She was outnumbered, captured, and taken to the Lab to be examined with Puck, for they were both clearly underestimated.
Back home, Mika does not believe she is dead. He still grieves at her absence. He sleeps in her bed, and does not move. Eventually, his parents send him to school. At his school, he meets a new person - a boy named Kobi. During the day, a nurse comes from the Youth Development Foundation. She tells all the children that they will have to drink a product called "Fit Mix". Mika refuses to drink it, and is punished with a 100 credit fine and a week long suspension. During his suspension, he has strange dreams. Once, he has a dream of a dog he calls Awen, who reappears in his conscious states and acts as his guide in the book. His nightmares consist of people with televisions for heads who he calls the "Telly Heads".
When his suspension is finished, all the kids seem to be obsessed with a new arcade game called Pod Fighter. He decides to try it out and he finds that he is very good at it. Soon, he learns that there will be a competition with prizes of a new companion (a companion is a like a futuristic cell phone), a hover car, and a new house in the Golden Turrets in London. The Golden Turrets are a set of large fancy turrets that are painted gold and made up of enclosed apartments for the very wealthiest people in London. At school, the kids take "Fit Camp". While taking the camp, the instructor pushes them to the limit. He makes them exercise when they are out of breath, and they do unimaginable exercises until their feet bleed. But none of them know that they are being prepared for something else.
Later, Mika makes his way up the Pod Fighter chart and moves to the second round after winning the first round of a Pod Fighter competition, with his faithful gunner, Audrey, a new girl with Borg eyes. Audrey also seems to be a love interest for Mika. Mika, Audrey and one hundred other kids are selected to do further training at a fake island. They are taken to the fake resort that resembles the Caribbean Islands. While their parents relax, they are given numerous physical challenges. They give the children a new challenge with harpoons; shooting Borg fish. Mika is accidentally hit but is quickly healed. Before he moves on to the next round they do strange experiments on him and teach him to move things with his mind. In his first test, he is paired up with a boy named Reuben, his arch-enemy. They both lift up a red ball with their mind, and accidentally set it on fire. While the room is being cleared out, they nearly kill each other.
After some of the special children with slight mutations (including Mika and Audrey) are given extreme tests, like meeting Borg wolves, while in a cage to see how the Borg wolves will react to them, he is taken to a military base in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
called Cape Wrath
Cape Wrath
Cape Wrath is a cape in Sutherland, Highland, in northern Scotland. It is the most northwesterly point on the island of Great Britain. The land between the Kyle of Durness and the lighthouse that is situated right at the tip, is known as the Parph, two hundred and seven square kilometers of...
. There he has more tests done to him. After staying for a while, they have a dinner where they announce the winners. He meets Mal Gorman, who to Mika resembles one of the Telly Heads from his dream, and the rest of the Youth Development board. Mika is announced the winner. Mr Gorman tells Mika he can have his sister. He needs to know he can trust him so he tells Mika he wants him to come to the military base at 8:00 pm.
When Mika goes to his new home in the Golden Turrets, there is an uproar: the government has taken all the children from The Shadows for a war no one knows about. Mika and Audrey escape to get away from the horde of people in a pod fighter. They go over the wall and see that there is a forest with animals and people. They are outraged and fly back to the military to find Mal and ask him why he has been lied to. Mal tells him that 30 years ago the plague was faked by a group of people who wanted the world for themselves. Mal was trying to make an army of children to fight off the people in the southern hemispheric. And he says that he overworked the children in fit camp to prepare them for war.
After he lets Mika see Ellie for the first time in a year, and thet finally embrace each other. After meeting with Ellie, they fly a Pod Fighter back towards Barford North, hoping to tell their family of the good news.
Characters
- Mika: Mika is the main protagonist. He believes his sister Ellie is alive, which is his main drive to reach his goals throughout the book. He is a mutant, powers including: webbed feet, the ability to move objects with his mind, he is a fantastic Pod Fight pilot, he can extremely harm a person with a look, and he seems to have these strange, in a sense precognitive, dreams with people called 'Telly-heads.'
- Ellie: Ellie is Mika's twin sister, whom is believed to be dead by almost all of the main characters except for Mika and Mal Gorman. She is an expert Pod Fighter pilot, can move objects with her mind, can communicate, to an extent, with animals, can extremely harm or kill a person with a look, and is hinted to have other above-average abilities/skills based on how we hear she escapes from Gorman's space station at the beginning of the book.
- Audrey: Audrey is Mika's friend and possible love interest. She has no affiliation with Ellie. Audrey is a mutant and was born without eyes; she uses cyborg eyes to see. She can move things with her mind and she is a fantastic Pod Fighter gunner.
- Kobi: Kobi is Mika's friend from school. He likes to make tiny robot animals.
- Mal Gorman: Gorman is the main antagonist of the peece. He's ruthless and willing to do whatever is necessary to get what he wants. He thinks very little of children and does not hesitate to abuse, murder, or threaten/blackmail them. He often thinks that Mika, like his sister, might be more trouble than he is worth.
- Ruben Snaith: Ruben is Mika's rival in the Pod Fighter competition and could be considered the second main antagonist. He is a mutant and can sense emotions and also has the ability to move things with his mind. He proves to be a little bit insane/deranged, clearly shown when he attempts to kill Mika, but Mika manages to fend him off with his 'death stare.'
Trivia
- The book shares several plot similarities with Orson Scott CardOrson Scott CardOrson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
's Ender's GameEnder's GameEnder's Game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional...
. - One of the minute robots made by the character Kobi is in the shape of a raven and is named NevermoreNevermoreNevermore is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in 1991, they are known to incorporate elements from styles such as thrash, power, progressive, and neo-classical metal into their songs, and also makes use of acoustic guitars and a wide range of vocal styles.-Early years...
, this may be a reference to Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's famous poem, The RavenThe Raven"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
.
Reception
The novel has received critical acclaim. The Roar was nominated for the Carnegie MedalCarnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
2009, won the Yorkshire Coast Book Award and was selected for the USBBY 2010 Outstanding International Books Honor List and the 2010 Texas Lone Star Reading List.