Run, Rebel

Product Information

Manjeet Mann's multi-award-winning verse novel, Run, Rebel, about a young woman beginning to take control of her life, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2021 and won the CILIP Carnegie Shadowers Choice Award, a UKLA Book Award, a Diverse Book Award and the Sheffield Children's Book Award. This is a novel written in verse about a Punjabi family living in the UK. It follows our main character Amber Rai, who is trying to make sense of everything around her after her sister, Ruby, is forcefully married off.

Amber’s father is extremely traditional: women should work in the home, and there is no need for them to have an education or a worthwhile job, because those are the roles for the men. This means that Amber’s mum lives a life with no independence. She’s desperate to learn and to fit in, but her husband always stands in her way. This is the same for Amber too; she dreams of being a runner and she’s often told she’s gifted, but she’s not allowed a life of her own. Because what happened to women who did try to live an independent life isn’t something that anybody wants to repeat… I knew from the prologue on that this would be a truly beautifully written, feminist novel. And it honestly only got better. I requested this because I saw it was a diverse verse novel. I'm a huge fan of verse novels, so that was all I needed to know. Honor killing/ crimes, domestic violence, women, girls, feminine, education, poverty, environment and circumstances, women, girls, friendship, bullying, women, girls, traumas, being a she/ her. As part of this tour, I also wanted to share some of my favourite verse novels. If you’ve read any of these already, you’ll love Run, Rebel!It's been a long time since I read a novel written in verse, and honestly I forgot how much I love it (when it's done well of course!) If you’re feeling trapped in a life that you feel you can’t control, this book might give you the urge you need to make a change. It shows that if you’re willing and able, you can make a difference, and things can get better. It shows that good people deserve to live a good life, and sometimes, all you need is the courage to rebel. My Favourite Verse Novels So when I was asked by Penguin to join the blog tour for Run, Rebel, a novel in verse by Manjeet Mann, I couldn’t have been more excited. I love getting new verse fiction in my life, and I usually love them – and this book was no exception. The Story Each character is a story itself but my all time favorites were JASS! TARA AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST THE MOM! If you loved The Poet X, then you'll love this, too! Although, I did like that book, I loved this one more, maybe because it was easier to picture in my head?

This fast-paced, mesmerising stage version, adapted by the author, was first produced in 2023 by Pilot Theatre, with Mercury Theatre, Colchester, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Derby Theatre and York Theatre Royal. This edition also contains a range of teaching materials and resources designed to help educators bring the play to life for their students. Throughout the course of this poetic piece, we follow Amber, Surinder (her Mom), and Ruby's journey towards the better, and see their characters grow. The dialogue is written in an interesting way: rather then being written with the traditional speech marks and line breaks, it’s written in different fonts and typefaces like bold and italic for each of the different characters. If you only like traditional prose, this won’t be the book for you. But if you love books that are written in a creative, unique way, definitely give this a go. Read This Book If… One of the shortcomings from my point of view is it was so happy to be real I am not saying it was forced happy ending cause it wasn't at all, I just felt like it was too good to be true. Even though I was in a bad need for happy ending. And when I read the Q&As section I found out the author herself thought it was kinda strange and she wrote it " Darker" according to others opinions. CW: Domestic abuse, alcoholism, mention of honour killings, anxiety, bullying, mental health issues

Have you read Run, Rebel or any of the books I mentioned above? Let me know and let’s chat about them! If you know anything about my reading tastes, you’ll know that I really love novels written in verse. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ve written a whole post about verse fiction here .) In some cultures, it’s a curse when you’re born as a girl instead of a boy. No one ever wanted a girl. Girls were deemed as a burden and their whole life will forever be the property of their parents, husband and brothers. They have to give up their decision-making power, be small, be silent, endure and never question!

Run, Rebel is a trailblazing verse novel that thunders with rhythm, heart and soul – perfect for fans of Sarah Crossan, Elizabeth Acevedo and Rupi Kaur.I started writing out a list and then realised I’ve already mentioned all of these in my blog post all about verse novels for newbies, and also in a video I made on my YouTube channel. I’ll embed that below if you’re interested in watching it 🙂 If you’re a man, read this book for yourself. Learn from it. Raise your son to never be a part of culture that glorify discrimination and sexism. Break the cycle by boosting your sons’ awareness of the value of others, including women. I think the author did a remarkable job of drawing Readers into the story. When the main characters hurt so did I, when they were made to feel small I cried, and when they raged I was right there with them raising my fist. I think having multiple women narrate the story was amazing because we saw the generational differences in the ways the women thought and felt about their place within their community, and their expectations for the future. It also looks at the cultural clashes that can occur when first generation children grow up in society vastly different from that of their parents. I liked the dichotomy between the ‘father’ and the ‘respected community leader’. Through this the author really shone a light on how certain unacceptable behaviours can be hidden from public view. From my understanding this is an own voice story so I again feel privileged to have had a glimpse into a culture different to my own. An emotional story about abused women who rise and rebel. Note: I think this needs to be read as opposed to listened to as I suspect there are some visual text elements that are part of the storytelling as is often the case in free verse novels. She has a passion for running, but her dad, being illiterate and an alcoholic, doesn't understand. According to him, women should not leave the house unless absolutely necessary. The fact that he lets her study in high school, is because otherwise no one in their family would be able to read, write or make sense of important documents/appointments.

Run, Rebel is a trailblazing verse novel that thunders with rhythm, heart and soul - perfect for fans of Sarah Crossan, Elizabeth Acevedo and Rupi Kaur. However, it’s not a straightforward journey; it’s not as simple as just getting out and starting fresh. There are consequences. There are terrible stories of those who have attempted to start a new life before her. And there’s Amber’s dad, who is falling farther into alcoholism every day, regularly beating Amber’s mother in the process. The ThemesThe themes made this quite a heavy read, but it was also very hopeful and empowering. There's a lot of depth and a lot of character development, and not just from the main character. I'm honestly in awe with how well written this was, and with how the author needed so few words to make such a strong point. This book is about Amber Rai, who wants to be an athlete. She lives with her illiterate parents who hardly speak English, and so they need her to translate for them and to help them navigate in a society they don't understand. Her father is an alcoholic, he's abusive, and he's very misogynistic. All Amber wants to do is be able to make her own choices, and not have her life planned for her like her sister's. This book is so satisfying brilliant. It’s been told in verse which I really love. Another gem that I think doesn’t get enough recognition it deserved. It’s a moving story and profoundly inspiring. A must read book!! Run, Rebel is the story of Amber Rai, a girl who has grown up in a traditional Indian family in Britain. Neither of her parents can speak English very well, and they can’t read or write. So for Amber, her whole life has been spent as their translator: helping them with shopping, bills, important letters, and anything else that might be written in English.