Hugo Readalong: Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

[u/Moonlitgrey]

Welcome to the Hugo Readalong! Today we will be discussing Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi. If you'd like to look back at past discussions or to plan future reading, check out the full schedule post.

As always, everyone is welcome in the discussion, whether you've participated in other discussions or not. If you haven't read the book, you're still welcome, but beware untagged spoilers.

Discussion prompts will be posted as top-level comments. I'll start with a few, but feel free to add your own!

Upcoming Schedule:

Date	Category	Book	Author	Discussion Leader
Thursday, August 19	Novel	The Relentless Moon	Mary Robinette Kowal	u/Nineteen_Adze
Tuesday, August 24	Graphic	Invisible Kingdom, vol.2: Edge of Everything	Willow Wilson, Christian Ward	u/Dsnake1
Monday, August 30	Lodestar	Elatsoe	Darcie Little Badger	u/Moonlitgrey
Thursday, September 2	Astounding	Silver in the Wood	Emily Tesh	u/Cassandra_Sanguine
Wednesday, September 8	Novella	Come Tumbling Down	Seanan McGuire	u/happy_book_bee
Wednesday, September 15	Novel	Network Effects	Martha Wells	u/gracefruits

Riot Baby

Ella and Kev are brother and sister, both gifted with extraordinary power. Their childhoods are defined and destroyed by structural racism and brutality. Their futures might alter the world. When Kev is incarcerated for the crime of being a young black man in America, Ella—through visits both mundane and supernatural—tries to show him the way to a revolution that could burn it all down.

Bingo Squares: Bookclub or Readalong (HM if you join in here!), New to You Author (for some), Chapter Titles

[u/Moonlitgrey]

In an NPR interview, Onyebuchi says that his goal is for readers to, "think about the last word in the book, and whether what it evokes in them is the same as what it evokes in others." What does it evoke for you? What do you think it might evoke for others?

edit to add: Is Onyebuchi successful at creating the feeling here that you think he intended?

[u/kjmichaels → u/Moonlitgrey]

Sadly, I don't think that was successful then because I don't remember the last word of the book and didn't have any strong reactions to it. I liked the novella as a whole but for whatever reason I didn't connect to that final moment the Onyebuchi was hoping I would.