Activist, Louisa Reid, Guppy Books (2022).

Reviewed by: Chris J Kenworthy, for Armadillo magazine.

‘Activist‘ is a raw, hard-hitting story about speaking up in the face of adversity, no matter your age. When Cassie’s school tries to dismiss allegations about its rape culture after an anonymous accusation is published online, she and her friends take the situation into their own hands to ensure the safety of their fellow students, no matter the consequences.

‘Activist‘ portrays feminism in its many forms, and informs its reader on what it really means. It also focuses on the kinds of people feminism represents, and those that are sometimes marginalised by discourse.

Like in her previous novels, such as ‘Wrecked‘ (2020), author Louisa Reid disguises prose in poetic form to convey raw emotions in short bursts. It’s a powerful story with unforgiving imagery, which is reflective of reality not being all sunshine and rainbows. However, hidden within is the encouragement for the reader to follow in Cassie’s footsteps – to speak up even when all seems against you.

The spacing also helps to convey the meanings of individual words and phrases, as the short paragraphs group together to become mini chapters on each page. This makes reading ‘Activist’ a pleasure, as it can be read all at once or in short bursts. This pick-up-and-read nature makes Reid’s latest novel more friendly to a younger, post-modern audience who are normally addicted to screens.

Writing ‘Activist,’ author Louisa Reid was inspired by the real life story in 2020 when survivors of rape culture told their stories via the Everyone’s Invited website. It was clear that society was not doing enough for young people, so Reid chose the title to inspire others like them to not give up in the face of adversity; that indeed their energy, empathy, resilience and creativity can be a continued source of amazement and inspiration for people around them.

‘Activist‘ is a powerful piece of Young Adult fiction, that could also be read by adults – parents and teachers alike will find inspiration from its pages. For as Cassie says, ‘the war’s not won,’ but with a whole ensemble of characters ready to stand up and fight alongside her, it could be.