ARC Review: Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson

Posted March 14, 2022 by Lisa Mandina in Review / 8 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

ARC Review: Survive the Dome by Kosoko JacksonSurvive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on March 29, 2022
Genres: YA Science Fiction
Pages: 352
Source: the publisher
Format: ARC
My Rating: five-stars
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Blurb:

Jamal Lawson just wanted to be a part of something. As an aspiring journalist, he packs up his camera and heads to Baltimore to document a rally protesting police brutality after another Black man is murdered.

But before it even really begins, the city implements a new safety protocol…the Dome. The Dome surrounds the city, forcing those within to subscribe to a total militarized shutdown. No one can get in, and no one can get out.

Alone in a strange place, Jamal doesn’t know where to turn…until he meets hacker Marco, who knows more than he lets on, and Catherine, an AWOL basic-training-graduate, whose parents helped build the initial plans for the Dome.

As unrest inside of Baltimore grows throughout the days-long lockdown, Marco, Catherine, and Jamal take the fight directly to the chief of police. But the city is corrupt from the inside out, and it’s going to take everything they have to survive.

My Review

I really enjoyed the last book I read by this author, Yesterday is History, and was very excited when the publisher sent me a copy of this one to review as well. And this book really hit it out of the ball park!

It was a science fiction story set in a pretty close today time period. The author pulled in all of the police brutality and other types of unrest that people have been feeling more and more lately, as well as in the beginning of the book he included the names of Black people killed by police officers in one town alone, I believe that is what his notes say.

There’s so much to unpack with this one. It’s not only the corrupt police, but also the politicians that are above them, handing down the decisions that make things even worse. The story also takes a look at how police officers may get convicted, but the punishment they receive oftentimes is like a slap on the wrist.

But it’s more than just that. The character reflects on the younger officer that seems to not quite buy in yet to all the things the more seasoned officers just take for granted. And he makes a point about how often the brand new officers don’t have any experience with using a gun, or shooting people, etc. Really he brings up a lot of good points that I never really thought about.

The science of the dome was interesting, what few details we got were enough to keep the story moving without bogging down too much for anyone who might not want all of that. Things happened, like the prison basement, or should I say basement prison, that reflected past moments in history. And in the end, while there was an ending, I like how the author made it more of an open one. Not all loose ends tied up. That’s realistic in my opinion. Not only that, but while I don’t think this is going to be a series, or have a sequel, I could totally see one based on where the characters were at the end.

Another book from this author that I really enjoyed and will be putting on the shelves of the library for my students to read.

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8 responses to “ARC Review: Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson

    • Lisa Mandina

      Don’t get me wrong, I like sci-fi, but this one didn’t make that the main storyline, which was good for this story!

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