A well-written and expertly paced YA that does an incredible job weaving in social justice themes, the innovation of technology, and the intricacies of resilience within marginalized communities.

I read this book through #Netgalley. Thank you! I loved this book! Action pact and the story line was such an interesting take and the use of present day issues made it very now yet definitely a what is plausiblein the future. . I went out grabbed a physical copy to share with my teen.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

The plot here is fairly predictable from the start. The foreshadowing is awfully heavy handed. The character arc is pretty much what we would expect as well. The plot is fairly action oriented so there isn't a great deal of reflection or introspection. For entertainment value it's decent. There are enough nods to complexity to keep us engaged. I just don't know if it will hold up to repeats.

I had been searching for YA fantasy/science fiction and adventure titles that featured BIPOC males, something that my students hunger for and this title has been a hit with my students. This speculative fiction tale resembles what can be our immediate future if events continue to play out and created many conversations with my students.

This was such a great read! The whole concept infuriated me, and I had to see how they were going to deal with it! And oh, was it satisfying to watch it all come crumbling down! I had such a great time reading this book!

The basic idea that this city gets trapped under this dome because of a protest...it's horrifying. Especially a protest that has a right to demand change. I've never been to a protest, but that is definitely not the correct response!

Watching this trio deal with the situation, with the high tensions, was so great! I really enjoyed that we got some gay rep with Jamal and Marco, they were great together, knowing that this situation pushed them together faster then what would normally happen. I loved reading about them!

I really enjoyed how things ended, that they'd be able to utilize these skills that they developed while they were trapped in the dome. And that they could continue to work together, it was really satisfying, and if we got a sequel, I wouldn't be mad!

This was a really great read, and I can't wait to see what Kosoko Jackson writes next!

High school journalist, Jamal Lawson, heads to Baltimore to take photos and write about a rally protesting police brutality. However, as the rally is starting, the city implements what they call The Dome, a militarized force surrounding the city that lets no one in and no one out. Jamal finds himself alone, leading him to team up with hacker, Marco, and AWOL basic-training-graduate, Catherine. With a city that is greatly corrupt, it will take everything they've got to come out alive.

What this story has:
•A dystopian society ❗️
•👩🏽‍🤝‍👨🏾 Character-driven
•LGBTQA+ reps 🏳️‍🌈
•🖤 Pro-BLM (as we all should be)
•Quick, easy reading 🕙

What I wanted more of:
•More details about the setting. I couldn't really picture Baltimore... I was just picturing a random city with a dome around it. A story where the setting is of high importance needs to have extensive detail.
•More character development. For a character-focused story, the development / growth of the characters from beginning to end could have been a bit better. I started to lose a bit of interest towards the end of the novel, which was a bummer.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Survive the Dome! Might not have been my favorite, but it was still a solid read. Worth trying out. Anyway, that's all I got lol.

Survive the Dome by: Kosoko Jackson// 🌙🌙🌙.5

Dystopian? Thriller?

Kosovo Jackson’s young adult novel, “Survive the Dome,” smashes several genres together and creates an entertaining story that is a mix of thriller, gay romance, and dystopian.

This story isn’t a distant dystopian future—the set up felt contemporary. I could imagine something similar happening now. We live in a crazy world.

Throw in an authoritarian leader, politics, police enforcing the mayor’s plan, and you’ve got action, adventure, danger, romance, and intense conflict.

What I Liked:

The story is realistic in that it’s easy to imagine something like this happening now.

Jamal Lawson is a young black student who goes to a protest, wanting to get a story for his high school paper. He meets Marco and later Catherine and together they try to survive the dome.

You can tell from the title and the book cover that a dome covers a community, and there’s no way out.

The dome reminded me of WWII ghettos the Germans set up in countries they occupied, segregating Jews and other people into small communities separate from the rest of the population, foreshadowing the horror to come. This added chilling, tangible danger to the story.

What I Wasn’t Crazy About:

The story is entertaining, but it has some flaws.

Jamal, Marco, and Catherine lack the deeper character development I like. Jamal is a know-it-all and makes several immature decisions, which was a little annoying, but also typical teen behavior.

The antagonists are flat and evil.

There are some unrealistic events. Especially as the story approaches the end, when there’s a big need to suspend disbelief.

Plus, the dialogue is stilted and sometimes cheesy.

However, I give Jackson credit for boldly addressing authoritarian leaders, racism, police brutality, disabilities, gay relationships, and more.

My Recommendation:

The story is entertaining and sometimes a chilling reality. If the criticism in the “What I Wasn’t Crazy About” section doesn’t bother you. This might be a book you’d enjoy.

A big thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of “Survive the Dome.”

3.5 STARS

I love how Kosoko Jackson writes; they have a good flow of words and descriptions.
This book adds a little future tech to present-day problems; police brutality and how protests turn into a dangerous situation when cops with evil intentions when trying new tech to get folks in line. Police are trying to take control and silence people.

This book was very realistic for specific situations, like interactions behind the scenes between protectors and cops, but also a little slow for the plot that was in this story. An excellent account to read, and no one can say it is sci-fi because I fully believe that America will try this shit!

From Big Gay Fiction Podcast 372: https://www.jeffandwill.com/biggayfictionpodcast/2022/04/18/episode-372-kosoko-jackson-champions-representation-in-rom-coms-and-ya/

Now, before we talk to Kosoko Jackson, I want to take the opportunity to review Kosoko Jackson’s YA thriller “Survive the Dome.” It’s such a different book after reading the rom-com that is “I’m So (Not) Over You” to move over to this thriller.

“Survive the Dome” starts with a powerful and moving statement with a list of black and brown people killed by police from 1943 to 2021. On my Kindle, this list ran for seven pages. It’s a sobering opening, but also I think very appropriate for this book.

In “Survive the Dome,” Kosoko melds our current times with a look at a future that could just as easily come tomorrow as it could next month, next year, five years, a decade, and honestly, if we’re lucky, hopefully never. Aspiring photojournalist and high school student Jamal hopes to boost his chances at getting into Columbia University by going to Baltimore to photograph a protest against police brutality, following a verdict that saw a cop go free after killing a man. It’s more than just peppering his college application though. He knows the message verdicts like this sin to black and brown teens like him. One of his thoughts as he heads for the city is this: “Are we going to be a generation that just lets the status quo continue, or are we going to stand up for our rights no matter what? I know what type of person I want to be.” So just right there up front, we know exactly who Jamal is.

Once in Baltimore, he immediately encounters the police as they direct traffic toward parking. And the police seemed to be everywhere. Once he parks and falls in with the people headed to city hall, it’s in this crowd that he meets Marco, who randomly strikes up a conversation as Jamal is looking up something on his phone. Marco’s a cocky teen, standing up to a cop who wants to take away Jamal’s camera saying that photos aren’t allowed at the protest. Jamal’s certain that the confrontation won’t end well, but somehow it does.

Things go to hell soon enough though, as the Baltimore police, with the approval of the state governor, drop a dome over portions of the city, putting everyone inside into isolation. Everyone has 10 minutes to disperse and get home. And there’s no communication either, internet and cell phones can’t penetrate the dome. Marco convinces Jamal to trust him and the two race through the streets, avoiding the police, and they arrive just in time to a safe place.

It is a wild ride from there. Of course, Jamal and Marco don’t stay put for long. Marco’s a hacker and he wants to become part of Nemesis, a large group that’s operating in Baltimore and around the world. There’s a meeting he wants to go to, and, of course, Jamal follows. It is a non-stop gauntlet from there, from that meeting to literally surviving the dome. This book is tense. It’s thrilling. It’s a difficult journey, but it’s an incredible read as Kosoko puts Jamal into many situations.

You all know, I love YA books with smart teens and Kosoko really delivers that here, Jamal is smart, able to put facts together and he has a keen awareness of the situations he’s in and how to navigate them. He’s not perfect though. Sometimes he says way too much. Sometimes he doesn’t act fast enough. He can make mistakes like everyone, but you can’t help, but root for him. And it’s the same for Marco. Marco smarts are different coming on the technical side, but he is a great companion for Jamal because of their differences. For example, Marco often acts impulsively while Jamal thinks things through. So, these two kind of balance each other out really nicely.

Their team grows even more when they meet up with Catherine who isn’t much older than them but has been in the military. She brings the tactical skills and the muscle, and as someone who knows how to fight. Together they are a great team, making each other better and giving each other strength. They are one bad-ass trio. Kosoko keeps them off balance though by forcing them apart sometimes. And each time they’re back together, you can tell how the experiences only make them stronger.

There is a super sweet romance between Jamal and Marco to. This book keeps its focus primarily on the dome and finding a way to bring it down and keeping those responsible accountable for it. But Jamal and Marco have chemistry from their very first meeting, and that only grows. They have moments of being there for each other, moments of cute banter, and even some downtime for a kiss or two. Their romance moves nicely alongside the primary story.

What I liked most about “Survive the Dome” was Jamal. Kosoko gives Jamal smarts, as I mentioned before, but also a caring heart and a drive to do the right thing even if that means you end up in danger. Through Jamal, the reader gets to see the world through the eyes of a black teenager living in today’s world. With the book told in first person, it means we’re with Jamal as he has to assess the risk at every turn of what could happen to him because he’s black and the steps he can take to protect himself. One of Jamal’s thoughts in the back half of the book really struck me “Even if I do like to think I have hope, that we will, as a society, grow and evolve, it’s hard to keep that hope alive when you’re living the bad years in real time.”

Kosoko really delivers on “Survive the Dome.” It’s a tight action adventure thriller taking place just slightly in the future that brings us three great young adult characters with Jamal, Marco and Catherine. It also delivers a stark, scathing, and accurate look at American society. Plus, there is that wonderful romance too. I highly recommend that everyone pick up Kosoko Jackson’s “Survive the Dome.”

I’m going to leave you with the words that Kosoko has at the very end of his acknowledgements in the book. He says, “‘Survive the Dome’ is a fiction book, but the reality in America isn’t far off. If you learn one thing from this book, it’s that one person–or three persons–can change the world. Never forget that.”

While I didn’t like the writing style at times in the book, this felt real. I really enjoyed the character of Jamal. While horrible to think about, this seemed like something that could very well happen in the near future.

My students are always interested in inclusive books, and I had hoped that this would be yet another recommendation for me to give. This book had great potential, with some diverse characters and a semi-dystopian/science fiction in the near future story. However, the characters fell flat. Overall, this isn't a book that will likely end up on my recommendation list.

While this novel's characters/situations aren't as developed as they might be, I give it points for social relevance, gay main characters, and its likely appeal to both reluctant and avid readers, especially guys. Solid story!
3 stars

When a Black man is murdered, Jamal Lawson heads to Baltimore to participate in a rally protesting police brutality. But before the rally gets underway the city implements The Dome—a “safety protocol” where everyone within it is subject to a militarized shut down where no one can get in or out. Jamal meets Marco, a hacker, and Catherine, a basic-training grad whose parents helped build The Dome. Together, they must fight institutional corruption in order to survive The Dome.

I’m not a huge dystopian reader, but this one stood out to me because of how close to home it hits. While there are definitely futuristic elements at play, the overall concept feels very real as I won’t soon forget the summer of 2020 watching cities across the US protest police brutality and the morals of their cities. There are some dystopian books that are so futuristic they take me out of the story and the point of it (i.e., the commentary on the darker side of society) is overshadowed and the book becomes more sci-fi. But this is not what happened here. The author strikes a good balance between these elements and the futuristic aspects serve to highlight how close our society could actually come to something as scary as this. Of course the futuristic elements also make this a very fast paced and thrilling story.

In addition to providing us a pro-Black Lives Matter story, Jackson also includes queer representation. While this wasn’t the main focus of the story, I appreciate that Jackson included this element.

There isn’t a ton of character evolution, complexity, or depth within the story itself but as a dystopian/thriller book I didn’t go in expecting those elements. That being said, if that’s something you’re looking for in a book, you may have to adjust expectations. What you can expect from Survive the Dome is great characters (impossible not to root for them!), action, honest critiques on society and relevant social movements.

Buzzwords: Black Lives Matter, Black MC, M/M romance, dystopia

Survive the Dome was a fast-paced, bleak and very self-aware story. It mirrors the racism present in our society by taking things to the extreme, showing us a very (sadly) believable and terrifying scenario. After a Black man is killed by the police, our MC Jamal attends a Black Lives Matter protest. The police see this protest as a criminal event and react with heavy violence. Then comes the scary part. A dome is placed over the city. No one can get in, no one can leave and there’s no signal on all technological devices. Jamal is forced to trust Marco, a boy he just met at the protest.

It was terrifying to imagine that these teenagers were alone in this dome. No where was safe and Black and Brown people face violence, murder and imprisonment from the police. Martial law is in place and Baltimore is no longer a safe place for BIPOC individuals.

This book was an emotional journey and extremely important. Kosoko takes events to the extreme to get their point across and it works really well. I liked the central M/M romance (though it was a tad rushed, it wasn’t the aim of this book) and the sci-fi elements were explained clearly.

The first page contains a list of Black people who have been killed by the police. Reading this list was emotional and harrowing to say the least. This book is a great example of why we have to continue fighting to end police brutality and for non-BIPOC people to educate themselves on how to be anti-racist.

TW: Police brutality, racism, racial slurs, gun violence, misogyny, death, fatphobia

Thank you, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Jamal Lawson wanted to be part of something when he heads to Baltimore to document with his camera a rally protesting police brutality, after another Black man is murdered. But then the city decides to implement a new safety protocol. a Dome surrounding the whole city and forcing everyone in a shutdown, keeping information inside. Alone in an unfamiliar city, Jamal meets Marco, a mysterious hacker and Catherine, a girl whose parents helped build the plans for the Dome. As unrest builds during the long lockdown, they bring the fight to the chief of police, only to discover how deep runs the corruption and how difficult will be to survive.

Survive the Dome is a brilliant and claustrophobic dystopian thriller mixing technological elements, a huge Dome covering a city and trapping residents and information with modern fight, police brutality and important issues, written skillfully and with sensitivity.

This book is truly something very original, pulse-pounding until the very end. The main character, Jamal, is complex and skillfully written in his reactions, feelings and fears and I love his bond with Marco and Catherine and how they fight to survive and escape the Dome. It's raw and brutal, absolutely dealing with current events, unfortunately and I loved everything about it.
The author did an outstanding job with Survive the dome and I can't not recommend it to everyone looking for an intriguing and raw read.

This book was so good!! I was a bit hesitant going in because it isn't typically what I look for in a book, but I had to see what they hype was about and I am so glad I did! As soon as I finished reading, I ordered a physical copy. Definitely worth the hype.

This review is based pon an advanced reader's copy.

I was hooked from the start and I could not put it down. I had to get my hands on this so I joined the preorder campaign. It was so enthralling and had me on the edge of my seat.

This was fast paced and action packed from the start. This book is a little scary because it feels like it could happen. I also love stories that take place over a really short period of time. It’s also kind of cool to see a more reluctant group of allies form a friendship rather than established groups. The end left room for a sequel which I hope comes soon. I really liked the main character. Maybe you could judge some of his choices but they are impossible situations with his literal life on the line. I want more details on what Marcos been through. Also hey to the little ATL shoutout!

This book was exciting and action packed from the very first page! Jamal was such a likeable character and since he's in a tremendously horrible situation from the start of the book, it was easy to root for him, but my constant fear for him kept the tension in the story high.

The concept of the Dome was really interesting. The metaphor is strong, but it's also a literal obstacle, so people can read the story at multiple levels. There have rightly been a lot of YA stories about police brutality and young people's responses to it, but this felt like a fresh take even though the same despicable issue was at its heart.

I loved Marco and Catherine's characters as well. The sweet little romance that sprung up between Marco and Jamal was nice to see, but it also was rightly minimized because neither of them would really have time to focus on anything but their own safety. Catherine was completely amazing - tough, loyal and focused to a fault. I'd want her on my side in a crisis for sure.

The premise of this book would be enough to intrigue my students, but the way the story is told and the conclusion that perfectly sets this up to be a series will excite them even more.