I was blown away by the sheer level of incredibleness of Onyebuchi’s writing throughout RIOT BABY. I marked so many passages of beautiful writing that captured heart, severity, and truth in sometimes mere lines or entire blocks of texts. This book deals head-on with the incarceration system in America that unfairly targets poor POC while also incorporating aspects of Science Fiction. I enjoyed the taut sibling dynamic between Ella and Kev. Ella, we know from the beginning, has some sort of abilities, what her family calls her Thing. From a young age, Ella is unsure of how to control these powers, so she ends up leaving her brother and mother, which sends younger brother Kev into a bit of a tailspin, one that lands him in prison while still in his teens. Through Kev, we see the harsh realities and unique cruelties of the prison system. Through Ella, we see the harsh realities and unique cruelties that those of us living in Black bodies come up against every day: racism, prejudice, state-sanctioned executions by police…There a question throughout this book about what is freedom vs. peace vs. order. Is it possible, for Black people, to have all three at the same time in our current society? What are the benefits (if any) of the current way in which our prison system is set up? How can you rehabilitate people who the system treats like animals? How can those who are in jail simply because they cannot pay bail supposed to stand in a courtroom and feel human when they can’t pay for suits or adequate representation or have the spent past few months to years living inside a prison that treats them as subhuman? The system is broken, and, through RIOT BABY, ONYEBUCHI does an excellent job showing how the injustice in our “free” society is closely related to the inadequacies and failures of the prison system in America. This is a must-read book for everyone.