Indies Introduce

Young Adult

• 
  All Rights Reserved, Gregory Scott Katsoulis
  Harlequin TEEN, 9780373212446, August 29, 2017 (Young Adult)
  

  “In a dystopian future in which almost all words and gestures have been copyrighted and citizens are charged for even the most basic forms of communication, the ultimate act of resistance may be to choose silence. In this richly imagined novel, Katsoulis explores ideas of free speech and the consequences of intellectual property law through characters that are sympathetic, tough, and thoroughly believable. All Rights Reserved is an excellent sci-fi thriller (with some of the best world-building I’ve seen in ages) with a great sense of humor and a political conscience. For anyone who feels the need for a little bit of revolution in their fiction, this book is just the thing.”

  Annie Farrell, Labyrinth Books (Princeton, NJ)
  
  

  "Freedom of speech is one of our most prized rights in the United States, and Gregory Katsoulis has created a brand new world where that freedom is removed in a new and frightening way. After you turn fifteen, every word and gesture you make has a royalty fee that is monitored and charged to each individual through a mandatory biocuff. When Speth turns fifteen, she makes a single gesture of zippering her lips, and with that gesture sets off a chain of events that will either destroy her family or save them. This compelling new dystopia is worth spending time to read."

  Laura Delaney, Rediscovered Books (Boise, ID)
  

  "This is actual, proper social and political criticism, folks. All Rights Reserved takes place in a future where every word you say after age 15 is copyrighted and incurs a fee. The protagonist, Speth, doesn't set out to be a revolutionary, but when events on the day of her birthday cause her to choose not to speak, she's thrust down the path of reluctant heroism. Katsoulis does an excellent job illustrating her journey to becoming a leader of this silent rebellion. The world of All Rights Reserved is, by nature of the dystopian genre, extreme, but Katsoulis' exploration of poverty and the crushing, inescapable weight of debt felt very, very real. I also really liked that this is (mostly) a much less action-packed revolution than, say, Katniss'. This book is (mostly) about silent, peaceful protest, and I found the sections of the novel where Speth's understated -- ha! -- heroism inspires others to action incredibly moving."

  Anna Kaufman, DIESEL: A Bookstore (Santa Monica, CA)