I am delighted to be one of the Blogger kicking off the Blog Tour and to be able to share my review for Battleground by Rachel Churcher. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for my spot on the Blog Tour and for arranging an e-copy of this book.

Let’s see what it is all about…

Sixteen-year-old Bex Ellman has been drafted into an army she doesn’t support and a cause she doesn’t believe in. Her plan is to keep her head down, and keep herself and her friends safe – until she witnesses an atrocity she can’t ignore, and a government conspiracy that threatens lives all over the UK. With her loyalties challenged, Bex must decide who to fight for – and who to leave behind.

The Battle Ground series is set in a dystopian near-future UK, after Brexit and Scottish independence.

This is a dystopian story that is aimed at Young Readers, and I have to say this Older Reader really enjoyed it as well. Living in the UK for Bex and her friends is different, there are tensions about which side should be supported. Misinformation and fake news make it difficult for the friends to know which is the right side to be on, or even if there is a right side.

There is the side of the Government, surely they have the nations best interests at heart. But then the terrorists are fighting for the people as well! Bex, Dan, Margie, Saunders and others have to decide who they will join up with. The weight of their decisions emerges throughout the story.

Some elements could be seen as relevant in today’s society. This for me is a good thing as it is something a YA reader can relate to. Fake new or propaganda as it used to be known is everywhere in society. Manipulation of the truth leaves you wondering who to trust. For Bex and her friends, it gives rise to discussions and arguments as they believe they support the better side. It leads to the friendship fracturing as they are taken from their school to a Training Camp.

This has been an enjoyable read with a well-paced flow to it. There is plenty of action to keep the pages turning. I like a good amount of conspiracy in my reads and this has a level that felt right for the intended audience. I think YA Readers would really enjoy Battleground, I certainly did.

It is one I would recommend.

Rachel Churcher was born between the last manned moon landing, and the first orbital Space Shuttle mission. She remembers watching the launch of STS-1, and falling in love with space flight, at the age of five. She fell in love with science fiction shortly after that, and in her teens she discovered dystopian fiction. In an effort to find out what she wanted to do with her life, she collected degrees and other qualifications in Geography, Science Fiction Studies, Architectural Technology, Childminding, and Writing for Radio.

She has worked as an editor on national and in-house magazines; as an IT trainer; and as a freelance writer and artist. She has renovated several properties, and has plenty of horror stories to tell about dangerous electrics and nightmare plumbers. She enjoys reading, travelling, stargazing, and eating good food with good friends – but nothing makes her as happy as writing fiction.

Her first published short story appeared in an anthology in 2014, and the Battle Ground series is her first long-form work. Rachel lives in East Anglia, in a house with a large library and a conservatory full of house plants. She would love to live on Mars, but only if she’s allowed to bring her books.

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Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be great 🙂 xx