Silo and the Rebel Raiders

In a flooded, post-apocalyptic United Kingdom, a young boy travels from his marshlands home to the Capital to make his way in the world as a government-approved seer.Silo also hopes to find his father, a man he's recently realized is probably an outlaw. The narrative sticks closely to 10-year-old Silo, a pale, blue-eyed, white boy whose webbed feet and ill-reputed extended family gave him a difficult start in life in an island birthplace home to just a few families subsisting on eels and little else. His new status as a seer takes on a sinister meaning as he realizes what the government is up to. Silo is an endearing hero, determined to do the right thing and nimble enough to change course when the right path beckons. Peyton's humor, both wry and broad, and her frequent application of cartoon grossness like vomit and sewage add a contemporary spark to this Dickensian adventure. Hints about the pre-Catastrophe world include references to the distant, possibly mythical Us of Ay and, amusingly, to the game of goatball, a sport modeled on one the ancients played involving getting goats in nets. The rollicking climax is a battle fought on the rigging of two ships run aground on Ludgate Hill after a pursuit under sail through what remains of London. Convincing, humorous, and appealingly odd. (Science fiction. 9-13) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2016

Gr 4-6-A fast-paced adventure tale with interesting characters and lots of plot twists. The story starts with Silo, an orphan who is one of the few in his island community who can read and write. He never knew his father, and his mother was killed in a terrible accident. At 10, Silo is the town historian, but he would like to leave his home and go to the big city. He's hoping to become an important Seer, one who can predict the future as well as see the past, for the government. The boy manages to impress the government agent who comes to town, and he soon leaves his small village. Things don't go exactly as planned, though, and Silo comes to believe that the government isn't the safe haven he had envisioned. Silo would very much like to make friends, but it appears that not everyone is as trustworthy as Silo, and it comes as a surprise that some people lie to him. This is a dystopian society, but it's not obvious at first. As the plot unfolds, it becomes more apparent, in completely hilarious ways. For example, the people of this country play a game based on "the Ancients," that is, the people who came before some unnamed apocalyptic event. Their game, goat ball, uses 11 players and goats. The goats have to be chased into the goal; the winning team is the one that captures the most goats. Silo discovers that someone may have misinterpreted the Ancients' actual game, which turns out to be soccer. The novel contains some mildly objectionable language, so it would be better for the older middle grade crowd. VERDICT A solid addition to middle grade fantasy collections.-Debbie Tanner, S D Spady Montessori Elementary, FL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2016
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* Peyton's first novel is a quirky and delightful tale about 10-year-old Silo Zycomother dead, father unknown, living in the eastern marshes of a country struggling to recover from a great disaster in its past. Tired of being the village scapegoat, Silo hopes to parlay his talent for soothsaying into a cushy job as a government seer. He makes it to the city to be trained, but his dreams quickly fall flat, and, along with a ragtag group of friends, he flees back to the marsh to warn the village of impending doom. It doesn't take long to figure out that Silo's world is a postapocalyptic version of our own, and Peyton ably infuses the narrative with plenty of humor, from misinterpretations of historythe national sport is called goatball, because it was believed that the winning team got the most goatsto ingenious slapstick, such as a scene involving Silo's worst enemies, a pickax, and a sewer pipe. Silo is an engaging hero, scruffy and tough but tenderhearted enough to champion a fragile young seer with a talent for visions and projectile vomiting (there are gross-outs aplenty). With a story rich in appeal to an ample range of readers and plenty of opportunities for further adventures, this thought-provoking and engrossing novel should enchant many.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)