The Roar

The Roar is a 2009 post-apocalyptic novel for children by British author Emma Clayton. It was published by Chicken House Publishing.

Plot

When the animal plague began, the entire population came together and built a solid concrete wall 50 feet high and 30 feet thick. This kept every single animal out of the human world. On the top of the entire wall there is an electrified fence and invincible, laser hurling Ghengis borgs mounted every 90 yards. Behind this wall the population that survived has been living for more than 30 years. Many things have come about since space is limited. The government created a law that forbade people to have children. The Northern Hemisphere is where the population has gone to survive with all the other people in the world. Outside of "The Wall" the majority of the population has been made to believe that it is covered in a yellow poisonous dust that was used to kill all living things, because of the plague.

Ellie traveled with a Pod Fighter in the depth skies of Atlantic Ocean with her monkey, Puck, hoping to return to the Northern Colony to reconcile with her parents. However, despite Mal Gorman's scheme towards Ellie's special ability. After reaching the Inner District of the Golden Barrier, Ellie became furious after an enemy Pod Fighter Forces chasing her, causing her to crash into the Mist Rivers of the Shadow. Afterwards, despite her efforts, she fails to reconcile with her parents. Mal Gorman wants to experiment on Ellie for his future plans. In the District city of the Shadows, Mika refuses to believe that Ellie has died, instead believing that she is still alive despite both of his parents believing that she died. He uses his memories of Ellie and discovers that the government has been hiding Ellie alive.

Many weeks later, the government introduced the Fit Campaign for Shadow Children to set standards for their long term health. However, Mika refuses to cooperate with the Fit Mix Campaign which leads him into trouble with the Nurse and his Principal Mr. Grey. Disgusted by his behavior, Mr. Grey gave him detention, suspended him, and gave him a shock collar to wear as punishment. He also had to separate a whole big jar of small beads into their different colors. They were so small that he had to use tweezers. It was a very long process.

Reception

The novel has received critical acclaim. The Roar was nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2009, won the Yorkshire Coast Book Award and was selected for the USBBY 2010 Outstanding International Books Honor List and the 2010 Texas Lone Star Reading List.

Sequel

The sequel to The Roar is The Whisper, released February 1, 2012

Allusions to other works

• The book shares several plot similarities with Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.
• One of the minute robots made by the character Kobi is in the shape of a raven and is named Nevermore, this is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's poem, The Raven