I really wanted to love this book, but I think I have to accept that this is just not a genre I enjoy. That said, I think Sim is a fantastic person and a great writer. Give this book a shot!

If there's one thing Sim Kern is it's imaginative. They come at topics from a completely unique angle. I enjoyed their earlier publications quite a bit so getting to read this even longer novel from them was a complete treat. It's also left me thinking, which I think is the sign of a fantastic novel.

Actual rating: 4.75 stars

"Maybe 99.99% of our lives will be spent stuck trudging down the narrow sidewalks afforded to us by capitalism... but once in a while, for a brief bubble in time, enough of us get together to defy the ruling classes. To step out into the street and carve our own path. And even if I get to experience that for less than 0.01% of my time on this earth, I'll take it."

I really enjoyed reading this book. Based on the description alone I was already intrigued, but it continued to surpass my expectations. Told through the perspective of a white woman grappling with feelings of white guilt as she learns more about her own ignorance, this book tells a complex story of a revolutionary protest against racial capitalism. Despite the premise being based on a long period of democratic presidency following the election of Al Gore, this book shows how many issues we blame on right-wingers would still have arisen as a consequence of capitalism.

Despite having a white main character, the book does not portray her as some sort of savior to people of color. Instead, it uses her whiteness to the advantage of the plot by showing her journey from being a sheltered white neoliberal to becoming fully radicalized against capitalism. Throughout the book, she continually unlearns deep-set ideas surrounding moral integrity, privilege, justice, race, and poverty through conversations with friends and lived experiences.

What I loved:
1. The use of neopronouns is extremely refreshing to read in a fiction book. I really appreciate how this book treats gender throughout, with several trans characters each portraying their own unique gender expression. For example, Gestas is a trans man who still wears "girly" clothing and his gender is never questioned.
2. The characters and their relationships with one another are extremely realistic. There are multiple characters in the book who talked and acted just like people I know in real life. There is not a single character who lacks flaws, and these flaws are richly explored.
3. The romance between Maddie and Red was very beautifully written. I won't fully discuss this aspect so as not to spoil the plot, but the love Maddie feels for Red is palpable and each scene between the two of them felt like it was written in pure emotion. Despite their love for one another, their relationship is far from perfect as they struggle with their own mental health and the ongoing protests against the government.
4. The depiction of relational abuse is very nuanced and realistic. Abuse is depicted in many forms, ranging from outright violence to subtle emotional abuse, both of which are handled with great respect toward the victims. Just like in real life, this abuse is not always easy to spot, with the victims sometimes realizing they were abused far after the relationship is over.
5. How various leftist groups act toward one another is very nuanced and realistic. At one point the author talks about how different groups of leftists absolutely hate each other, despite all being leftists, and it reminded me of many online discourses I have seen on social media. Just like the characters themselves are all flawed, the movement as a whole is not perfect.

What I didn't love:
1. Some conversations Maddie has with her friends feel less like organic conversations and more like fronts for explaining complex political topics. While I do agree that it is important for the book to show these conversations, it sometimes feels like their normal conversational patterns are temporarily abandoned in order to achieve whatever conversation is necessary for the plot. One specific encounter I have in mind is when Gestas talks to Maddie about the books she teaches in class. To me, it came across similarly to when characters give excessive exposition in their dialogue instead of naturally weaving it into the story.
2. The number of times Maddie says something like "I felt stricken by how ignorant I was about xyz" felt a bit performative. I can see what the author was trying to achieve here but for me, I think her emotions in these instances could have been handled a bit more gracefully.
3. I didn't love the section where the characters talk about "butterfly prophets." I get that it was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek reference, but specifically mentioning things like 9/11 and a "zoomorphic pandemic" was a little on the nose and drew me out of the story.
4. This is just a little thing, but at one point the main character sustains a skull injury and then it is seemingly forgotten soon after. I was left confused about how/when she healed from this.

Overall this book is one of my favorites. It's a very unique premise that beautifully tackles a wide range of social and political issues through the actions of characters that could very well have been real people. As I approached the ending I was on the edge of my seat and I really could not tell whether it would be a happy or sad ending. As it turns out, it was a little bit of both. Despite a series of tragedies that happened at the end of the story, I was still left with a feeling of hope for the future.

I'd like to thank Sim Kern and their publishing team for allowing The Free People's Village to be put on NetGalley in advance of the #TransRightsReadathon which was held March 20-27, 2023. I was given a copy, but read it after I completed the readathon. This is an honest review :)

As I started this book and started to know the characters and the setup for this alternate timeline, I was really interested in the characters and the minute details that differed in their world from the timeline we are living in. I had to keep reminding myself that the character in the book is 24 – the same age as me – and I really tried to put myself in her shoes for a lot of the story. It was really interesting to see Maddie's growth throughout the period she is fighting to protect the Eighth Ward from gentrification. Throughout all of it she grapples with her position to the movement, her whiteness, her willingness to break the status quo as a teacher, and what it means to be an activist.

The longer I read the story, the more and more I became attached to the characters and I really wanted them to succeed. The occasional break where Maddie directly references the reader kept me on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't decide if I was going to get the ending I was hoping for. Kern had me going back and forth between happy and sad endings. Overall, I think the ending really encapsulates what activism and protesting looks like in America, and how our country continues to act as a police state.

I'm really excited for this book to be published in September and can't wait to recommend it to people. There is a wide variety of different genders, races, ethnicities, and economic classes shown in the book and I'm really interested in how other people digest the story, plot, characters, and relationships on the page!

A fantastic look into an alternative version of the world we live in. What would've happened if AL Gore won and climate change taken more seriously? Also, excellent view on all of the systemic injustices we are facing in our current world as well. Great for anyone into alternate history, looking for LGBTQIA+ representation, or looking at how our current systemic injustices could play out in alternate realities. This book makes you stop and think about which side of history do you want to be on?

The Free People's Village by Sim Kern is a powerful and thought-provoking climate fiction novel that explores the impact of environmental policies on marginalized communities. The alternate timeline in which Al Gore wins the 2000 election and declares a War on Climate Change sets the stage for a society where the wealthy and privileged enjoy the benefits of green infrastructure while the poor and vulnerable are pushed aside.

The story follows Maddie Ryan, an English teacher and punk band guitarist, as she joins a Black-led organizing movement called "Save the Eighth" to fight against the gentrification of Houston's Eighth Ward. As police violence escalates, the movement transforms into "The Free People's Village," an occupation that aims to birth an anti-capitalist revolution. Maddie's journey to confront her own privilege and find her place in the movement is both compelling and emotional.

Kern's writing is engaging and vivid, bringing to life a world that is simultaneously dystopian and hopeful. The characters are well-developed, and their struggles and triumphs feel real and relevant. The novel raises important questions about the intersection of environmentalism and social justice, and the impact of systemic oppression on marginalized communities.

Overall, The Free People's Village is a must-read for anyone interested in climate fiction, social justice, and the fight for a more equitable future. Kern's writing is powerful and impactful, and this book will stay with readers long after the final page.

I cannot say enough about how much I loved The Free People's Village. Did I love the main character? No, not at all. Did I love some of the things that Sim Kern did to my heart? Absolutely not. I am still recovering. Was this book exactly what I needed? You betcha.
I am a nonbinary, slightly less clueless version of Maddie who just happens to not be in a band. And I want to be more like every other character involved in the fight of this book. Honestly, I think it is fair to say that Sim Kern has further radicalized me, and I am not upset about it.

The more I think about this book the more I like it and the less I’m sure what to say about it. Right now I kind of just feel overwhelmed by the story, themes, and characters. I want to reread it when it is published this fall and give a more well rounded opinion then.

Here are my thoughts for now;

Maddie is a very easy character to relate to. Her neuroticisms, perspective, and critical analysis are all familiar to me.

I aspire to be Gestas. I hope I know enough to understand I’m Maddie, and probably always will be. But I’d like to be Gestas.

It was hard for me to like Red, as xer nihilism and self-destructive nature set off all my red flags and anxieties. Though I can’t say I haven’t also been in love with / attracted to nihilistic, self-destructive assholes I wanted to change for the better. I wish I could have seen Maddie get to the point of healing to realize that isn’t and wasn’t her job. No one could ever love Red enough to save xer.

I have known a Fish. Never dated him, but I knew him very personally. The biggest middle finger I ever gave that man was not letting him have control over me anymore. No matter what other successes he has, he’ll never have that again, and I know that eats him.

I'm rating this book based on the writing and concept which I loved, but note that after getting about 15% in I discovered it was much more sci-fi for me as a reader, than I expected. Please know thought that this is a reflection of me as the reader not the book or author as I love the concept and the diversity and think this would be a great read of big sci-fi lovers.

I really enjoyed the world building and character development of this work. It was very gritty and thoughtful.

This book is amazing. It is a story I think everyone should read. I have learned so many amazing things about protesting and taking a stand. Sim is an amazing author

I heard of this author on TikTok and was promoting this during the Trans Rights Readathon. I opted to read this because the plot seemed intriguing and I loved the plot. I love alternative science fiction history and this was exactly up my alley. The pacing was excellent and the characters involved are unique in the sense that I felt that these were real people in real life. Overall, can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy and plan to explore the author's other works.

I read this book as part of the #transrightsreadathon 2023.

"...all xir energy and vibrations are still ricocheting around inside me, setting off chain reactions down a zillion quantum pathways, echo-
ing out in the world, influencing the universe forever."

In an alternate 2020 timeline, Al Gore won the 2000 election and declared a War on Climate Change rather than a War on Terror. But really, not much has changed. Corporations and rich white people still make all the rules and bend or break them without consequences. Meanwhile, marginalized people are still criminalized and live in poverty.
The book follows a young disillusioned teacher, Maddie, who finds her place at the Lab, an old warehouse in the poverty-stricken Eighth Ward where she teaches. There, she connects with Red, with whom she quickly falls in love, along with several other people who become her found family throughout the course of the book. When the Lab is slated to be torn down for a new "green" highway, she joins the fight to save the neighborhood.
This book is a powerful statement about capitalism, colonialism, and revolution. While Maddie begins the fight for selfish reasons (to stay with Red and keep her safe haven) she begins to become "radicalized" by the movement. While her romance with Red was an important part of her story, I actually feel like the most meaningful person to Maddie's growth was Gestas, her trans band mate and a self-proclaimed anarchist. It's through Gestas that she educates herself and sees beyond herself. And then through her friendship with Shayna, the main organizer of "Save the Eighth," she learns to keep fighting even if you keep losing.
This book tipped the scales for me from being personally anti-capitalist in thought, to wanting to find ways to be anti-capitalist in practice! Not everyone in Sim's book gets a happy bow-wrapped ending (quite the opposite), and yet it still left me with hope. A hope that each new fight makes a difference in the long run.

5⭐️
Check content warnings at bottom!!
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to love this book. It’s been awhile since I’ve read any sort of alternate timeline or political heavy books, and I didn’t think I’d get into it, but I absolutely loved this. I had a whole convo with my mom (who doesn’t even read) because I needed to talk about this novel and all the thoughts it was provoking. It forced me to re-examine some of my views about things happening in my city right now as well, and I’m really glad for it.

The main character is very close to me identity wise, and I think personality wise as well. She’s imperfect, she’s flawed, but she’s trying to become better and that’s what makes this novel so great. This book held a lot of realism and I think it was a breath of fresh air.
Despite the whole novel being single pov, the other characters were still strongly developed. There was foreshadowing for the end throughout the entire book, and I was constantly on a rollercoaster of feeling hopeful vs. pessimistic. Every time the characters experienced a win, I was excited with them and turning to the next page enthusiastically. Every time they experienced a drawback, I was dreading what would come next.

While this book definitely won’t be for everyone, if you enjoy alternate realities, social justice, or want to branch out from your usual genre, I think you’ll enjoy this book!

CW: Police brutality, assault, sexual assault, overdose, racism, transphobia, homophobia, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, rape, suicidal thoughts

Thank you to NetGallley, Levine Querido, and Sim Kern for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of The Free People’s Village by Sim Kern.

I’ve been following Sim Kern on Tiktok for quite some time, and have been meaning to pick up one of their books for a while. When they made this book available on Net Galley for the Trans Rights Readathon (which they started!), I jumped at the chance.

The Free People’s Village takes place in an alternate universe where Al Gore won the 2000 election. In this reality, the war is on climate change, though the actual climate of the country doesn’t feel all that different than what’s going on in the US right now.

We follow Maddie, who frequents a place called The Lab, a large building owned by her boyfriend. There, she meets - and falls for - Red, the non-binary enigmatic leader of a band that Maddie joins. When Maddie learns The Lab and the surrounding neighborhood will be demolished to make way for an electromagnetic hyperway, she decides to do something about it. She joins the Save The Eighth movement in order to protest the upcoming demolition. While Maddie initially joins in order to maintain the fun life she’s used to, the movement occupies The Lab and Maddie finds herself fighting for so much more.

Sim Kern’s world/reality building is seamless and has so much depth. It’s unlike any AU that I’ve read, though you will also recognize parts of our own universe you’d likely want to forget.

They wrote characters that you sympathize with greatly, and yet are deeply flawed…and human. I found myself really relating to Maddie in so many ways. From her job, to her struggles with mental health and her self-described cowardice and hesitance to fight for what’s right because she worries she will be perceived as a white savior. We learn along with Maddie about the many injustices of their world, most notably in her case, white privilege.

The Free People’s Village has found family, laughs, tears and incredible LGTBQIA+ and diverse representation. Many important topics are tackled such as fascism, racism, transphobia, and misogyny, to name just a few. This is all done through engaging and inspiring story-telling, with prose and dialogue that are both vivid and relatable. This is no fairy tale, but it’s a tale worth reading and learning about…for its message, for its ability to evoke emotion, while also going on a wild ride.

What I loved most about The Free People’s Village is that it caused me to both reflect on our world, as well as myself. Something I believe any great book should do. Sim Kern inspired me with their book. Period.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of the book and to Sim Kern for organizing the Trans Rights Readathon. I look forward to reading all the other books I have on deck by trans authors and hope this becomes a yearly event!

The Free People's Village is a radically entertaining, enlightening, rollercoaster of a novel. Maddie, the relatable everywoman in the book, meets a rich app developer with some progressive ideals that include creating a music and arts space in a historically poor, black neighborhood in Houston. Renters in the building include Red, a charismatic and irresistible musician, Gestas, a black trans man who is on a version of House Arrest, and a host of other artists, musicians, and idealists. It is through these new friends that Maddie begins to question her own ideas and beliefs.

When developers threaten to take down half the neighborhood to build a new highway (called a hyperway), Maddie and her friends join the mostly black local activists in fighting to keep the neighborhood intact. How far will they go to protect the home they have grown to love, and what would it take to actually help the marginalized people of the neighborhood?

This book takes place in an alternate reality where Al Gore won the 2000 election and made climate change a top priority. What I loved was the thoughtful examination of what that would mean for marginalized groups. We follow Maddie, a white, educated, former-Christian as she learns how racist and classist even progressive policies can be. When gas cars are illegal, who can afford to buy electric vehicles? Who can afford to upgrade their home and get the tax breaks involved? Who can afford to eat meat and dairy when they are heavily taxed? Maddie spends a lot of time getting things wrong, putting her foot in her mouth, and making assumptions about how other people feel and what they want. It was refreshing to watch her struggle to grow and learn. That's really what it takes to understand how other people experience the world and to get outside of our own lives. It's painful, but Maddie does the work to become a better person.

Though Kern is clearly focused on environmentalism and social justice, they don't skimp on the characters. Maddie, Red, Angel, Gestas, Shayna, and others, are deep and well-rounded, wonderful and flawed. It's fascinating to watch the movement grow and to see how people with differing beliefs contribute in their own ways. Kern writes the good and the bad, not glossing over the difficulties or logistics it would take to organize a social justice movement, including food, space, endless planning meetings, and even bathrooms.

I absolutely loved the feeling, while reading, of being part of the movement, seeing the ups and downs, the problems and solutions, and the mental struggles of Maddie and others. She's an imperfect helper and observer, selfish and selfless at the same time, someone who cares deeply and wants to do right but often screws it up.

This book gave me hope for the future, while keeping me grounded in the reality of the trials marginalized people continue to face. It reminded me that progressive beliefs and ideals are generally not enough to make a change. We need radical people and radical ideas to keep the world moving in the right direction.

I give it a 10/10 and recommend it to anyone interested in social justice, science fiction, and environmental issues.

Thank you to NetGalley & Sim for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

I found Sim on Tiktok and once they started the trans rights readathon I knew I wanted to give one of their books a try.
A couple disclaimers: 1) Please check all the content warnings before reading this book. 2) This is not my usual genre of book so I will not be giving it a concrete star rating (3 stars is I finished the book). I appreciated it in its artistry but it is not my favorite. I wanted to support a transauthor and get outside my comfort zone.

Like many other people, I agree that Sim Kern's does a bang up job of creating a believable alternate reality. The story tackles topics that we as a society deal with on a daily basis and therefore gives their story a strong base. The imperfections in the MC were also very appealing to this read.

I appreciate the style of writing and how it was a call to action for those involved in the story and those that read it.

I read Free the People’s Village by Sim Kern during the recent Trans Right Readathon and was completely blown away! I cannot express how happy I am to have gotten this ARC opportunity. I am a complete sucker for alternate reality reads and this one tackles a number of significant topics that really hit home for me; racism, police brutality, and climate action all with gusto and with heart. The character builds were superb, their struggles were vital and the overall vibe was totally My Jam! Sim Kern is now on my watch list:)

Maddie spends a lot of her free time at The Lab, the house owned by her boyfriend, and lived in by her bandmates. But when she discovers that the house is set to be torn down in order to widen the hyperway, she decides to do what she can to try to save the house. As she starts going to meetings, she realizes there's a lot more to the neighborhood, to its history and her boyfriend's contribution to its gentrification, than she realized. And one night, when their attempts to save the house and the neighborhood gets a lot of attention, it becomes a tipping point. Suddenly Maddie, a Nice White Lady who'd never given much thought to race, politics, or how much her education lied to her, finds herself at the center of a protest, a movement.

The Free People's Village is set in an alternate 2020-- one in which Gore became president in 2000, and the Democrats have been in power since. But things aren't all perfect in that world--greenwashing is rampant, and there's just as much racism as there is now... and beneath it all, fascism still creeps closer.
And at the center of it all, Maddie is a clumsy ally, someone who tries and often gets it wrong, who does the right things for the wrong reasons, the wrong things for the right reasons, etc. as she tried to make sense of the world and exactly how she fits into her corner of it.

I didn't always like Maddie--sometimes because who she was as a person rubbed me the wrong way, but sometimes because I saw more of myself in her than I would like to admit. The Free People's Village made me examine my own role more critically--where I could do more, why I haven't, and what that means about me. It's definitely not an easy read, but it is an important one, especially for white allies who will see themselves in Maddie and hopefully be receptive to putting themselves in her shoes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Levine Querido for providing me with an eARC of The Free People's Village in exchange for my honest review!

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

I'm glad I was able to read this in honor of the Trans Rights Readathon! It presents an endearing ensemble of characters and an intriguing alternate world that's fueled by powerful political layers. It tackles anti-capitalism, anti-racism, police brutality, support for Palestine, environmentalism, and more, all of which I got wrapped up in. The queer rep that Sim Kern spreads throughout the cast is great, too. My only major criticism is that the book can feel like it's lecturing to me. As a reader who generally sides with its politics, I especially didn't think it was necessary to hammer the messaging into my head. It's basically preaching to the choir. If it had been woven a bit more subtly into the narrative, I would have appreciated that.

Overall, I'm rating The Free People's Village 4.25 out of 5 stars. I'll be interested to check out more of Kern's work.