This book takes everything you expect about dystopian books and turns it upside down. Leah Vernon wrote it with the ruling class being black people, instead of white.

This is so important and groundbreaking because when you see black people in dystopian novels, if you do, they are such a minor part of society. They usually are in service roles, sometimes straight up slaves, and they never have more than a passing mention in the book.

Along with this, the story is great. The writing was awesome. I loved every moment of this book.

This is a futuristic dystopian where Black people rule. Leah essentially flipped the roles, and I’m shook. I haven’t read about Black people as the aggressors in this way, so I definitely found myself uncomfortable which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I do get what Leah is doing here, and I applaud her boldness.

I’m so glad to see Black characters in a dystopian novel. It’s a first for me. I think this will be a great bookclub read. I found myself wishing I had others to digest the plot with because wow it’s dark, gritty, and I found myself unsure about how I felt, so it would be interesting to hear other peoples thoughts. The writing is straight to the point, so I think many will find this world easy to understand.

I can’t quite put my finger on what, but it feels like this story is missing something to punch it up a notch. I’m invested enough that I do want to know what happens next for Avi, Saige, and Liyo.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

First time reading a dystopian novel that puts the black community in the spotlight and it did not disappoint. The world building is good, every plot points presented was explored enough but left some room to tackle for the sequels. I also love the fact that the plot did not focus alot on romance.
However,the characterization did not offer something new for me.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book!

The Union by Leah Vernon is a dystopian novel that takes places in the future. The story itself was very gripping with a lot of darkness around it. As a mood reader I always have problems to get into a new book, but with this one it was no challenge at all. I was absolutely intrigued of the story and it kept me on the edge of my seat all the time.
Of course the book was provoking. The main topics are still anchored in our society today. So, it might not be everyones cup of tea. But it was for sure mine. The writing flowed like a river and was easy to read. Overall I really enjoyed The Union and hope to read more from Leah Vernon very soon.

I’m interested in doing an interview with Leah for pop-culturalist on The Union! The Union is perfect for those who are interested in dystopian novels set in the future. Leah Vernon is a hijabi body positivity activist.

This was dark and gritty and a lot more thought provoking than I expected. It really goes into the divide that’s pretty evident in our society and around us today, the author didn’t hold back in touching upon that either. It was horrific in that aspect, especially with the added dystopian genre to it. I loved this book.