I am Not a Number~ Lisa Heathfield

A few years ago, I read Paper Butterflies also by Lisa Heathfield and was stunned with how good and emotional it was. So, when I was handed I am Not a Number and told to read it, I knew I was going to be in for an emotional journey. I was expecting it to be an upsetting book, but I have never found it so hard to remember that this is fiction and not actually happening.

I am Not a Number tells the story of Ruby West and her family and friends. The book starts with Ruby walking to school after a new political party, the Traditional Party, has been elected into power. She encounters an armed soldier and it’s the first sign that things are changing. At school, they are told to put armbands on showing the world whether they voted for the Trad Party or their opposition party, The Core Party. Things then get worse. The Core supporters in Ruby’s area are rounded up and placed in an old army camp. I am Not a Number is the story of a modern-day Holocaust.

Each chapter starts with a quote from the fictional leader of the Trad party, but all the quotes are real quotes from various dictators and far-right politicians throughout history. The politics in this novel are very on-topic with the way that real-life politics seem to be heading. Some phrases and policies are scarily similar to what our politicians are saying. It terrified me how easy it was for the phrase ‘make our country great again’ to begin a new Holocaust. Heathfield is an author who invokes strong emotion, but I was not ready for how angry and disgusted this book made me feel. I made so many faces whilst reading this book.

This was a hard book to read and took me far longer than I had hoped but that was because it was a little distressing to read. My only criticism of this book was that the ending came about too quickly. The events kept building and building and then the book ended with very little explanation of how it got to that point. It just felt a little rushed. 

Overall, I really recommend this book to everyone and anyone. It’s an eye-opener and a reminder that we can’t let the far-right politics win. It’s a scary book but only because it shows us what could happen if we don’t act. I gave this book 4.5 stars. Lisa Heathfield has once again created a memorable, emotionally hard-hitting YA novel.

C 🌙