Terror Kid by Benjamin Zephaniah is an incredibly self-aware, eye-opening book. The story focuses on a teenage boy called Rico Federico, who has a passion for computers. The book takes place in London, where dozens of riots are occurring as a result of unfair treatment by police. Although his friends are running rampant through the streets, inspired by the theft and chaos, Rico wants no part in it. He wants to help, but believes that causing more trouble isn't going to help him. He is used to being an easy target for the police, having been arrested many times for no reason, so wants to protest, but in a peaceful manner.

Then Rico has an idea. What if he could use his skills with computers to send a message, without having to take to the streets? It is now that Rico meets Speech. Speech is a mysterious man, whom Rico knows barely anything about. Speech has an idea, too. He wants to work with Rico to shut down the police's website, for a mere ten minutes, just to get a point across. Rico agrees to help him— a peaceful cyber protest right? How much harm could it do? More than expected apparently.

Rico finds himself on the run, accused of murder and terrorism. Throughout the book, Rico learns many valuable lessons about trust and honesty. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this work, because I think it sends a very strong, clear message, which is very important to a lot of today's youth. I also really love Zephaniah's style of writing, which is very frank, and to the point, which may sound a bit boring, yet actually reveals a lot about the character and the situation he is in. I have never read a book that ends quite like Terror Kid does. I won't give it away, but the ending inspires a bit of frustration, but a lot of wonder as well. It really makes the reader question their own perceptions of the circumstances, and indeed the entire story. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in social rights issues, or just any teenager who is angry at "the system" and wants to see change in something they believe is important. It really makes you see things in a whole new light, and is a story you'll be thinking about for weeks after you've finished the last page.

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