Cell 7 - Kerry Drewery

"Should she live or die? You decide An adored celebrity has been killed. Sixteen-year-old Martha Honeydew was found holding a gun, standing over the body.

Now Justice must prevail.

The general public will decide whether Martha is innocent or guilty by viewing daily episodes of the hugely popular TV show Death is Justice, the only TV show that gives the power of life and death decisions - all for the price of a phone call.

Martha has admitted to the crime. But is she guilty? Or is reality sometimes more complicated than the images we are shown on TV?"

Cell 7 is an intriguing take on the mob mentality and the ways in which mass media and entertainment can be so very manipulative. In a near-future, courts have been abolished and the fate of prisoners is decided over a seven-day public voting period. The motto "an eye for an eye" is the driver behind the TV program Death is Justice where the viewers feel that they have a personal stake in dealing out deadly justice to perceived wrong-doers. It is very much a Big Brother/Hunger Games vibe.  

At the start of the book, we are introduced at the crime scene, and it’s good that the book delves in right from the start. This book is a bit unusual in that it flicks between a number of points of view. Martha, from the inside of her death row cell; and Eve, her counsellor, in particular, as well as employing flashback scenes and running scripts from the Death is Justice television show. I like the different points of view put not the different writing styles. It's in 3rd to start with, then in 1st, and lets throw some second person in there too. It was really disjointed and disorientating. Please pick one.

But because it uses the different points of view it allows the situation in which Martha finds herself to be explored from a number of angles, and exposes the motivations of various characters. The book takes its time in giving the reader the full picture, providing for an interesting mystery.

It is a very issues-focused book, with justice, fairness and power being the issues under examination. It was obvious from the beginning that there was more to Martha's case than initially meets the eye, and it seemed to take quite a while to get to the crux of the issue. I did enjoy the final few chapters of the book, when the flaws of the public voting system become apparent for all to see. This part of the book was faster-paced than the earlier sections, and the impending and inevitable sense of danger added a bit of excitement to proceedings. 

However there where a few things that niggled at me. One of the hosts on the TV show Death is Justice, called Kristina seemed very keen to sentence Martha to death. Why is this host so keen to sentence everyone to the electric chair? Who spilt her cornflakes? And why was this never discussed? The book also didn't have a very satisfying ending.  

Ages 14+. Strong language using the "f" word frequently. Drugs and adultery are all talked about and sex is alluded to but not described.