Themes in the book

[Essy moonlight11]

This being a book revolving around war, most themes are majorly around that area. Abuse, brutality, war crimes, and many other themes are evident.

[Essy moonlight11]

Betrayal is also a common war in the book. I'd also not exclude racism among the wide range of themes evident in the book.

[Oluwatosin Balogun]

This book had a lot of relatable themes that appealed to me. Themes like Racism, parental neglect, discrimination, relationship struggles, and managing power. I believe young adults would also relate to the book as it speaks about making adult decisions and coming to the realisation of the future. Like Steve, many youngsters will find themselves deviating from their original future plans to suit their current situation.

[Missing Person]

I'm going to try to identify themes that haven't already been mentioned. I can see the following themes:

1) Career advancement versus morality: This scene mainly plays out with Crowley and Dylan who both try to fit in with all the other police officers without engaging in any illegal or immoral behavior so that they can reach retire with full pensions after their careers as police officers are over.

2) Safety and security versus activism: Steve, the main character, is always worried about Roxy or himself getting into dangerous situations while trying to be an activist. This story paints the lives of activists as dangerous and full of perilous situations.

3) Religion tolerance versus sexual liberation: Roxy's mother's religious intolerance destroys the relationship she has with her daughter Roxy. We see this when Roxy's mother kicks Roxy out of her house.

[Missing Person]

I'm going to try to mention themes others have not yet mentioned. I saw the following themes in the book:

1) Career advancement versus morality: Crowley and Dylan chose to tolerate the immorality and corruption of other police officers, routinely turning a blind eye to the injustices they saw at their police departments so that they could safely reach retirement and receive full pensions. Steve was disappointed to see them behave in that way and by choosing to be an activist cut his police career short.

2) Religious intolerance versus sexual liberation: Roxy's mother's religious intolerance ruins her relationship with Roxy. Roxy's mother throws Roxy out of her house because her daughter fornicated with Steve and in her mind, that is an unforgivable sin.

3) Safety and security versus activism: From the time he becomes a police officer to the near the end of the story, Steve is always worried about his own safety and his girlfriend's safety. He is always afraid that his and Roxy's political activism will bring them into dangerous situations.

[prush]

If you look at the music throughout the book, you will find a thread of the time. If you listen to the lyrics, you have a better understanding of the feelings of the younger generation at the time. Music was the social media of the era.

[Jennifer Coxon]

There are many themes included which are symbolic of the time period the book is set in (women’s rights, anti-war, drugs, police brutality), although many of themes are still present today. The two themes that resonate with me are:
1. The student vs real-life divide. The ideals the students hold based on theories of how things should work, and how with Steve joining the police force, he has his mind opened to the realities of how things really work. I find there is often quite a divide on people’s political views as they experience more and more of the world outside of college / uni.
2. How a mass-mindset can lead to such an escalation of violence. There are several instances in the book where protests or activities turn violent, and in each case it is a single action which is misinterpreted by one person in the group, which leads to a mass reaction. Unfortunately, in the protests, this goes beyond defending to full on retaliating. However it also goes to the mass-mindset of not wanting to stand out for the wrong reasons, which engenders the bad cultures and practices we see in different environments, whether that be workplaces or communities. It is really hard to be the one who is different, even if being different is the right thing.

[Itz Savaga]

The theme of police brutality stood out for me the most. It was heartbreaking to see civilians being treated with so much cruelty at the hands of those that are meant to protect them.

[Fredrick Felix Mnjala Maneno]

Mostly I think the themes most represented was police brutality and corruption. The war bit is also there but I feel this was just because of the time period.

[Ogunkoya Mayowa]

“Wild World” contains a lot of themes ranging from police brutality, mass killing, war, family, politics, etc. The one I can relate to is police brutality because it happen in my country one year ago.

[Sandra Parablo]

Love is a big theme in the book. Racism is another one. Betrayal, family, perseverance, war, suffering, and pain are some other themes I can say we're in the book off the top of my head.

[Finn Justin Charles]

Some of the themes are; human right activism, police brutality, war, discrimination, death, betrayal, etc. There are so many themes in the book.

[Book Review Tub]

I noticed five main themes
1. Police brutality
2. Horrible reality of war
3. Racism
4. Betrayal
5. Love

[Kayla Archer]

I saw many of the themes mentioned above, but I think whats took out to me was the portrayal of the students vs authority. Yes, there was police brutality, but there was also the actions (or lack there of) the students who loved making a difference by holding demonstrations. They wanted to change the world with words alone. Steve actually went and DID something.

[Joy Baridi]

I noticed all the themes you mentioned including love, hate, betrayal, hope, and riots.