In a divided world where alphas are born to rule, while betas are doomed to serve, Dane Hasler thinks life is pretty sweet. Heâs the hottest dude in high school, captain of the gridball team, and son of the mayor. If he can just keep acting straight, heâs sure to claim his rightful place among the alpha elite. But Daneâs dreams are shattered on graduation day when his test result reveals heâs a beta.
Shunned by family and friends, Dane struggles with life on the streets until he runs into a former classmate and joins her queer rebel collective. Finally free to be himself, Dane is just starting to enjoy his new life when a shocking revelation presents him with a stark choice: should he return to the closet to reclaim his alpha status or fight for his boyfriend and the revolution?
In a divided world where alphas are born to rule, while betas are doomed to serve, Dane Hasler thinks life is pretty sweet. Heâs the hottest dude in high school, captain of the gridball team, and son of the mayor. If he can just keep acting straight, heâs sure to claim his rightful place among the alpha elite. But Daneâs dreams are shattered on graduation day when his test result reveals heâs a beta.
Shunned by family and friends, Dane struggles with life on the streets until he runs into a former classmate and joins her queer rebel collective. Finally free to be himself, Dane is just starting to enjoy his new life when a shocking revelation presents him with a stark choice: should he return to the closet to reclaim his alpha status or fight for his boyfriend and the revolution?
I was a monumental jackass who deserved all the shit coming my way. Every last spatter.Â
Dane Hasler, thatâs me. Alpha through and through. The mayorâs son, most popular guy in school, captain of the varsity gridball team, with a rock-hard six-pack and a smile that would make a dentist swoon... Sorry, am I laying this on a bit thick? Like I said. Jackass.
I used to do all kinds of dumb shit back then, mostly just to get a laugh from my A-bros, Zak and Ash. We loved tormenting betas. It was our thing.Â
Kids from both alpha and beta families went to Sky City High. It was supposed to be fairer that way, but it just pissed me off. Why should I share the same air as a bunch of stinking betas? So naturally, I took every opportunity to remind them who was boss.
Thatâs actually how this whole thing started. It didnât seem like such a big deal at the time, but it set in motion a chain of events that would ultimately lead to my downfall. Graduation was three days away. If Iâd just kept my head down for three lousy days, none of this wouldâve happened. But I was never any good at self-control.
On that fateful night, I was lying alone in my bedroom with the lights down low. No, I wasnât doing what youâre thinking. I was too busy obsessing about betas. I grabbed a pen and paper and made a list of all the losers at my school. Technically, we didnât get assigned alpha or beta status until we took the alphabet test on graduation day. But I could always smell a beta... Or so I thought.
Once I started writing, I couldnât stop. The names just flowed from my pen. Every one of them I believed with all my heart to be a worthless piece of trash. Donât ask me why I wrote it. Itâs not like I planned on sharing it with anyone. Not at first, anyway. It just felt therapeutic to get it all down on paper. By the time I finished, half the kids in my year were on it.
It was getting late. I put the pen and paper on my bedside table and fell fast asleep. That night, I slept the blissful, undisturbed sleep of someone with no doubts or anxieties. Someone who knew their place in the world. Someone predestined to greatness.
When I woke up the next morning, my mind was set on one thing: stirring up some shit. Graduation day was rapidly approaching, and tensions were running high at Sky City High. The place was a powder keg that could explode at any moment, and my list was just the spark I needed to set it off.
Everyone was freaking out about the alphabet test. For the kids from alpha families, failure meant being torn from their loved ones and doomed to a life of servitude. For beta kids, passing was a chance to ascend to Sky City and make something of themselves.Â
They all disgusted me. If there was one thing I hated more than the stench of a beta, it was the smell of fear. And thatâs why I decided to share my list with the entire school. If I posted it anonymously, kids might assume it was official, and theyâd lose it when they saw their name down with all the other garbage. Their reactions would be priceless. It was the perfect kiss-off to end my time at that shithole they called a school.
For my plan to work, I had to get moving. I checked my alarm clock. No time for a shower. I leaped out of bed, pulled on my clothes, grabbed the list, and raced out of the house. I lived with my family in the mayorâs residence, a palatial building on one of the tallest towers in Sky City. The cold morning breeze messed with my hair as I ran across the skybridge that led to the school.
Sky City was a gleaming, pristine metropolis, built on ancient towers known as âskyscrapers.â They were interconnected by skybridges, so alphas could move between them without ever having to descend to the filthy squalor of Ground City below. Betas were allowed up to do their jobs, cleaning our shit, but then they had to scurry back down to where they belonged.
I was used to the stench of betas because my family had so many servants. Cooks, butlers, valets, security, drivers. You name it. But that was nothing compared to the reek of all the beta kids in Sky City High. Truth is, I probably smelled worse than the lot of âem. As you may have noticed, my personal hygiene wasnât that great. Back then, I thought the sun shone out of my ass. The other kids were lucky to smell me: the alluring, musky scent of a purebred alpha.
The school was deserted when I arrived. No bad smell just yet. I walked the empty corridors, past the lockers and up to the school noticeboard. Teachers often pinned lists there. Mostly exam results, gridball rosters and that sort of thing. But my list was different. It didnât have a title to explain what it was. Just a bunch of names on an otherwise blank sheet of paper. Checking carefully to make sure no one was watching, I pinned it right in the middle of the board. Then I took a step back and waited in the shadows.Â
I didnât have to wait long. As students arrived, a crowd soon gathered around the list.
âWhatâs this?â
âWhyâs my name down?â
âIs... is this for the alphabet?â
I couldnât help smirking when I heard those snowflakes crapping their pants. Theyâd already figured it out. Wasnât my fault their feelings were hurt. They were inferior. Physically, mentally... in every way. It was so obvious the list didnât even need a title. Deep down, they already knew the truth.
At this point, youâre probably thinking Iâm some kind of psycho. You gotta remember, this is just how I was raised. The alpha-beta system was more fragile than it appeared. It took a lot of fuel to sustain, and that fuel was fear. Every alpha had a responsibility to keep the betas scared shitless. Thatâs how we preserved peace, for the common good. But it wasnât just that. Deep down, I had my own demons. Although Iâd never have admitted it back then, I always knew I was different from the other kids, and if I ever let that difference show, Iâd be screwed. The best defense is offense.
As more students arrived, the crowd grew, and the nervous chatter got louder. Everyone was so desperate to check if their name was on the list, none of them noticed me watching with a shit-eating grin. Except for Effie Coulson, that is.
Effie was Black, average height and slim, with long braids framing her worldly-wise face. Standing motionless in the middle of the jostling crowd, she stared straight at me. Instinctively, I looked away. Damn, that was such a beta move. What the hell was I thinking? When I looked back, she was still staring. There was something accusatory about her gaze, like she knew Iâd written the list. But how?
My stare-off with Effie was interrupted by the arrival of my A-bro, Zak Norris. A white guy, well built, with mid-brown hair and a square jaw, he was just an inch shorter than me. If I wasnât around, heâd be top dog in this school, and he knew it.
âYo, dickwad! Whatâs with the list?â
âWhat list?â I acted all innocent.
âThe Betty list.â
I couldnât help smiling.
âOh, no you didnât!â Zak burst out laughing. âThis was you? Thatâs dope!â He slapped me on the back.Â
Zak was still howling when my other A-bro, Ashley Felton, made an appearance. Ash was white, with a long face, mouse-brown hair and gray-blue eyes. He had an alphaâs athletic physique, but you wouldnât know it, because he always walked around with his shoulders hunched, head down and his eyes to the floor, like he didnât want anyone noticing him. âWhatâs up?â he said, giving us both a dap.
âYou seen the Betty list, bro?â Zak asked, still breathless from laughing.
âBetty list? You mean betas?â Ash sounded nervous. âBettyâ was a slur everyone used for betas. Mom hated it. She said sexism had been eliminated by the alphabet test. Not that anyone really believed her.
âOver there! Check it out.â
Ash looked worried. He wasnât purebred like me and Zak. His parents were first generation alphas, and he still had family in Ground City. A fact we never let him forget. âAm I on it?â he asked nervously.
âNah, youâre safe.â Zak rolled his eyes.
Ash regained his dignity with a quick comeback. âAre you?â
Zak started laughing again, clicking his fingers like this was the best joke heâd ever heard. âIf I were on it, itâd be a fuckinâ VIP list.â
âSILENCE!â Principal Albert C. Grant stood at the end of the corridor, his hands balled into fists planted firmly against his hips. Sunlight streamed in from the open doors behind him, silhouetting his hefty frame.
The nervous chatter ended abruptly, and all eyes turned to Grantâs imposing figure as he marched down the hallway, his footsteps echoing on the tiled floor. The crowd scattered, making way as he approached the noticeboard.Â
Grant took so long reading my list, I thought he might be pissed. But when he finally looked up, he was grinning. I think he even recognized my handwriting because he gave me a sly wink. A secret sign of respect from one alpha to another.
âW-What is it, sir?â A sweaty beta-kid stammered.
Principal Grant turned on him like a predatory wolf and replied in a menacing growl, âquit acting like a Betty and get to class.â
The beta kids didnât wait to be told twice. They darted off in all directions like vermin.
With a contemptuous grunt, Principal Grant dug his fists into his pockets and strode off.
The corridor was silent now, except for a quiet tapping. I turned to see Effie Coulson jabbing her finger at the list. âWhatâs this?â she demanded, looking straight at me.
âWhat dâya think?â
If she was offended that her name was down, she didnât show it. In fact, she didnât say anything. She just stared at me, and I stared right back this time, alpha-style. Then she walked over to me, standing so close I could feel her breath on my face. She hesitated for a moment before pushing past me and stalking off down the corridor, her footsteps echoing like Principal Grantâs.
âWhat the fuck?â I shouted after her. I had included Effie on my list as a beta because she was from Ground City, but right now, she was acting more like an alpha.
Zak and Ash both jeered at me.Â
âYou got owned by a Betty! Later, loser,â Zak said, shoving me aside, just like Effie had.
I knew I needed to watch him. Zak was always jostling to be top dog, and now heâd seen Effie dissing me like that, he probably thought I was a soy-boy. He needed setting straight, but that would have to wait. I needed to get to class.
With only two days left of school, classes seemed pretty pointless. It wasnât like weâd learn anything that would help with the alphabet, and I didnât think I needed help, anyway. Still, I had to go through the motions. My mom was the mayor, so I was supposed to set an example. At least truth class would be a breeze. Mr. Adams was the most useless teacher on the planet. He usually just played us old movies for the entire lesson.
Iâd seen todayâs movie a million times before. It was all about wolves. Theyâd been extinct for over a century. Probably all got nuked during the war. But we still studied wolf packs in truth class because they gave us a clue to the origins of the alpha-beta system.
âPack animals like wolves and humans form a natural hierarchy. Alphas are born to rule, while betas exist only to serve. It has always been this way...â The movie droned on, featuring grainy footage of wolves fighting. They were surrounded by trees and the ground was covered in snow. A snarling alpha was literally tearing the limbs off a cowering beta. âThis beta is too weak to serve the pack and is eliminated by natural selection.â
âThis is such bullshit,â Effie groaned from the back of the class.
âMy dear. This is truth class!â Mr. Adams replied angrily as he paused the movie.
âTruth, my ass. There were no alphas or betas in wolf packs. Thatâs a myth.â
An audible gasp rose from the class. Effieâs words were treason. Mr. Adams got up from his desk and walked over to Effieâs desk. âBetas should know their place.â
âRight now, I wish my place was anywhere but here,â Effie said.
Mr. Adams ignored this and turned to address the whole class. âAlphas have type-A personalities. They are smart, assertive, and proactive. Betas have type-B personalities. They lack drive, theyâre reactive, and they need leadership. Thatâs why it is the alphaâs burden to preserve the social order for the common good. If Miss Coulson had paid more attention in truth class, sheâd know that by now.â
Effie scoffed but said nothing.
Mr. Adams returned to his desk and restarted the movie. He was a weak and pathetic old man. All that talk about the alphaâs burden and he still hadnât punished Effie. I could tell from the smug expression on her face that she knew sheâd won.Â
My eyes glazed over as I watched the snow turning red on the screen. But then something caught my eyeâsomething Iâd never noticed before. Behind the trees, there was a wire fence. Were the wolves in some kind of zoo? Maybe Effie was right. Maybe the whole thing was staged. I turned to look at her, but she was quietly chatting with her friends and totally ignoring the movie.
I thought about Effie for the rest of the class. She was smart, assertive, and proactive. Exactly like the type-A character traits Mr. Adams had described. There was no way she could be a beta. When the class was finally over, I went straight back to the noticeboard, took out my pen and crossed her name off the list.Â
Little did I know, Effie was standing right behind me, watching as I did it. She must have followed me from the classroom. Pushing me aside, she grabbed my pen and wrote two letters: F.E. Effie. Sheâd added her name back onto the list.
âYou actually want to be a beta?â I asked incredulously.
âItâs not like I get a choice,â Effie said. âBut if I did, you can be damn sure I wouldnât wanna be an alpha parasite. At least betas get to spit in your food before we serve you.â
Effie walked away before I could reply. When I turned back to the list, I noticed sheâd scrawled something elseâa small symbol Iâd never seen before, like a letter B, but with an arrow pointing up.
I didnât know it then, but from that point on, there was a target on my back, and it would change my life forever.
After reading Earthshine by Graham Bower, I had been eagerly waiting for the release of the second book. So when I saw his book for review I grabbed the opportunity knowing fully well that my coming days were going to be great. My expectations had been high after Earthshine. So when I received Beta Rising I was thrilled. I was right Graham Bower delivers yet another gem that will bowl you over.
Beta Rising will be released on Kindle on June 1, 2023, and is advised for readers 16 and older. Recounted in first-person by Dane, it has 32 chapters and 266 pages. The book is not only well written but an outstanding attention to detail will keep the readers interested in the plot the entire time. The method used by the author to introduce the main character to us at the beginning of the novel defines the character's unique voice and personality. The pace of the book is so well-executed that the book keeps you engrossed throughout.
Beta Rising delves into the topic of whether any of us are superior to others . In Sky City, betas are the underclass, submissive to the alphas, frequently mistreated, and destitute. To be able to join the Alphas one must pass a test. The upper class is then formed. Dane expected to be the alpha when he takes the exam because he is the mayor's son, but due to deception, he ends up being the beta. The story of how he dealt with that, came out to himself and others, and agreed to join the Beta Rising rebels makes up for a very intriguing book. Beta Rising highlights the dichotomies that exist in our society and also depicts what happens when society gives some groups more privilege than others.
I found Bower's story to be engrossing, not just because of its fast-paced plot, but also because of its thematic content. The book serves as a dark reminder of how grim some of our lives may be due to circumstances beyond our control. The author makes us shed our egos and our obsession with individualism within the framework of this theme endeavour and teaches to fight inequality as a group.
Besides the captivating story and inspiring message, Bower's writing is superbâclear, succinct, and enjoyable to read. He creates a convincing lead character who begins as a self-described "jackass" and ends up still being one, albeit a changed one. Without using common linguistic or behavioural tropes, the author successfully writes from the stance of a teenager in a young adult novel while yet giving the character complexity and room for development. I connected strongly with the characters Tobyn and Dane, which made me want to believe that they could be together. Dane saw substantial character growth throughout the story, which I loved. I was drawn to and interested in the character Lol. I found myself curious to learn more about his experience
I liked how the novel included interesting technology aspects into its world. I also liked how the book's sections were divided by the small Beta Rising logo illustrations.
Throughout the entire novel, there was a lot of dynamic action, but my favourite parts were the suspenseful sequences near the finish. Although I was happy with how the narrative ended, I would have liked to know more about Bard, who played the role of Dane's brother. I highly recommend to readers looking for some power packed reading.