Feed by M.T. Anderson
(Five bucks says this is the back of China Miéville’s head.) While it was sold to me as a dystopian dark science fiction novel, Feed is more accurately a retelling of that classic tale Romeo and Juliet. Except that in this case, Romeo is from the vapid consumerist future and Juliet is from the intellectual alt-culture past.
In this future world, most people have direct Internet feeds implanted into their brains soon after they are born. The plus side of this is that everyone is a walking encyclopedia as long as they have the patience to use Wikipedia. The bad news is that banner ads have followed the Internet into our brains, and instant access to everything, everywhere, at any time has inculcated a deep laziness into the masses. Nobody has to learn anything, fashionable hairstyles change by the minute, and mankind has lost the patience to use Wikipedia (hmmm. This last part sounds familiar.)
Our star-crossed lovers meet in a restaurant on the Moon, and later that evening are dancing at a night club when their feeds are hacked by a member of dissident organization of some sort. The details of this dissident organization aren’t explored fully because the protagonist (our lethargic representative of the vapid consumerist future) doesn’t really care about anything other than his next meal or pair of jeans, so he never investigates.
Some YA books are gratifying to adults. If you get annoyed easily at young adult books, you may wish to skip this one.
Oh Juliet (or in this case, Violet), how unlucky you are to have fallen for this oaf. Halfway through the book we wonder, “when does the adventure start?” You must have wondered that, too. Luckily for us, you and your lover’s stars are crossed, and so the tragedy in this young adult dystopian broth is rich and thick.
Feed by M.T. Anderson – 2004 – Candlewick
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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The plot of this book is Neil Gaiman’s standard: Protagonist discovers a secret world where he/she is important. As a child, our protagonist Jacob was told lots of strange and yet borderline-believable stories by his grandfather. Now that he’s 16, it’s become clear to Jacob maybe his grandfather might need a little more medication than the average bear.
After his grandfather is killed in suspicious circumstances, however, Jacob finds himself compelled to investigate, and of course it was all true. All of it! The levitating girl, the invisible boy, the ridiculously strong girl, the bird, the horrible monsters. Everything and more. The good news is that everybody at the Home likes Jacob, and he likes them. The bad news is that Jacob has unwittingly led the horrible monsters to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Adventure ensues.
The book itself is well-written and suspenseful. Despite the World War II setting, the period flavor at the Home is decidedly Victorian. It’s a little on the YA borderline, but if the premise sounds interesting and you are attracted to the odd vintage photos that pepper the inside, you should give it a read.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs – 2011 – Quirk Books
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