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Tag Archives: dystopia
Feed
Feed by M. T. Anderson
Ages 13 and up
Titus is a typical, teenage boy living in a future world that involves space travel and major media involvement. Computers are no longer an external device that people carry around, but are internal devices, feeding directly into the brain. The “feed” can be used to broadcast, chat, send messages, receive mass amounts of advertisements, and for shopping. Kind of like Facebook in your head! Titus and his friends go spend a weekend on the moon, seeking the ultimate party, and meet Violet. While at a party, Titus, Violet, and several of their friends are hacked. After a few days of hospitalization, and reprogramming, they are all up and running again- except for Violet. Violet’s feed is malfunctioning. As Titus continues to get to know Violet, he is forced to think about things form a perspective he had never considered.
My Rating: 5 Stars
All in the Family
Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman
Ages 12+
Vince is trying his hardest to be a regular high-school guy, and to live quietly and honestly. In spite of his efforts, his family’s business keeps affecting his life. Because his father is the big boss of the mob, Vince’s house is bugged and the F.B.I. is always keeping tabs on what they are doing. Life gets even more complicated for Vince when he falls for a girl, and then later discovers that her dad works for the F.B.I.
This book deals with some challenging issues, as Vince confronts his own morals and makes sense out of his beliefs about what makes a “good guy” and a “bad guy.” I loved this book because it dealt with these issues in a humorous way, and I could relate to Vince. I really did laugh out loud a few times as I read this book.
My Rating: 5 Stars
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Grades 8 and up
Set in the future, along the Gulf Coast, Nailer struggles to survive. His job is to scavenge copper wire from ships that sunk during “city killer” hurricanes. While Nailer belongs to a crew, the work is every-man-to-himself, as it is about survival. Living under poverty conditions, with a drunken, abusive father as his only “family”, Nailer has to make decisions about who to trust and who not to trust. The considerations about what constitutes family, and how to determine if someone is trustworthy get even more complicated when Nailer rescues Nita from a ship filled with riches.
While I do enjoy a good, futuristic, dystopian novel, I struggled with this one. Maybe because I went in unfamiliar with ship breaking, which I have since researched. I also found some of the characters to be somewhat flat, so I was less concerned about what happened to them than I should have been.
My Rating: 3 Stars
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Grades 8 and up
Matt is isolated and abused for the first years of his life. A clone to El Patrón, the drug lord of the land called Opium (between the U.S. and Mexico, now referred to as Aztlán), Matt realizes that he is different the other clones, as they are all “eejits.” Matt learns about his purpose (why he was cloned), and confronts his beliefs about family, love, trust, government, power, and fear as he grows up under El Patrón’s “care.”
This book pulled me in, and kept me fascinated throughout its entirety. Nancy Farmer knows how to develop characters that one is led to care about, while twisting science-fiction, reality and thriller into one amazing masterpiece!
My Rating: 5 Stars!!
Beginnings (or Catching Up)
No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
Grades 5-8
Anybody who knows Wallace Wallace knows that he can’t lie. He just can’t do it. When Mr. Fogelman has Wallace write a book report on Old Shep, My Pal, Wallace says he hates the book (remember, he can only tell the truth). Wallace explains that any book with a dog on the cover results in death for the dog. Unfortunately, Mr. Fogelman loves Old Shep, My Pal and Wallace ends up in detention. While serving the detention (weeks and weeks of detention), Wallace makes some suggestions on how to improve the school play (Old Shep, My Pal), learn some things about friendship, and help Mr. Fogelman learn some things too.
My Ratting: 4 stars
The Declaration by Gemma Malley
Grades 7-12
In the year 2140, Surplus Anna lives in Grange Hall with other unwanted children. Children are considered thieves, as the Legals are entitled grown-ups thriving on Longevity drugs. When the drugs became available, decades before, humans had to sign the Declaration, promising to not have children. While at Grange Hall, Anna is told that she should not exist, and is told that her parents were criminals. When Peter shows up, however, Anna is forced to question things (including authority), and is faced with some decisions that may compromise her safety, her life, and the lives of others.
My Rating: 5 Stars
The Read-e-ologist 