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sakusha's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Apparently this is the second book in a series, and I didn’t read the first one (Bar Code Tattoo). So I was thrown into the action of these characters I didn’t know, without any introduction to slowly warm up to them. I see the author made a point to make everyone racially diverse. IMO, things moved too fast. Some things didn’t make sense, like when Kayla walked across coals, cried and immediately fell asleep on the ground, and none of her friends came to her aid (112-113). I guess the simplicity can be good for young readers who don’t have long attention spans or deep thinking.
The reading level of this book is sixth grade, but the characters are 17+. There is romance, but nothing sexual. A few bad words like “bastard” and “damn.” There are some mature topics mentioned, such as suicide, schizophrenia, murder, theft, arson, & government corruption. The science behind the technology was realistic and well written. The most unrealistic thing in the book was telepathy.
Even though the story was simplistic, I appreciate that it was written. It’s a good book for middle school aged kids to understand politics, that not everything you see on the news is true, and the gravity and implications of real life government mandates and implanting technology onto/under our skin.
The book was published in 2006 but takes place in 2025. There were a lot of parallels between the book’s world and ours. Just as Jeffrey Epstein didn’t really kill himself, there are fake suicides in this book too (106). Just as democrats tampered with the 2020 election to get Biden elected, a corporation called Global-1 hacked computerized voting machines to get President Waters elected (22). Global-1 made all food GMO, just like Bill Gates wants to do (172). Just as the US performed illegal gain of function research in China, Global-1 used Korea to do their illegal scientific experiments (203). Just as covid-19 and the vaccine were used to lower human population, the bar code could kill people digitally (176, 197, 209). Just as the globalist elites want to replace cash with digital currency so that every transaction can be easily tracked and they can disable your bank account if they want, in this book cash money was eliminated five years ago and the bar code tattoo was the only acceptable form of payment (11). Just like our world’s scientists think they can wipe out all diseases with vaccines, the scientists in this book use the bar code tattoo to eliminate unhealthy people and want to use nanobots to wipe out all viral diseases and increase the human lifespan (30, 195). Just like with the covid-19 vaccine card and “Green Pass”, people couldn’t go to college, get a job, or see a doctor unless they got the bar code tattoo (11, 28, 67). Just as real hospitals wouldn’t make a genuine effort to help covid patients because letting their health worsen got them more money from insurance companies, the hospitals in this book wouldn’t help a patient who Global-1 wanted dead (250). Just as some judges take custody away from a parent who doesn’t want to vaccinate their child, this book’s parents are deemed unfit unless they get bar codes (215). Just like the vaccine was marketed for the greater good, so too was the bar code (118).
This dystopia was restricted to the US, so people could be safe if they got to Canada (38). But covid-19 responses were coordinated across the globe, so no where was safe. I like it when dystopias blame human nature instead of a single evil person/government/corporation. It’s too easy to hate that one single entity while ignoring our own contribution to the problem. But we should all realize that the evil lurks inside all of us, and we need to take action in ourselves to prevent the dystopia from coming. Feed by MT Anderson seemed to do that because the people willingly embraced the feed; it wasn’t forced on them; but the UN-like organization was condemning the US for its overconsumption, when in reality overconsumption is a global problem, and as long as mass production is allowed, it won’t stop. Feed was more realistic in its depiction of future teenagers—so dumb. This book’s teenagers were intelligent and into art and poetry.
“Strange, Kayla thought, not for the first time, that an odd character like Gene Drake—heavyset and badly groomed, reeking of cigarette smoke, nervous and uncharismatic—should be so deified and adored after his death” (72). Like George Floyd, eh?
“Genes have multiple tasks. When they began trying to genetically cure sickle cell anemia they discovered that the same gene made people resistant to malaria. By knocking out the disease-causing gene, they could have caused a worse problem” (222). Moral: don’t try to alter genes.
“New technologies will always offer the greedy and power hungry new opportunities to oppress its citizenry. Advances in science must be made with due consideration. They can advance the health and wellbeing of all people, or they can enslave them. In a free society we must work together to make this a world where human dignity is the yardstick by which we measure progress” (257).
The reading level of this book is sixth grade, but the characters are 17+. There is romance, but nothing sexual. A few bad words like “bastard” and “damn.” There are some mature topics mentioned, such as suicide, schizophrenia, murder, theft, arson, & government corruption. The science behind the technology was realistic and well written. The most unrealistic thing in the book was telepathy.
Even though the story was simplistic, I appreciate that it was written. It’s a good book for middle school aged kids to understand politics, that not everything you see on the news is true, and the gravity and implications of real life government mandates and implanting technology onto/under our skin.
The book was published in 2006 but takes place in 2025. There were a lot of parallels between the book’s world and ours. Just as Jeffrey Epstein didn’t really kill himself, there are fake suicides in this book too (106). Just as democrats tampered with the 2020 election to get Biden elected, a corporation called Global-1 hacked computerized voting machines to get President Waters elected (22). Global-1 made all food GMO, just like Bill Gates wants to do (172). Just as the US performed illegal gain of function research in China, Global-1 used Korea to do their illegal scientific experiments (203). Just as covid-19 and the vaccine were used to lower human population, the bar code could kill people digitally (176, 197, 209). Just as the globalist elites want to replace cash with digital currency so that every transaction can be easily tracked and they can disable your bank account if they want, in this book cash money was eliminated five years ago and the bar code tattoo was the only acceptable form of payment (11). Just like our world’s scientists think they can wipe out all diseases with vaccines, the scientists in this book use the bar code tattoo to eliminate unhealthy people and want to use nanobots to wipe out all viral diseases and increase the human lifespan (30, 195). Just like with the covid-19 vaccine card and “Green Pass”, people couldn’t go to college, get a job, or see a doctor unless they got the bar code tattoo (11, 28, 67). Just as real hospitals wouldn’t make a genuine effort to help covid patients because letting their health worsen got them more money from insurance companies, the hospitals in this book wouldn’t help a patient who Global-1 wanted dead (250). Just as some judges take custody away from a parent who doesn’t want to vaccinate their child, this book’s parents are deemed unfit unless they get bar codes (215). Just like the vaccine was marketed for the greater good, so too was the bar code (118).
This dystopia was restricted to the US, so people could be safe if they got to Canada (38). But covid-19 responses were coordinated across the globe, so no where was safe. I like it when dystopias blame human nature instead of a single evil person/government/corporation. It’s too easy to hate that one single entity while ignoring our own contribution to the problem. But we should all realize that the evil lurks inside all of us, and we need to take action in ourselves to prevent the dystopia from coming. Feed by MT Anderson seemed to do that because the people willingly embraced the feed; it wasn’t forced on them; but the UN-like organization was condemning the US for its overconsumption, when in reality overconsumption is a global problem, and as long as mass production is allowed, it won’t stop. Feed was more realistic in its depiction of future teenagers—so dumb. This book’s teenagers were intelligent and into art and poetry.
“Strange, Kayla thought, not for the first time, that an odd character like Gene Drake—heavyset and badly groomed, reeking of cigarette smoke, nervous and uncharismatic—should be so deified and adored after his death” (72). Like George Floyd, eh?
“Genes have multiple tasks. When they began trying to genetically cure sickle cell anemia they discovered that the same gene made people resistant to malaria. By knocking out the disease-causing gene, they could have caused a worse problem” (222). Moral: don’t try to alter genes.
“New technologies will always offer the greedy and power hungry new opportunities to oppress its citizenry. Advances in science must be made with due consideration. They can advance the health and wellbeing of all people, or they can enslave them. In a free society we must work together to make this a world where human dignity is the yardstick by which we measure progress” (257).
Content Warnings
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Suicide
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