Scan barcode
lennysthebomb's review
5.0
Words can not describe my love for this book. It’s an LBQT book that doesn’t focus on the fact that the two people who are falling in love are guys. Instead it focuses on everything else, the characters, the storyline, everything is well done. The ending will forever haunt me though (why Alex London!) and my favourite quote is from this book as well. “It’s your future. Choose.”
jorammii's review
4.0
Okay. So I actually met Alex London (briefly) outside of a coffee shop and admitted that I hadn’t read his book. It was already sitting on my bookshelf though so I told him that much. Anyway, I sat in on a few of his panels and he seems like a pretty cool dude. I finished this book in one sitting and am honestly surprised that the ending was supposed to be it. I was left wanting to find out more about the characters and how their actions affected their society.
Alex London’s Proxy brings the whipping boy into the dystopian and capitalistic future. Although the whipping boy was established to take the punishment for the 15th and 16th century English princes, I could only think about Sid Fleischman’s 1987 book, The Whipping Boy which I read years and years ago (turns out this was one of the inspirations for the book).
The book opens with Knox in a terrible and fatal car crash. He’s a Patron, which means he is wealthy enough to not have to suffer any consequences for his actions. Instead, Syd, his Proxy, is rounded up, beaten, branded, and incarcerated. Syd has spent his whole life keeping his head down and accepting the punishment for Knox, believing that 18 years as a Proxy will be worth a debt-free future. When his latest punishment means certain death, Syd decides to fight back and Knox realizes they’ll have to save each other to beat the system that entwines them both. With the help of old friends and new ones, they discover that the society of debts and balances they grew up in is a lot more complicated than it seems.
What I liked:
-Knox is a terrible character. He is a spoiled and self-entitled brat, the embodiment of affluenza. He was completely into himself and was only willing to help as long as it helped his cause. The things he said or he thought of made me cringe and I wanted to desperately slap him and explain how terrible he was being. But I really liked that he was honest about who he was and why he did what he did. He was unapologetic and it made his character stronger as he got to know Syd and recognized his role in the lives of others.
-The world-building was spectacular. One of the main technologies was using a constant streaming feed embedded in things like glasses or contacts (think Google Glass but better) that were both necessary and extraordinarily expensive. [Again, this reminded me of another book I read in High School which I could not remember until I saw that Feed by Mathew Tobin Anderson was also an inspiration for this book, if you haven’t read it, seriously you have to, this book made a HUGE impact in the way I see technology and capitalism.]
-So many literary and pop culture references, many of which I’m sure I missed, but the ones I caught tickled my brain.
-The anti-capitalism messages. It was nice to appreciate how technology and wealth can make our lives better, but also to acknowledge that there are people who pay for the wealthy to have their toys and it’s not always the ones who can afford to.
What I didn’t like:
-Knox was a terrible character. See above.
-I love that Syd is a poor, gay, black young male protagonist trying to find his place in the world despite the discrimination he faces for being who he is. We need more poor, gay and black young men written about in a positive light. BUT why did the one character have to be poor and gay and black? Why was the other character rich and straight (womanizing) and white? Yes, it’s statistically more realistic for the poor character to be black because we live in a racist world that systematically oppresses generations of black bodies, and we live in a homophobic world that discriminates against non-heterosexual orientations, but why was one body created to face discrimination on all fronts? His character is very complex and well-rounded and honestly an ideal protagonist, but I don’t know, I feel like I would have also wanted to see people of color in positions of power or a world where being gay or Chapter 11 as they’re called in this book, isn’t a bad thing. I think this is more of a personal preference. I’m sooo ready to see poor, non-hetero people exist when their character arc isn’t based on them being poor and non-hetero.
https://jorammiireads.tumblr.com/post/155032874354/proxy
Alex London’s Proxy brings the whipping boy into the dystopian and capitalistic future. Although the whipping boy was established to take the punishment for the 15th and 16th century English princes, I could only think about Sid Fleischman’s 1987 book, The Whipping Boy which I read years and years ago (turns out this was one of the inspirations for the book).
The book opens with Knox in a terrible and fatal car crash. He’s a Patron, which means he is wealthy enough to not have to suffer any consequences for his actions. Instead, Syd, his Proxy, is rounded up, beaten, branded, and incarcerated. Syd has spent his whole life keeping his head down and accepting the punishment for Knox, believing that 18 years as a Proxy will be worth a debt-free future. When his latest punishment means certain death, Syd decides to fight back and Knox realizes they’ll have to save each other to beat the system that entwines them both. With the help of old friends and new ones, they discover that the society of debts and balances they grew up in is a lot more complicated than it seems.
What I liked:
-Knox is a terrible character. He is a spoiled and self-entitled brat, the embodiment of affluenza. He was completely into himself and was only willing to help as long as it helped his cause. The things he said or he thought of made me cringe and I wanted to desperately slap him and explain how terrible he was being. But I really liked that he was honest about who he was and why he did what he did. He was unapologetic and it made his character stronger as he got to know Syd and recognized his role in the lives of others.
-The world-building was spectacular. One of the main technologies was using a constant streaming feed embedded in things like glasses or contacts (think Google Glass but better) that were both necessary and extraordinarily expensive. [Again, this reminded me of another book I read in High School which I could not remember until I saw that Feed by Mathew Tobin Anderson was also an inspiration for this book, if you haven’t read it, seriously you have to, this book made a HUGE impact in the way I see technology and capitalism.]
-So many literary and pop culture references, many of which I’m sure I missed, but the ones I caught tickled my brain.
-The anti-capitalism messages. It was nice to appreciate how technology and wealth can make our lives better, but also to acknowledge that there are people who pay for the wealthy to have their toys and it’s not always the ones who can afford to.
What I didn’t like:
-Knox was a terrible character. See above.
-I love that Syd is a poor, gay, black young male protagonist trying to find his place in the world despite the discrimination he faces for being who he is. We need more poor, gay and black young men written about in a positive light. BUT why did the one character have to be poor and gay and black? Why was the other character rich and straight (womanizing) and white? Yes, it’s statistically more realistic for the poor character to be black because we live in a racist world that systematically oppresses generations of black bodies, and we live in a homophobic world that discriminates against non-heterosexual orientations, but why was one body created to face discrimination on all fronts? His character is very complex and well-rounded and honestly an ideal protagonist, but I don’t know, I feel like I would have also wanted to see people of color in positions of power or a world where being gay or Chapter 11 as they’re called in this book, isn’t a bad thing. I think this is more of a personal preference. I’m sooo ready to see poor, non-hetero people exist when their character arc isn’t based on them being poor and non-hetero.
https://jorammiireads.tumblr.com/post/155032874354/proxy
rat's review
4.0
Personally, Proxy is one of the only YA novels I've read that hold up even after the nostalgia wares off. The playful nature of Knox and Sydney's relationship is forever memorable and the plot itself is fast paced with wonderful world-building. I've reread this book at least four times in the past several years just die to its world alone. I suggest it for anyone of any age looking for a quick, fun novel
ice_elf's review
5.0
It’s a rare book that can take me by surprise these days, but Proxy by Alex London managed to surpass all of my expectations and make me hungry for more. It’s so good, that I was forced to break my self-imposed book buying ban and buy the next one. (I didn’t actually expect it to last all that long if I’m honest.) It fits nicely into the young adult dystopia genre but manages to do something different and interesting. Please note that there will be some spoilers in this review.
Read More
Read More
alys's review
3.0
I liked this one, it was fast paced, yet had character development. I hated, hated, hated that the p.o.v. switched from one person to another back and forth all the time, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph. The worldbuilding was very interesting, and if I could nit-pick a bunch of things that didn't completely make sense, at the same time I didn't really want to do so because it wasn't important. I really liked that when Syd is told he has to give his life for the cause his first reaction is to run away. That's a real reaction. He and Knox may change their minds later, for many different reasons, but I think most people's knee jerk reaction would be to run.
kaispellmeier's review
3.0
“Life is too short for perpetual misery.”
3.5/5
A diverse, dystopian, queer and action packed story, with lots of unexpected turns.
In the beginning I had difficulties understanding the world our main character lives in, especially the system and the technical terms. And while I, being the hopeless romantic that I am, could've wished for a little more romance, this novel had a good pace and great writing.
Find more of my books on Instagram
3.5/5
A diverse, dystopian, queer and action packed story, with lots of unexpected turns.
In the beginning I had difficulties understanding the world our main character lives in, especially the system and the technical terms. And while I, being the hopeless romantic that I am, could've wished for a little more romance, this novel had a good pace and great writing.
Find more of my books on Instagram
thebookishbabbler's review
5.0
I AM NOT EMOTIONALLY STABLE! What is with me reading so many amazing books this month! I have had three five star reads this month which never happens. That aside I adored this book and every single one of the characters were beautiful and precious and their dynamics were so unique and KNOX AND SYDNEY MY BABIES. I just can't. I adored everything about this book and I cannot wait to finish off the duology.
Booktalk - https://youtu.be/H4I5HHj_M4g
Booktalk - https://youtu.be/H4I5HHj_M4g
mikailamay's review
4.0
•3.5
I was originally going to give this a 3 star rating but the ending, more specifically Knox’s character development, saved this & added a .5 more to this. We LOVE a sappy, cute character development.
I had quite a few problems with this book - I feel as if nothing HAPPENED during the first 75% of this book, they were just running... nothing crazy & interesting until they actually met up with the Gordis. Also, the things that did happen during the first 75% was purely a filler in my mind.. a random flash flood, really? The filler was unnecessary & did not add to the story whatsoever for me. As well, the sexual tension between Marie & Knox was SO out of place. Everytime Knox said/thought something sexual/desirable about Marie, it was at the wrong time and once again, did not add to the story.
BUT, as I mentioned, the ending saved this for me. Everyone knew it was coming, but Knox giving up his life for Syd’s is going to undeniably pull at heart strings & make a smile grow on your face because YES. The rich kid who was spoiled by the system has a heart deep down & is willing to save his proxy.
I was originally going to give this a 3 star rating but the ending, more specifically Knox’s character development, saved this & added a .5 more to this. We LOVE a sappy, cute character development.
I had quite a few problems with this book - I feel as if nothing HAPPENED during the first 75% of this book, they were just running... nothing crazy & interesting until they actually met up with the Gordis. Also, the things that did happen during the first 75% was purely a filler in my mind.. a random flash flood, really? The filler was unnecessary & did not add to the story whatsoever for me. As well, the sexual tension between Marie & Knox was SO out of place. Everytime Knox said/thought something sexual/desirable about Marie, it was at the wrong time and once again, did not add to the story.
BUT, as I mentioned, the ending saved this for me. Everyone knew it was coming, but Knox giving up his life for Syd’s is going to undeniably pull at heart strings & make a smile grow on your face because YES. The rich kid who was spoiled by the system has a heart deep down & is willing to save his proxy.
ravensandlace's review
4.0
4.5 stars!
tw: homophobia, child abuse, car accidents, death
This was such a cool and amazing book! The concept of proxies was something I hadn't read about before. The world building, which is super important in dystopian literature, was pretty great. The book was just as rad as the cover. And believe it or not, this was a Dollar Tree find. I was intrigued by the cover and just had to have it.
While the world building was amazing, it was a bit much at first. Things were explained but it was just a lot to deal with at first and trying to remember them wasn't always an easy feat. There were still a few things I'm not super sure on but honestly, they were minor. I could easily see this book being turned into a movie.
Knox and Syd were good characters. One of the best things about them was even though they were incredibly flawed, they knew it and owned it. Both of them did a lot of things of selfish reasons but I found I couldn't be mad about it. Shocking I know, since you all know I am not a fan of morally grey characters. I think I am turning over a new leaf.
I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the diversity. Syd is dark skinned and gay. The specific ethnicity is not mentioned as the world is kind of messed up and the countries we know aren't in existence in that way anymore. It's mentioned a lot and the word gay is on the page, which I think it always a good thing. Knox's ethnicity is not known. There is also a Jewish side character who plays a pretty important role in the book.
There is a lot of abuse, especially child abuse, mentioned on page. Knox is a patron and Syd is his proxy. Basically anytime Knox gets in trouble, Syd paid for it by getting beat or stunned. I do have some concerns as Syd is POC. I don't know Knox's ethnicity (I tried to look it up in case I missed it while reading but I couldn't find it in anything I looked up) but I know that this could be misinterpreted.
Overall, this book was great. The ending kind of destroyed me but I have hope that everything will be okay in the second book. If you love dystopian novels, like me, than this is the book for you.
tw: homophobia, child abuse, car accidents, death
This was such a cool and amazing book! The concept of proxies was something I hadn't read about before. The world building, which is super important in dystopian literature, was pretty great. The book was just as rad as the cover. And believe it or not, this was a Dollar Tree find. I was intrigued by the cover and just had to have it.
While the world building was amazing, it was a bit much at first. Things were explained but it was just a lot to deal with at first and trying to remember them wasn't always an easy feat. There were still a few things I'm not super sure on but honestly, they were minor. I could easily see this book being turned into a movie.
Knox and Syd were good characters. One of the best things about them was even though they were incredibly flawed, they knew it and owned it. Both of them did a lot of things of selfish reasons but I found I couldn't be mad about it. Shocking I know, since you all know I am not a fan of morally grey characters. I think I am turning over a new leaf.
I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the diversity. Syd is dark skinned and gay. The specific ethnicity is not mentioned as the world is kind of messed up and the countries we know aren't in existence in that way anymore. It's mentioned a lot and the word gay is on the page, which I think it always a good thing. Knox's ethnicity is not known. There is also a Jewish side character who plays a pretty important role in the book.
There is a lot of abuse, especially child abuse, mentioned on page. Knox is a patron and Syd is his proxy. Basically anytime Knox gets in trouble, Syd paid for it by getting beat or stunned. I do have some concerns as Syd is POC. I don't know Knox's ethnicity (I tried to look it up in case I missed it while reading but I couldn't find it in anything I looked up) but I know that this could be misinterpreted.
Overall, this book was great. The ending kind of destroyed me but I have hope that everything will be okay in the second book. If you love dystopian novels, like me, than this is the book for you.