itsmytuberculosis's review against another edition
2.0
in the year 2017: oh wow! would you look at that! another book on the evils of large corporations and their toxic effects on degrading the individual and how capitalism eventually leads to degrading the lower class! what a good read! I'm so glad people are noticing the perils of capitalism!
also in the year 2017:
also in the year 2017:
haia_929's review against another edition
2.0
This is a trimmed down version of my review, to view the full review visit The Book Ramble.
This book was provided by Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.
When Zoe Zindleman's school closes she's fast tracked to graduation and gets a job at megacorporation AllMART. What follows is not much of a plot at all and is mostly just a string of random events that don't really amount to much. Woolston sets up what could be a really interesting and meaningful dystopia, but she lets it all build up to nothing.
I didn't enjoy this book at all. The plot was lacking, in that there was basically no plot. There was no character development or depth displayed at any point in the entire novel. There was entirely too much time spent on building a world that is entirely too similar to our own world to necessitate spending the entire book building the world and then doing nothing with it.
We learn about AllMART and see some of their evil practices but we don't ever see Zoe working against this or trying to make any change to her world. She just stays in the same situation, same state, without any change for the whole book. There was no motivation for me to actually read anything in this book except for the mistaken hope that the book would actually start to have a plot.
I can't say much beyond that because there isn't much more to comment on. This was hardly a book, it didn't have a plot at all.
This book was provided by Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.
When Zoe Zindleman's school closes she's fast tracked to graduation and gets a job at megacorporation AllMART. What follows is not much of a plot at all and is mostly just a string of random events that don't really amount to much. Woolston sets up what could be a really interesting and meaningful dystopia, but she lets it all build up to nothing.
I didn't enjoy this book at all. The plot was lacking, in that there was basically no plot. There was no character development or depth displayed at any point in the entire novel. There was entirely too much time spent on building a world that is entirely too similar to our own world to necessitate spending the entire book building the world and then doing nothing with it.
We learn about AllMART and see some of their evil practices but we don't ever see Zoe working against this or trying to make any change to her world. She just stays in the same situation, same state, without any change for the whole book. There was no motivation for me to actually read anything in this book except for the mistaken hope that the book would actually start to have a plot.
I can't say much beyond that because there isn't much more to comment on. This was hardly a book, it didn't have a plot at all.
nodalec's review against another edition
1.0
Ugh. Okay, so the pros first. It's a short book and and prose is quirky. In fact, the writing was good enough that I was willing to finish the book despite the fact that I really disliked EVERYTHING about it.
The cons: everything else. There is absolutely no character development, there is no plot, the climax is strange, and most events seem to happen randomly, many with no relation to the character at all. I think a lot of this is based on the idea that Woolston tried incredibly hard to make a main character who was truly not special, and in a sense, succeeded. But it makes for an uninteresting plot.
My biggest problem though (well, one of two) was the world building. I think there's a premise of overcrowding in the world (there's a huge emphasis on "sexual responsibility"), but the world doesn't feel overcrowded. The basis seems to be that people are slaves to consumerism and the book comes of as SUPER anti-libertarian, which...i mean, is fine I guess, but then no one acts the right way.
EVERYONE seems to be poor except for an elite few, so I don't know who the target audience is for their low-quality marketing. The ads that are interspersed in the book are painfully shoddy (very 1950s, not indicative of what ad culture is like today, much less in a society that's supposed to be COMPLETELY based around it).It doesn't make sense that Zoe floats from place to place in Allmart(stocking one day, pets one day, guns another), which doesn't make sense either because a truly good salesperson needs expert knowledge in their area of what and where things are.
There's a weird amount of misogyny in the newscasts (ridiculously high amounts of harassment) that no one seems to care/notice despite the fact that there is nothing else in the society to indicate that harassment/misogyny is considered culturally appropriate (most people that are mentioned in power are females too). These are just a few examples, but almost everything that happens in Allmart doesn't make sense if you've read anything at all about marketing (or managing people, for that matter).
It might make A LITTLE sense if Allmart had no competition and was a monopoly for everything that you bought, but it has a direct competitor next door, which completely changes how a business would run.
The second GIGANTIC problem with this book is the complete lack of a reason to read it. There is no character development and no plot. There's some stuff about tuna, the newscasts...none of them actually add to plot or to character development. And Zoe herself...would be a really interesting character if she was supposed to be a robot who was programmed to act human. Then this book, written the exact same way, might have been worth one more store. But she wasn't.
.
The entire book seems to be a vehicle for the author to show how much they think libertarianism wouldn't work and how awful consumerism is but then forgot to add a plot or characters worth caring about.
tl;dr: it's the kind of book I'd recommend to someone to show how not to do a plot or character development. Otherwise, there is a ton of dystopian lit that is far superior.
The cons: everything else. There is absolutely no character development, there is no plot, the climax is strange, and most events seem to happen randomly, many with no relation to the character at all. I think a lot of this is based on the idea that Woolston tried incredibly hard to make a main character who was truly not special, and in a sense, succeeded. But it makes for an uninteresting plot.
My biggest problem though (well, one of two) was the world building. I think there's a premise of overcrowding in the world (there's a huge emphasis on "sexual responsibility"), but the world doesn't feel overcrowded. The basis seems to be that people are slaves to consumerism and the book comes of as SUPER anti-libertarian, which...i mean, is fine I guess, but then no one acts the right way.
EVERYONE seems to be poor except for an elite few, so I don't know who the target audience is for their low-quality marketing. The ads that are interspersed in the book are painfully shoddy (very 1950s, not indicative of what ad culture is like today, much less in a society that's supposed to be COMPLETELY based around it).It doesn't make sense that Zoe floats from place to place in Allmart(stocking one day, pets one day, guns another), which doesn't make sense either because a truly good salesperson needs expert knowledge in their area of what and where things are.
There's a weird amount of misogyny in the newscasts (ridiculously high amounts of harassment) that no one seems to care/notice despite the fact that there is nothing else in the society to indicate that harassment/misogyny is considered culturally appropriate (most people that are mentioned in power are females too). These are just a few examples, but almost everything that happens in Allmart doesn't make sense if you've read anything at all about marketing (or managing people, for that matter).
It might make A LITTLE sense if Allmart had no competition and was a monopoly for everything that you bought, but it has a direct competitor next door, which completely changes how a business would run.
The second GIGANTIC problem with this book is the complete lack of a reason to read it. There is no character development and no plot. There's some stuff about tuna, the newscasts...none of them actually add to plot or to character development. And Zoe herself...would be a really interesting character if she was supposed to be a robot who was programmed to act human. Then this book, written the exact same way, might have been worth one more store. But she wasn't.
Spoiler
Zoe has been taking a drug that makes her more complacent, more obedient, less sexual, and she stops about halfway through the book. But...there's no change. Except that she cries more. But her thoughts don't change, her actions don't change...it was a completely meaningless act that did not matter, except to show how awful this world was to the author.The entire book seems to be a vehicle for the author to show how much they think libertarianism wouldn't work and how awful consumerism is but then forgot to add a plot or characters worth caring about.
tl;dr: it's the kind of book I'd recommend to someone to show how not to do a plot or character development. Otherwise, there is a ton of dystopian lit that is far superior.
pinteeth's review against another edition
5.0
You know those books that kinda change your life? I have read this one upward of 5 times and every time it's just as beautiful and just as tragic. It creates a not-far-off landscape with echoes from across the centuries. I recommend it to Everyone, on the grounds that it's so worth it.
taniplea's review against another edition
4.0
I can't really describe what this book was like. It was weird, but a good weird. I didn't understand some things and I wish it had been longer, with more details, but I think that is one of the points of the story. Some things were only hinted at and never fully talked about.
littleelfman's review against another edition
4.0
A brilliant and bleak depiction of consumerism take to its extreme (so not a whole lot further than we currently know it!)
If you like M.T. Anderson's Feed (which you definitely need to read!), then you'll enjoy this too! It also reminded me a bit of Brave New World where at times you feel like you're being given a tour of the world that is only slightly different from the one you know.
A quote from it that sums up the ominous machine that is ALLMART, when Zoe is contemplating making the customer happy:
"Wanting is only human. Humans are only wants. My purpose to see tiny seeds of wanting that I can magnify and satisfy. The, because I am human too, I will want stuff. The cycle is so beautiful. I will belong."
Creeps me out, makes me think.
If you like M.T. Anderson's Feed (which you definitely need to read!), then you'll enjoy this too! It also reminded me a bit of Brave New World where at times you feel like you're being given a tour of the world that is only slightly different from the one you know.
A quote from it that sums up the ominous machine that is ALLMART, when Zoe is contemplating making the customer happy:
"Wanting is only human. Humans are only wants. My purpose to see tiny seeds of wanting that I can magnify and satisfy. The, because I am human too, I will want stuff. The cycle is so beautiful. I will belong."
Creeps me out, makes me think.
emilyfreads's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting book. Used the word 'Kawaii' WAY too much. Wasn't satisfied with the ending at all but definitely made me think about consumer culture.
heisereads's review against another edition
2.0
This book left me feeling a bit let down because the concept of the world seems intriguing, but there wasn't enough world building or explanation of how it got to this point for me to really buy into it. I felt it was missing some of that character development that draws me into dystopians that I love.
drbird's review against another edition
5.0
When I read Blythe Woolston, I never know what the main character is going to ultimately do. in MARTians, Z is booted out into the world not only by her school (recently closed to help balance the budget) but also by her mom, who takes off and lingers like a specter. This is a novel seemingly about a world gone awry where consumers rule the show and the forgotten class of workers—some young, some mentally ill, some fully indoctrinated, some whisked off to parts unknown because they can’t adjust—suffers endlessly.
But, really, this is a book that’s really about transitional anxiety — how little high school prepares people for a non-college bound path, how little our families prepare us for complex social and professional relationships, how little we actually end up needing to survive, but how much we lack when it comes to being emotionally healthy, mentally healthy.
A great book, brisk and funny, dark and weird, set in a world that’s got so much depth it made me think we might not be far from what Woolston’s arranged here.
But, really, this is a book that’s really about transitional anxiety — how little high school prepares people for a non-college bound path, how little our families prepare us for complex social and professional relationships, how little we actually end up needing to survive, but how much we lack when it comes to being emotionally healthy, mentally healthy.
A great book, brisk and funny, dark and weird, set in a world that’s got so much depth it made me think we might not be far from what Woolston’s arranged here.
katlikespie's review against another edition
1.0
Before I comment, I would like to clarify that - yes, I fully understand that this is a dystopian future/very close to the current present, about how giant corporations own our lives. (I've often been told that the reason I might dislike something is because I don't get it, but there's not that much to get.) I understand the society as presented, even Zoe's incredibly annoying Mary Sue behavior as influenced by the drug implant she gets (even though that behavior doesn't change at all after she stops the drug). Unfortunately, this odd and off-putting story asks more questions than it answers. The premise is interesting, but needs some serious editing and revision, and the characters need to have dimensions to them, and not the personality of a rubber band and a dishrag.
What happens is this: Zoe is 17, and is told in school one day that she- and the rest of the students at her school- are graduating a full year and a half earlier than planned, because the building is needed for something else. Not that it was much of a school, anyway- she's being groomed to work retail. She interviews at the two big corporations (Walmart and KMart... Excuse me, that's AllMART and QMart) that own everything, and gets job offers to both (of course), as a trainee/stock boy/salesperson. Her mother decides to leave the home they share, and disappears, never to call or contact her in any way. She ends up leaving her home and moving in with a group of other teens (and one child) at an abandoned strip mall. Her new job leaves her in serious debt (for the training, the uniform, etc), and she starts to slowly question the world she lives in, ripping out a medication implant that keeps her docile and dopey, and helping a woman who kept a baby abandoned at daycare (they abandon it elsewhere). We find out that Raoul, who owned the strip mall, died and Timmer hasn't told anyone (to which my gut reaction was, "why wouldn't he tell anyone? That makes no sense"). Eventually, Zoe and her friends drive off into the sunset, name tags thrown to the wind.
Here are my unanswered questions:
If everyone is an employee of either AllMART or Q-Mart (if there were others, surely our Mary Sue - Zoe - would have been offered them, because she's perfect), and entire communities are wiped out, then who is doing the shopping there? And is this an overpopulated super-consumerist society? If so, why all the vacant buildings? If not, why the dorms for retail workers? And why aren't customers allowed to use the bathrooms? Especially if it just means they poo in the dressing rooms (was that detail necessary?)? Why did AnnaMom leave in the first place? (And what was she "celebrating" that night?) If Zoe owns the house, and the metal and wiring are so valuable, why didn't her scavenger friends scavenge her house before she abandoned it - especially if they're so poor they share cereal or melted ice cream for dinner? She trusts Timmer enough to get a ride home from him, but is wary - so why is she sleeping next to him in the strip mall every night, when she was specifically offered a locked room with a couch to sleep in? When Zoe removed her implanted Prozac, she got violently ill. But if it's such a strong substance, why is it that nobody else mentions the drug or their own interaction with it for the whole book? If there's so much surveillance everywhere, why didn't any of the drones see that Zoe was the one who started a fire that is still raging by the end of the book? Why all the random references to "kawaii"? What was it with the photo hidden in the storage unit? Did that mean that her dad really did want to be in her life but wasn't for some unknown reason? Why would she just leave everything behind without even looking through it, after going to the trouble of breaking in, ESPECIALLY after finding the photo of the dad she thought never wanted her? What was that whole thing with Juliette and the mannequins? I seriously have no idea why that scene was in the book. And why did they mention that some people are sexually attracted to cartoon characters? Why did we keep hearing about a tuna custody battle that went nowhere? Why was anyone shocked about the actions of the newscaster (some reviews called it "chilling" but honestly everything was so bland, it wasn't even that noteworthy)?
And most importantly: Why did I waste time reading this book?
I give this book 1.5 stars. Very disappointed. No character development, no plot excitement, nothing I will probably remember after I finish this review.
What happens is this: Zoe is 17, and is told in school one day that she- and the rest of the students at her school- are graduating a full year and a half earlier than planned, because the building is needed for something else. Not that it was much of a school, anyway- she's being groomed to work retail. She interviews at the two big corporations (Walmart and KMart... Excuse me, that's AllMART and QMart) that own everything, and gets job offers to both (of course), as a trainee/stock boy/salesperson. Her mother decides to leave the home they share, and disappears, never to call or contact her in any way. She ends up leaving her home and moving in with a group of other teens (and one child) at an abandoned strip mall. Her new job leaves her in serious debt (for the training, the uniform, etc), and she starts to slowly question the world she lives in, ripping out a medication implant that keeps her docile and dopey, and helping a woman who kept a baby abandoned at daycare (they abandon it elsewhere). We find out that Raoul, who owned the strip mall, died and Timmer hasn't told anyone (to which my gut reaction was, "why wouldn't he tell anyone? That makes no sense"). Eventually, Zoe and her friends drive off into the sunset, name tags thrown to the wind.
Here are my unanswered questions:
If everyone is an employee of either AllMART or Q-Mart (if there were others, surely our Mary Sue - Zoe - would have been offered them, because she's perfect), and entire communities are wiped out, then who is doing the shopping there? And is this an overpopulated super-consumerist society? If so, why all the vacant buildings? If not, why the dorms for retail workers? And why aren't customers allowed to use the bathrooms? Especially if it just means they poo in the dressing rooms (was that detail necessary?)? Why did AnnaMom leave in the first place? (And what was she "celebrating" that night?) If Zoe owns the house, and the metal and wiring are so valuable, why didn't her scavenger friends scavenge her house before she abandoned it - especially if they're so poor they share cereal or melted ice cream for dinner? She trusts Timmer enough to get a ride home from him, but is wary - so why is she sleeping next to him in the strip mall every night, when she was specifically offered a locked room with a couch to sleep in? When Zoe removed her implanted Prozac, she got violently ill. But if it's such a strong substance, why is it that nobody else mentions the drug or their own interaction with it for the whole book? If there's so much surveillance everywhere, why didn't any of the drones see that Zoe was the one who started a fire that is still raging by the end of the book? Why all the random references to "kawaii"? What was it with the photo hidden in the storage unit? Did that mean that her dad really did want to be in her life but wasn't for some unknown reason? Why would she just leave everything behind without even looking through it, after going to the trouble of breaking in, ESPECIALLY after finding the photo of the dad she thought never wanted her? What was that whole thing with Juliette and the mannequins? I seriously have no idea why that scene was in the book. And why did they mention that some people are sexually attracted to cartoon characters? Why did we keep hearing about a tuna custody battle that went nowhere? Why was anyone shocked about the actions of the newscaster (some reviews called it "chilling" but honestly everything was so bland, it wasn't even that noteworthy)?
And most importantly: Why did I waste time reading this book?
I give this book 1.5 stars. Very disappointed. No character development, no plot excitement, nothing I will probably remember after I finish this review.