A review by theladydoor
Proxy by Alex London
4.0
I had never heard of this young adult dystopian novel (a real genre in its own right now) until attending BookCon earlier this year. The con itself was a bit of a mess with too many attendees, too few organizers who knew what they were doing. But I was able to walk away with quite a few freebies, and was also able to attend a few great panels, one of which was a Q&A with Veronica Roth and Alex London. I loved this panel so much, and was surprised that I had, since the Divergent trilogy had left me slightly disappointed. But the reason I loved it was the incredible rapport between the two authors, and the way they talked about their writing processes and the depth of thought that went into crafting their characters. I was immediately intrigued by London's discussion of Proxy and I was determined to read it as quickly as possible.
Alas other books got in the way, and I wasn't able to procure a copy of Proxy until months later, but as soon as I cracked it open, it sucked me in and I was blown away. First of all, London created a fantastic, yet utterly chilling and believable future in which the poor are held in crushing debt to the rich, so much so that young, poverty-stricken people are forced to be Proxies for wealthy Patrons, and have to take punishment for the misdeeds those Patrons commit. One of the protagonists, Sid (short for Sidney Carton, as orphans are named after literary characters) is such a Proxy for Knox, a brilliant yet spoiled Patron. In this world, debt is impossible to avoid and dangerous to have, and the human body is completely upgradeable and even able to be hacked.
I must admit, I found the technological aspects of the novel a little difficult to picture and process. How can data be in the blood? But that was easy to ignore in favor of the captivating way in which London wrote the action sequences in the book. There wasn't a dull moment in the book, and the ending was shocking and satisfying in a way which is not common in YA literature nowadays. Yet it still left me gasping to read the sequel, which I will hopefully be picking up from the library very soon.
Alas other books got in the way, and I wasn't able to procure a copy of Proxy until months later, but as soon as I cracked it open, it sucked me in and I was blown away. First of all, London created a fantastic, yet utterly chilling and believable future in which the poor are held in crushing debt to the rich, so much so that young, poverty-stricken people are forced to be Proxies for wealthy Patrons, and have to take punishment for the misdeeds those Patrons commit. One of the protagonists, Sid (short for Sidney Carton, as orphans are named after literary characters) is such a Proxy for Knox, a brilliant yet spoiled Patron. In this world, debt is impossible to avoid and dangerous to have, and the human body is completely upgradeable and even able to be hacked.
I must admit, I found the technological aspects of the novel a little difficult to picture and process. How can data be in the blood? But that was easy to ignore in favor of the captivating way in which London wrote the action sequences in the book. There wasn't a dull moment in the book, and the ending was shocking and satisfying in a way which is not common in YA literature nowadays. Yet it still left me gasping to read the sequel, which I will hopefully be picking up from the library very soon.