A review by mj_james_writes
The Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan

5.0

What would happen if the world was run on a bell curve? Most humans would be right in the middle - but some would be granted more privileges on top of the curve and others, at the end, would have nothing. Honestly, it isn’t all that much different sounding thing how things are now. However, The Ten Percent Thief placed this reality in the future, allowing the conversation to be seen from a new perspective. 

 

Cities are owned by corporations, and your value depends on what you give to the corporation. The goal is to move to the top ten percent, where you will receive all the privileges of society. Better yet, there is no guilt because you deserve to be there. The bottom ten percent are denied technology completely. 

 

This story is told from a variety of points of view to create a story that will leave you unable to stop reading. But it is haunting how this world is not so far removed from our own. 

 

While reading, I was deeply struck by how mental illness and disability were constantly portrayed as a weakness. That could be sentenced to death. I don’t even think the author intended this to be a theme - just everything that was “bad” was the ablism that so many face every day. Humanity was lost because of consumerism. 

 

I could go on, but basically, read this book!