Review: Feed by MT Anderson (part 2)

Feed by M.T. Anderson
Review by Jez Layman

The future looks pretty good--flying cars, colonies on the moon, more technology--everything we've been promised. But things are never as they seem. Titus is a college student in this time, spending his spring break on the Moon with some of his friends. There he meets a great girl named Violet at a club. Unfortunately a crazy activist chose the same club for his demonstration and Titus, Violet, and everyone else receives a virus from him. This virus doesn't just crash their home computer--it affects the people themselves. The Feed is a device implanted into everyone in this future, keeping them constantly connected to the digital world they live in for most of their lives. The virus can be fixed--for most of them--and after some time in a hospital without a feed connection, the teens are released without a problem. Except for Violet. Now Titus has to deal with Violet's condition, and the way she sees the world. To Titus the future is exactly as it should be, to Violet, it's a dystopia. It gives us a chance to wonder if maybe we can move so far ahead and we loose sight of who we are--or do we continue becoming more of what we already are?

Feed by MT Anderson is written wonderfully, the best part being the way the Feed is shown through the text. At points in the narration the Feed breaks in and sends you pop-up ads and news headlines. You really begin to get a feel for how the world is for someone living with the Feed. Another thing Anderson does well is represent characters in a way that we relate to them. Whether we side with Titus or Violet, it is not hard to find someone in this book we understand. The speech and actions of the teens--especially Titus and his other friends--are very realistic. The most interesting part about this book, in this reviewer's opinion, is the moral issues brought up about technology and change for the sake of change. It can be a hard-hitting book that challenges the mind, or it can be a book that touches the heart. Either way, it will have an impact on the reader. Part teenage love story, part biting satire, this book is a great read for everyone.


Related links: My favorite quotes from Feed
My original review of Feed by MT Anderson