In Which Trai Reviews 'Feed'

** Spoilers ahoy: vague references to the ending and bleak tone overall. **

The Book: Feed

The Author: M.T. Anderson

How I Found It: It was always a title I heard bandied about in the world of YA scifi and fantasy, but I never picked it up until it was assigned to me this semester in Young Adult Lit.

The Review: I think Amazon.com knows a bit too much about me. It analyzes my trends and throws products at me that it thinks I'll like. I just clicked through to the site, and the front page is plastered with Doctor Who products for me to consider, as I'd been looking at the page for The Glamour Chase earlier as I composed my review.

Going over to the "My Amazon.com" section, I look at what's been recommended for me: a whole host of Disney movies (because I recently purchased Tangled), a reasonable chunk of Jane Austen paraliterature (because I've indicated that I own quite a few), more Doctor Who products (... I'm not in too deep; what're you talking about). They've pinned me and my current interests down fairly easily. I'm sure I'll be moseying on over to the page when I'm looking for something to read/watch, etc.

Then there's the slightly disconcerting emails I've been getting from Borders. As an example, two purchases I made there: Maggie Stiefvater's Linger and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. About a month after I made each purchase, I got an email inviting me to review the products. But not a generic email--oh, no. No, they included the exact editions I bought. I was a bit freaked out when I saw them. They're tracking my shopping habits? Why?

I give you this tangent because it's exactly what Feed is about. It's basically the precursor to the film Wall-E (which I've only seen once, because I consider it eminently depressing). It shows us a consumerist culture where everyone has a "feed" in their brains, putting everything at a person's fingertips. Shopping, TV and movies, a Wikipedia-esque access to facts and details, communications reminiscent of texting and instant messaging: all there inside your brain.

Titus and his friends are normal teenagers, almost slavishly obeying their feeds and never questioning. Everything changes when they take a trip to the moon, where they meet Violet--a girl who can write with pen and paper, who wants to resist the feed and the consumerism it promotes. While Titus, his friends, and Violet are partying at a club, their feeds are attacked by a politically active hacker who wants to spread his anti-feed message.

During a few days in the hospital where their feeds are offline, Titus and Violet find themselves growing closer. Once they emerge from the hospital with their feeds online, they decide to pursue a relationship--Violet wants to open Titus' eyes to the events in the outside world he chooses to ignore, whereas Titus' curiosity about Violet's ways rises. Even as disturbing events grip the two of them--Violet's feed begins to seriously malfunction, mysterious "lesions" cause citizens' skin to fall off--Titus and Violet push each other into unfamiliar territory, learning about each other all the while.

Feed paints a bleak, timely, and prescient look at our society, but one I didn't feel was original enough to interest me. As you can tell from my above tangent, I think Feed is an accurate representation of today's consumer culture. It also has some disturbing predictions about what might be on the horizon in the next couple decades: the President is hideously inarticulate and uses the word "thing" in lieu of the word he can't find. Titus' father tries to "chat" him (the equivalent of instant messaging) and is reluctant to talk to him face to face. A person can get a tattoo that forces them to say a company name in every sentence.

There is no happy ending here--how could there be? And sorry to say that I don't think I felt for any of the characters. Violet: her being educated and politically aware was revolutionary in itself, given the average level of knowledge among Titus and his friends (the scene where no one remembers the origins of the Kent State riots, among others--only that they're the namesake of an awesome "riot chic" clothing line... shudder!). But what else was she really doing to fight the feed? I wanted more rebellion, wanted her to be more like the hacker we see in the first part. Titus and his friends: ultimately, they're all jerks. You think Titus would be transformed by his experience, but he ricochets between that and that same old consumerism, so what the book leaves us with is the feeling that this can't be escaped. Cheery, ain't it?

Stylistically, the book is well put-together and well-written. Anderson intercuts his prose with jarring end-of-chapter blips from Titus' feed, never letting the reader ignore it, which is as it should be. The communication, and failure to do so, between the characters is accurately represented. All of this is wonderful, but what did the book really give us? A look at a terribly depressing society, with no chance of escape and no rebellion that's really succeeding all that much. I wanted there to be more rising up, and I didn't get that. It wasn't what I was expecting of a YA dystopian; I'll give it that much. So anyone who's looking for a real revolution-against-the-government dystopian story should look elsewhere, but anyone who's interested in an incredibly bleak but well-structured YA commentary on the consumer culture should look here. It's written well and comments on what it set out to comment on, but there's not much original about it and the characters aren't as sympathetic as they could have been. What it comes down to is that your mileage may vary!

In Which Trai Reviews 'Catching Fire'

** This is the second book in a series, so spoilers for the first will be present in this review. **

The Book: Catching Fire (Book Two of The Hunger Games trilogy)

The Author: Suzanne Collins

How I Found It: The series came on the recommendation of a friend. My review of the first book can be found here.

The Review: I've been wondering how much I can write in this review. Most others seem to barely scratch the surface of the plot, and pretty much anything seems to constitute a spoiler. So if you want to go into this book unaware, I'd recommend not reading any reviews and just beginning to read the book itself. I won't spoil much, but any plot details seem to be considered a spoiler these days.

At the end of the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark inadvertently started a rebellion. With the rules cruelly and abruptly changed, with Katniss having to face killing a boy who loves her and who she cares for, Katniss made a choice. She and Peeta threatened to take poisonous berries, both of them willing to commit suicide if it meant not having to kill each other. The Gamemakers were thwarted, and Katniss and Peeta both survived. But the Capitol is not pleased, and this is where the second book starts off.

President Snow shows up in Katniss' house with a warning. Katniss survived the Games by keeping up the charade of being as in love with Peeta as he was with her. But back home, Katniss also left Gale, her closest male friend, the one who knows all her secrets. And Katniss' feelings for Gale are just as confused as those she has for Peeta. Of the two boys, whom does she love? From what President Snow tells her, she doesn't have a choice--if she doesn't continue the charade of being in love with Peeta, Gale will die, and so could Katniss' family.

Helpless to fight a government that can so easily destroy everything she holds dear, Katniss finds herself caught up in events she can't control. The annual Victory Tour of all the Districts of Panem makes her realize that a rebellion is underway, and that she is the face of that rebellion. Gale will barely speak to her, and she and Peeta have no choice but to push the act of their love further and further. But the worst comes when the Quarter Quell is announced. Every 25 years, to celebrate the anniversary of the Games, the stakes are raised. For the 75th anniversary of the Games, the contestants will only be drawn from the previous victors, which means only one thing: that Katniss and Peeta will have to enter the arena again. This time, only one of them will be allowed to survive.

I skimmed through reviews earlier in order to get a feel of what I could write in this review. Oddly, most of the grievances of other reviewers do not seem to be ones that trouble me. I found this book stronger than the first installment. It played on my emotions more and truly raised the stakes. I did have a few minor complaints: the first half is really "telling" instead of showing--instead of seeing major events, we get them relayed in paragraphs by Katniss, and that really slowed the pace some. I wanted to see certain things played out, not just have them told to me. And admittedly, the Quarter Quell idea was a very contrived way to put Katniss and Peeta back in the arena. Those were about the only complaints I had, however. In almost every way, this book was an improvement over the last one, in my opinion.

Some reviews seemed to take issue with Katniss' character. While I found her difficult to like in the first book, I came to sympathize with her here. Many cited her being weak-willed when it came to the rebellion and deciding her feelings for Gale and Peeta, but I think that her reactions were typical for any teenage girl with far too much to handle. Besides, any decision she makes would be invalidated by the fact that she knows she should die in the arena, as long as it means Peeta gets to live. I felt that her emotions and indecision were believable, and I actually grew to like Katniss here.

The love triangle between Gale, Peeta, and Katniss is expanded upon, but in a somewhat lopsided way. We barely see Gale, but we sure see plenty of Katniss and Peeta, whose relationship is sweeter and less forced in this book than it was in the previous one. I felt pleased with the development of the Katniss/Peeta romance; a major complaint of mine with the first book was that I hated how Katniss used that romance in a calculating way. Here, both of them are consciously using it to their advantage, but genuine feelings and concern for each other also come to the forefront in interesting ways. I only wish that Collins had squeezed Gale in a little bit more so that the balance would have been more even--it's a tad bit obvious how your love triangle will probably resolve when one side is featured much more heavily than the other. I also enjoyed seeing more of certain characters and learning the answers to questions raised in the previous book. The insight into Haymitch, especially, was welcome, not to mention getting to see a little more depth for Cinna's character.

As I said before, this book affected me more emotionally than the previous one. I only teared up once in The Hunger Games. Given that I took this one in during a day-long reading spree, I can't quite recall how many times I teared up, but it was certainly ranging around four or five times, and I cried outright once. I will give Collins credit once again for being able to touch places in readers that will no doubt make them think and reflect on how difficult it would be to be in Katniss' place and in the place of the citizens of Panem. The reality Collins crafts is truly horrific. The Games is only the last third of this book, as opposed to the two-thirds or so it got in the previous installment, but they are still scary and tense and difficult to predict as alliances shift and Katniss must strengthen her resolve about dying in order to save Peeta's life.

All in all, I felt this book to be a most definite improvement over the first one, and I'm looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy, though I have heard some mixed opinions. The flaws I felt were apparent in the original book were fixed here, and the story was made more exciting and suspenseful. I can recommend this one to both young adults (perhaps ones around 13 or 14 who can handle it, given the violent content) and adults who'd like to be in on the interesting discussions.

In Which Trai Reviews 'The Hunger Games'

According to my tags, this is my 50th review! Hoorah!

The Book: The Hunger Games (Book One of The Hunger Games trilogy)

The Author: Suzanne Collins

How I Found It: I first heard of it through a friend, who read it and loaned it to me. I was curious about it after seeing the overwhelming acclaim it received from various quarters.

The Review: Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl, lives in a world very different from ours. In the ruins of what was once North America, now called Panem, people have been divided into 12 districts after a brutal rebellion against the government. In order to keep the citizens in line, the government, known as the Capitol, has devised a tournament called "The Hunger Games".

A boy and a girl are picked from each district and placed into an arena where the enviroment can be anything--forest, sand, icy terrain. Survival depends on hunting, fighting for what few supplies the Gamemakers provide--and killing the other contestants in any way possible in a televised competition until only one competitor, or "tribute", is left standing. The Capitol uses the Games to show the citizens of Panem that they will not hesitate at killing anyone--not even children.

Katniss lives in District 12, the poorest district, with her mother and her 12-year-old sister, Prim. Prim is the only person in the world Katniss cares about, ever since her mother's depression after the death of her father lead to her shutting down emotionally until Katniss and Prim nearly starved. Katniss has been providing for her family for years. When the drawings come for the Games, Prim's name is drawn even though it was entered only once, per the rules for her age. The odds were astronomical, but it still happened, and Katniss cannot bear to let her sister go off and die. She steps forward voluntarily to take her sister's place.

Also chosen from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, the baker's son, who once showed Katniss kindness. There have only been two victors from District 12 in the history of the Games, and the only surviving one of the two--Katniss and Peeta's only hope of a mentor--is Haymitch, the town drunk. The odds are stacked up against both Katniss and Peeta in a deadly game where the rules are unexpectedly changing and only one person out of twenty-four is meant to survive.

To start with, this, like Never Let Me Go, is a dystopian novel. I compare them for no other reason than that they both paint pictures of governments who do unspeakable things to their citizens. In Never Let Me Go, it was creating clones solely for the purpose of organ donation; in The Hunger Games, it is a government who pits children against themselves to kill because they can.

As horrid as the story sounds, it is also becoming a movie, something I am admittedly curious to see. The story is quite violent but not overly so, but it's still subject matter that one would be uncomfortable seeing on screen. It will have to be an interesting balancing act to juggle the inherent violence of the topic--kids fighting to the death--with the level of violence allowed to be shown on screen for a (presumably, to match the target audience for the book) PG-13 film. I have to admit that some of the violence even made me squeamish at times; for one thing, if you're afraid of fire/burns or wasps, this'll be hard for you to stomach.

I'd heard so much praise for the book that it did fall short for me; it's not as amazing as I've heard, and it was actually rather cliched. That was something that surprised me--I've read nothing like this book before, and yet I felt like I knew where the plot was going. A few elements of the story did surprise me, which was good, but it was never breathtakingly original.

The book's jacket flap makes claims of "suspense and philosophy, adventure and romance." It is suspenseful in the manner of each chapter ending on a cliffhanger, a somewhat gimmicky way to ensure further reading. It is philosophical in that it explores the effect of this violence on children who have no other option but to kill or be killed, and hints that governmental overthrow could be a step in the right direction. It is adventurous because, well, it's about a fight to the death. The romance part, though, I wouldn't quite advertise as such; I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Peeta and Katniss play up an imaginary--on Katniss' part--romance between the two of them, in order to make the viewers feel for them. Though Peeta's feelings are real, Katniss is constantly denying what could be her own feelings and instead calculating how best to use the ruse to her advantage.

I couldn't quite blame her--she was trying to stay alive, after all--but it didn't make her very sympathetic. So while the book claims to have romance, it's a very one-sided romance that will have to be built upon further--and genuinely--for me to buy into it.

Overall, while I'm going to read the sequel and upcoming third book to see how the story plays out, I'm in the middle of the road on this one. It wasn't particularly original or engaging in my mind, but Collins has crafted a suspenseful story that plays on readers' fears to her advantage. It is a thought-provoking topic and a cautionary tale, even. I'll recommend it for fans of YA literature, whether they're young adults themselves or not, with the final thoughts that most will probably look past the flaws to the story and have a more thrilling ride than I did.

In Which Trai Reviews 'Never Let Me Go'

The Book: Never Let Me Go

The Author: Kazuo Ishiguro

How I Found It: Hearing about the upcoming film version (October) made me put it on my mental list, and seeing the absolutely gorgeous trailer last week made me rush to pick it up.

The Review: Our narrator is Kathy H, who describes herself at the start as a "carer". We learn very quickly that she is caring for organ donors after their donations. And then we learn that Kathy grew up at Hailsham, a boarding school for clones raised solely for the purpose of organ donation. Kathy is one of these clones.

From the time she was born to when she was in her late teens, Kathy lived at Hailsham with the other students, becoming close friends with popular, pretty Ruth and temperamental but caring Tommy. Hailsham students are always reminded of how special they are, though one teacher, Miss Lucy, tries to tell the students that they have no hope of leading a normal life, as their path is already set out for them.

The novel is divided into three sections. One chronicles Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy's early lives at Hailsham. The second recounts a period where, now older teens, all three live with other clones at the Cottages, where they enter into the real world after the secluded confines of Hailsham. The last section takes place as the three finally reunite again as adults, and as Kathy attempts to piece together what really happened between the three of them throughout their lives.

It is difficult to describe how deeply this book touched me without giving much away. All I can say is, if you want to read this, do not find out much about it before doing so. I will try to make this review as spoiler-free as possible. But stay away from plot spoilers and maybe even stay away from the movie trailer. Just go into it blind.

The story, at its core, is somewhat disturbing because it can so easily happen in the future. This is one of the most realistic dystopian novels I've ever read, because Ishiguro doesn't go overboard on the futuristic details. We simply learn from the beginning that this is an alternate version of England in the late 1990s, and there are barely any futuristic touches besides the cloning. Technologies such as Walkmans and cassette tapes pop up. It is a familiar world, which is what makes it so disconcerting.

It is also a story about humanity and about love. An important plot point hinges on whether the clones can feel as regular people do, which is another part of what makes the story so disarming. We witness each one of Kathy's emotions, we see her feeling exactly as we would in a similar situation, and then we realize that some people would rather believe that the clones are not human at all. This makes the reader reflect on emotions, on ethics, and on what science can do to both.

The three core characters were well-developed, though Kathy, as our narrator, is the most well-drawn of the three. Ruth sometimes doesn't come off as much more than the quintessential popular girl and rival, but in the end she is revealed to have depth and perception beyond what the reader could have expected. Tommy manages to evoke pathos as the reader comes to understand his struggle with his lack of creativity--an important part of the clones' world, though its full importance is not revealed until late in the novel--and his confused relationships with Ruth and Kathy. There are numerous other peripheral characters in the story, some of whom (Chrissie and Rodney, Miss Lucy, etc.) border on stereotype, but they are merely there to help the story along, so it didn't matter much if they were developed.

This is the most I've cried during a book since The Time Traveler's Wife, and I cried a lot there. The first day I started reading it, I got teary twice without even realizing I'd become so emotionally invested in the characters. It snuck up on me that way. By the end, I wanted the characters to succeed and was happy when they did and cried when they didn't. I am still thinking about the ending, which made me sob, and I have a feeling I will be thinking about it for a very, very long time, something that I can only say for a few books I read each year.

This novel transcends the dystopian genre and becomes something greater. It becomes a story about humanity as a whole, both the humanity in Ishiguro's fictional world and about humanity in our world. I can see why it was a finalist for a prestigious literary prize. I hope that anyone who is interested in well-written, incredibly moving fiction gives this one a try and finds as much beauty and sorrow in it as I did, and I hope that Hollywood manages to capture that. Very highly recommended to almost anyone who has an interest in dystopian fiction or in well-written pieces of literature.