Helpful Score: 4
Consider what your life would be like if you could access the Internet directly from your brain. No need to learn to spell - just access the dictionary directly. But the "feed" to the brain is controlled by advertisers. This book describes just what the first generation of teenagers might be like who have a "feed". The book is on the dark side but provactive considering a new generation growing up with the Internet.
Helpful Score: 3
I really enjoyed this book. It accuratley portrays how stupid people can be, and how caught up in crazy trends teens can be. It was very creative, and a short, quick read. I reccomend this book!
Helpful Score: 2
The blurb on the back reads: "'We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck.' So says Titus, a teenager whose ability to read, write, and even think for himself has been almost completely obliterated by his 'feed,' a transmitter implanted directly into his brain... But then Titus meets Violet, a girl who cares about what's happening to the world and challenges everything Titus and his friends hold dear. A girl who decides to fight the feed."
The book was good; a lot of my friends really enjoyed it. I personally found the prospect engrossing, yet frightening. A quick read that really reminds the reader what could happen if we're not careful.
The book was good; a lot of my friends really enjoyed it. I personally found the prospect engrossing, yet frightening. A quick read that really reminds the reader what could happen if we're not careful.
Helpful Score: 2
This book was a interesting story set in the future. It was sad to see to the level we had sank ecologically. The unique language takes a bit to get used to, but the overall moral of the story was a good one.
I really enjoyed this book. I had read it once before and decided to give it another go and I found that I liked it as much as I did the first time! The book can be a little difficult to read in parts as sometimes they talk in a futuristic type of talk, and because their "feeds" are sometimes randomly interjected in their normal thought patters. I like that this occurs because it really shows that the feeds are actually a part of them.
Five Stars
Five Stars
Helpful Score: 1
You drive to work as cars speed by you, the vast majority of their drivers texting their friends or reading their work emails on their PDAs to get a jump start on a busy workday. The radio never plays much music anymore and you're forced to listen to commercial after commercial as you breeze down a highway that is peppered with a variety of electronic billboards. You arrive at work, sit in your cubicle, and waste a vast majority of your day surfing the web; reading the latest news headlines (Global Warming, Corporate greed, Warring Nations, etc), updating your Facebook status, and searching for great bargains on those hot new must have items that you really don't need. Your day ends, you drive home, eat dinner, and enjoy some TV before bed (Damn those incessant commercials!). As soon as your head hits the pillow your alarm goes off. Repeat. This is the world we live in.
Fast forward to an undetermined year in the future where Titus, the main character in "Feed", lives. A world ravaged by global warming and pollution. A world in which humans are fitted with "feeds" that attach to their brains and keep them connected to the Web 24/7. A world in which humans can "chat" with their friends via their feeds without every having to open their mouth and mutter a syllable. A world in which humans no longer know how to read (why would you need to when you're force fed everything through your feed?) and the thought of writing anything is considered outlandish by the masses.
Crazy right? That was my initial thought as I began to read this book however the deeper I got into it the more startled I was by the similarities to our present day. Think about it - When is the last time you've sat down and wrote a letter to someone with a pen & paper? As cell phones advance haven't you been talking to people over the phone less and less...to the point where actually talking to someone can seem a bit tiresome when texting is do darn simple? Can you remember the last day that you didn't once log online or use your cell phone? And on that horrendous day did you feel completely disconnected from everything?
I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical about "Feed" before starting to read it. Many reviews on here have noted readers' frustration with the jargon used in this book. Yes, the book is told through the eyes of a teenager, and yes some of the jargon can be a bit confusing at first, but the simple use of context clues resolves this concern. Additionally I don't typically read Young Adult books (I'm 30...sigh) but I believe the subject matter is pertinent and translates well for us old-timers. So put down your iPhone, turn off Fox News, log out of Twitter, and give "Feed" a chance.
Fast forward to an undetermined year in the future where Titus, the main character in "Feed", lives. A world ravaged by global warming and pollution. A world in which humans are fitted with "feeds" that attach to their brains and keep them connected to the Web 24/7. A world in which humans can "chat" with their friends via their feeds without every having to open their mouth and mutter a syllable. A world in which humans no longer know how to read (why would you need to when you're force fed everything through your feed?) and the thought of writing anything is considered outlandish by the masses.
Crazy right? That was my initial thought as I began to read this book however the deeper I got into it the more startled I was by the similarities to our present day. Think about it - When is the last time you've sat down and wrote a letter to someone with a pen & paper? As cell phones advance haven't you been talking to people over the phone less and less...to the point where actually talking to someone can seem a bit tiresome when texting is do darn simple? Can you remember the last day that you didn't once log online or use your cell phone? And on that horrendous day did you feel completely disconnected from everything?
I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical about "Feed" before starting to read it. Many reviews on here have noted readers' frustration with the jargon used in this book. Yes, the book is told through the eyes of a teenager, and yes some of the jargon can be a bit confusing at first, but the simple use of context clues resolves this concern. Additionally I don't typically read Young Adult books (I'm 30...sigh) but I believe the subject matter is pertinent and translates well for us old-timers. So put down your iPhone, turn off Fox News, log out of Twitter, and give "Feed" a chance.
Excellent satirical sci-fi read. Author successfully captured the true essence of what teen life and conversation may be like in the future.
Multiple award winning sci-fi/fantasy.
The author does a fantastic job of writing in a prose the way a teen from the future might speak & think. It does take some getting used to.
Especially with the advent of Google Glass, this is an an interesting look into a future where the "Haves" have a permanent connection to the internet implanted and the "Have-Nots" don't, although that aspect really wasn't pursued much.
As the author states, his idea was to originally write a short story, but this idea was too "big for that format" so he extended it into this novella. He did it to flesh out the characters, but he does that in a rather superficial way, never really delving too deeply into their person-ness, the world, or the what could be fascinating aspects of the moral implications of the feed. He also brushes against other really interesting aspects of a potential future: ecological disaster, war, corporate monopolies, political accountability, and much more. But it seems like, by having the story told through the eyes of this self-absorbed teen (would that be redundant?), the author gives himself an out from delving even a little bit into those aspects.
In the end, while the book was enjoyable, it winds up being much like the feed itself: shallow (shortage of world & moral examination), lacking in human connectivity (you don't really care about the characters) and unfulfilling. It reads very much like a teen book, and not a particularly thoughtful one at that. All that being said, the first line in the book is still great: "We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck."
Especially with the advent of Google Glass, this is an an interesting look into a future where the "Haves" have a permanent connection to the internet implanted and the "Have-Nots" don't, although that aspect really wasn't pursued much.
As the author states, his idea was to originally write a short story, but this idea was too "big for that format" so he extended it into this novella. He did it to flesh out the characters, but he does that in a rather superficial way, never really delving too deeply into their person-ness, the world, or the what could be fascinating aspects of the moral implications of the feed. He also brushes against other really interesting aspects of a potential future: ecological disaster, war, corporate monopolies, political accountability, and much more. But it seems like, by having the story told through the eyes of this self-absorbed teen (would that be redundant?), the author gives himself an out from delving even a little bit into those aspects.
In the end, while the book was enjoyable, it winds up being much like the feed itself: shallow (shortage of world & moral examination), lacking in human connectivity (you don't really care about the characters) and unfulfilling. It reads very much like a teen book, and not a particularly thoughtful one at that. All that being said, the first line in the book is still great: "We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck."
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The relationship between the two main characters felt very, very real. I liked that the POV character was portrayed as a regular teenage boy, with all that implies...he's a decent guy, but no prince on a white horse. It is unusual to find a book that seems to capture human foibles so honestly.
This book is an excellent young adult novel. The writing style takes some getting used to at first because it is narrated by the voice of a teenager in a dystopian future, so the voice is a bit annoying: lots of "like," "um," and obscure slang. However, this is an intentionally disjointed voice because it is meant to demonstrate the deterioration of minds in this hypothetical future. Fascinating read, very thought-provoking. Not to plot-spoil, but the ending is both tragic and poignant. Read it along with your teenager and then talk about it together.
Amazing book! It's written in the first person from the point of view of an uneducated teenage technophile, which will take some getting used to, but it's worth wrapping your mind around. This near-apocalyptic version of a capitalist superpower bent on instant gratification seems almost inevitable.
"It's about the feed. It's about this meg normal guy who doesn't think about anything until one wacky day he meets a decedent with a heart of gold. Set against the backdrop of America in its final days. It's the highspirited story of their love together. It's laugh- out-loud funny, really heartwarming and a visual feast. Together the two crazy kids grow, have madcap escapades and learn an important lesson about love. They learn to resist the feed. Rated PG-13 for language and mild sexual situations." - M.T. Anderson
Loved this book (on CD), had an interesting use of language, but was fairly easy to follow. I loved the voice acting, and it was laugh-out-loud funny sometimes and a little sad. The realism is even a little frightening. A truely wonderful story!
Loved this book (on CD), had an interesting use of language, but was fairly easy to follow. I loved the voice acting, and it was laugh-out-loud funny sometimes and a little sad. The realism is even a little frightening. A truely wonderful story!
Hated the language in this book, absolutely awful. I didn't mind the foul language, that was fine, but not for everyone for sure. The plot felt really weak up until the very end. At first I wasn't really sure what the story was about, after having read it I feel it's more clear. The characters were total shit, but I must admit I pitied Violet, and could relate to her. I don't think I'll ever read this again. It felt as if so much more should have been explained, or just left out all together if not important to the focus story.
I recommend this book to people who enjoyed Nicholas Sparks - A Walk To Remember because after having read this, I feel it's quite similar.
I recommend this book to people who enjoyed Nicholas Sparks - A Walk To Remember because after having read this, I feel it's quite similar.
This book features a great concept--a future America where people have a computer chip implanted in their brain as a baby that allows them to shop, watch movies, listen to music, and privately chat to others. Titus is a typical teenager of this future, so caught up in his feed that he doesn't notice or even care when he does notice all the environmental problems and social unrest in the world. The book proceeds to show what happens when he starts dating Violet, a girl who does notice. Unfortunately, Titus instead of growing and changing just continues to do things to Violet that are progressively more and more jerky. He seems to lack most human emotion or empathy. Violet makes him uncomfortable, and he just wants to return to his feed cocoon. Perhaps that is Anderson's point--that the feed and consumerism dehumanize--but it read as a bit too sympathetic to a character as douchey as Titus for my true liking.
Check out my full review.
Check out my full review.
