In this dark satire, set in the not-too-distant future, most citizens have direct access to the equivalent of the Internet (the "Feed") directly implanted into their brains at birth. After the lead characters Feed is hacked he meets a young woman who isn't as invested in the Feed as the rest of her peers.
What to Know About the Book Before You Read It.
This is a work of Satire, and uses humor and exaggeration to ridicule or critique aspects of government and society.
It is set roughly 100 years in the future. Travel between Earth and the Moon is possible.
Characters use a lot of slang invented by the author.
This book was written before Facebook, Twitter, the iPhone, or even pervasive mobile phone use (less than 45% of teens had cell phones in 2002).
It is a good Read-Alike for Brave New World
It was a National Book Award finalist in 2002.
Important Note: This book contains both strong language (i.e. the teen characters swear kind of a lot) and a lot of invented slang. This is an intentional part of the satirical commentary on how technology is affecting language and human interaction. However, if persistent swearing is a barrier to your enjoyment of a book, you might choose something else.
SEE BELOW for more background, relevance, etc.
Some Terms/Concepts for further research:
Native Advertising -- Big Data / Profiling -- Transhumanism -- Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)
Health Care (why was Violet denied coverage?)
History of Slang. Satirical Buzzfeed video that that gives an example of how a slang term becomes part of everyday language.
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