Feed by M.T. Anderson

     I read the book Feed by M.T. Anderson and I just want to start by saying this is by far one of the weirder of all the dystopian young adult novels that I have read over the years. One of the most confusing things can be the language that the kids use in the novel. Though this is to be expected in a novel based in the future because even since the 1980’s our slang has drastically changed. I mean it’s not everyday that you will hear someone say “gag me with a spoon.” A main theme in this novel is technology because technology has a large impact on the world then and even current day. Feed is a form of technology that is put into a human when they are born. It is the newest technology and like things such as an iPhone if you don’t have one then you are seen as a social pariah. Though not everyone can afford to have the feed put into their children when they are born. This is what happened with Violet and because of her parents not having a lot of money when she did get a feed it wasn’t the best one you could get and had problems. 

     The character who developed the most was Titus, this is because he started as a stuck up guy who dated a lot of girls and was very rich. His family was wealthy and you could see this through is top line feed, trips whenever and wherever he wanted, and his multiple up-cars. Though he meets violet the rebel of the story who is all against things pertaining to the feed and government in general. She opens his eyes to what is truly going on in the world. The fact that she is different mesmerizes him and he falls for her. They later get into a fight and he doesn’t talk to her again until she is almost dead and this is where you can see that he truly a changed person from the beginning of the book. I feel that besides Violet the females in this book are not portrayed how they should be. In the beginning Titus seems to talk about all the women he has been with and in a way he makes them sound more as objects than as girlfriends. Making it sound as if there is always a new one around the corner if needed. Then the girls that travel with him don’t make the situation any better because they are the stereotypical girls. 

     The text positions adolescents as being buried deep in the current technology. There are many adolescents like that today, but there are also those who come from very traditionalist families. Though I feel that we don’t judge as much by what technology you don’t have as much as they judge in the book if you didn’t have a feed. I feel that this text would mainly appeal to adolescents who prefer science fiction novels. This is because it focuses on the technology named feed and the background that goes with the feed.

Rating:D