Feed by M.T. Anderson

I only recently discovered the work of M.T. Anderson, and he has quickly become one of my favorite authors. He explores such diverse genres as vampire novels (Thirsty), young adult serial novel satires (Whales on Stilts, The Clue of the Linoleum Leiderhosen), and futuristic worlds-gone-wrong (Feed), all with humor, adventure, and empathy.

Feed paints a picture of Earth perhaps 1000 years in the future. Almost everyone on the planet has been implanted with a "feed," essentially a wireless Internet connection that connects directly into the brain. People can listen to music, instant-message, watch movies, see advertisements, and buy things simply by tuning into the "feed." While this might sound idyllic to those of us who are glued to our computers and hand-held "wired" devices, Anderson illustrates the downside of a constantly plugged-in and literature-free world. The characters, even the adults, speak in a childish, unsophisticated blend of "likes" and "you knows," and the one character who isn't plugged into the feed (and not coincidentally the only character who can read) is the object of distrust and isolation.

The dystopia depicted in Feed may sound bleak, but in our present existence of incessant text-messaging, "Twitter," and Facebook, it might not be too far away.