Feed (original 2002; edition 2002)

This was hard to get into at first due to the teenage jargon. It might be easier to "read" by audio-book. This is imaginative and does not offer any easy answers, which is good. ( )

I could not finish this. ( )

I could not finish this. ( )

4Q, 4P This was an interesting book. It took awhile for me to get into the language, or slang of it. The idea of having a feed in our brains that is largely controlled by advertising and big corporations is so scary to me. Unfortunately, it is too close to where we seem to be headed with technology. Anderson was certainly ahead of his time with this book. I would hope that we can use it as a manual for what NOT to become. ( )

5P, 4Q

Perhaps most memorable about this book is the writing. There is a lot of diaglogue and slang, and while at first it made it hard to read, I very quickly started enjoying the style. I hope others will not let this hurdle stop them from reading what is really a great story. Feed is all about adolscence, subversion, the impact of technology on society. Each of these topics could give the story wide reaching appeal among teens.

My favorite thing about this book was how the FEED would chop into the story unexpectedly. The first time I read it it was an auido book and so the commericials coming from the FEED were all the more intense. There was a lot of diversity among the characters, too. Violet's father and his uniqueness I found very interesting. Titus struggles with his allegience to different kinds of friends, and I thought that was particilarly realistic. Seeing a terrible vision of how technology can impact people's lives for the worse - that's something I'll always remember about this book.

My VOYA ratings: 5Q,4P

An unflinching take on the future of our technology-obsessed world, full of slang and humor and sadness. This book made me reevaluate my distaste for science fiction.

My VOYA: 5Q, 4P

"We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck."

Titus and his friends are products of the Feed: a never-ending stream of advertising and information implanted into their brains. During an ordinary trip to the Moon, Titus meets the smart, beautiful Violet. When a protester hacks their minds, the teens lose contact with the Feed and learn that there may be a better way to live.

As unsettling and soul-scarring as Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange, Feed is one of those novels that will grow in your subconscious long after you've finished it. Titus is as self-absorbed as Holden Caulfield, but far less articulate. Titus's dystopia is much more Brave New World than 1984, where the affluent are lulled into lives of mindless consumption. Hairstyles change within hours, the oozing lesions everyone has developed become a fashion statement, and School is a trademark, not a place.

Stray observations:

• The pulsing red fields of filet mignon that Titus thinks are part of nature have never quite left my psyche. *Queasiness*


• TV show from the Feed: Oh? Wow! Thing!


• Song lyrics for a love song from the Feed: I like you so bad / And you like me so bad. / We are so bad / It would be bad / If we did not get together, baby, / Bad baby, / Bad, bad baby. / Meg bad.


• "That's one of the great things about the feed - that you can be supersmart without ever working. Everyone is supersmart now. You can look things up automatic, like science and history, like if you want to know which battles of the Civil War George Washington fought in and shit." - 47

Q4 P4: Feed is a science fiction tale that is as believable as it is fantastic. Set on Earth, in it's lingering last days, we glimpse the life of an affluent group of teenagers feeding off an electronic chip (the FEED) that informs them, sells to them, entertains them and communicates between them. As frightening, and at times implausible, as this future seems, Anderson's characters, their relationships and the ever-present role of the data-mining computer-marketeer are quite imaginable.

3Q, 3P (my Voya codes) I read Feed as a teen and I remembered not liking it at all because of the shallowness of the appearance of the characters in the book and the cussing in the story. Reading it now as a twenty something it still isn't for me, but it really does make you think about a possible depressing dystopian future. It has convinced me that I NEVER want a chip planted into my brain. This story really does make you think.... The plot reminds me a little bit of the plot in the Uglies series (another YA dystopian novel).

3Q, 3P (my VOYA codes)
Feed is an imaginative yet realistic depiction of the possible future. Titus is a teenager, who similarly to the rest of the world, is completely reliant on his "feed." A transmitter that feeds directly into your brain and your mind. Music, entertainment, shopping, and more all take place through the feed. Titus never questions the feed or its ability to take over his life, until he meets Violet. A girl who speaks her own mind, questions the use of the feed, and suffers the terrible consequences of her society. It was hard to rate the quality of writing on this book since it was purposefully written in a laconic and uncomplicated language. Young adults will enjoy the futuristic aspect of the book while pondering the consequences of society.

My ratings on the VOYA scale: 3Q 4P

'Feed' is one of those books that tries really hard, but I found ultimately disappointing. It's obviously an "issue" book, creating a world in which humans are constantly connected to the Internet and are always being bombarded with advertising. While I am totally on-board with the author's critique of advertising, the larger disdain for technology as a whole that poked through in some sections really bothered me. I mean, one of the characters has her Feed technology literally rot her brain. Also, on the subject of Violet, I was really excited by her scheme to screw with her advertising profile in an attempt to drop off the grid, and I wish this plot had been more well-developed. While it was especially heartbreaking that her messed-up profile prevented her from receiving the medical care she needed in the end, it would have been more emotionally resonant if that plot had a throughline, and may have made this book into an interesting, cyberpunk-lite, dystopian novel and critique of consumer culture, rather than the surface-level critique of technology and advertising it actually was.

2Q, 3?P. I'm finding this one pretty hard to rate. It got a reaction out of me, that's for sure. If a book sets out to disgust you and succeeds, does that make it a good book? The main character is a meandering sociopath who narrates like Elroy Jetson after a bunch of monster bong hits, and while I'm sure there's an ImportantTM message there about how targeted advertising will make you evil and stupid, spending the whole book inside his head just made me feel like I needed a shower. In an interview at the end, the author said they wanted teens to think about the effects of advertising, but the events in the book say something more like "mess with the companies and they'll just grind you up, so you're better off just keeping your head down and buying things." Violet was the only halfway likeable character, and seeing her slowly tormented and broken, through the eyes of someone who just flat-out didn't give a shit, was depressing. Blehh. ( )

VOYA-Based Ratings
Quality: 4Q
Popularity: 4Q

I like that Feed lacked the heroics and action of typical YA dystopias and speculative fiction. Both, Titus and Violet, are satisfyingly complex and work well within Anderson's futuristic America, where it is difficult to resist the power of the feed and its dominance over culture and life. Feeds end is bleak, but it is one that will stick with you.

4Q, 4P. This satirical, distopia-like novel serves as a warning for our heavily corporate and media dominated society. Anderson paints a picture of what our futures might be like if we continue down our current path. It is chilling to think that Anderson's Feed is more applicable today than when it was written. This book would be a great addition to high school classrooms and discussions on consumerism and media manipulation. I believe both the setting and language of the book would be attention grabbers for teens. It is written very conversationally and has a whole set of slang that at first is a little hard to pick up, but by then end feels totally natural. I also think the story would spark some good discussions aside from consumerism and media conversation. Titus's character makes an significant choice towards the end of the novel. Reader's might discuss what they thought about his actions towards Violet? How would they have handled the situation? Etc.

4Q 3P (my codes) 5Q 3P (actual VOYA codes)
Take the inventive language and surreal setting of A Clockwork Orange, add in the advising onslaught of Bladerunner, and mix with William Gibson's "cool" work, Pattern Recognition. Feed is an unusual book that tackles heavy themes and issues with creativity and fervor; its nonlinear, disjointed style puts the reader on edge, uneasy about the state of the world and the future of our society. It is also an excellent cross-over book into the new genre of New Adult. ( )

4Q 4P Well-written and engrossing - some readers will have to struggle past the slang.

A story that will resonate with teen and adult readers in this age of social media and constant connection. This book provided a disturbingly realistic view of our future and the degraded human that inhabits it. I enjoyed Anderson's sarcastic wit and skewering of big business as he presented us with a fractured love story. I enjoyed watching Titus come to grips with his abandonment of Violet just when she needs him the most even if he does it badly. ( )

4Q, 4P
Feed was definitely an uncomfortable read. This book hits too close to home today, even though it was written ten years ago. You can't see a group of people out together without seeing at least a couple of them simultaneously looking at something on their phones as well.

I thought Titus was a fairly realistic if unlikeable character. Well, I didn't dislike him. I pitied him. He is a complete product of his environment. This was most especially reflected in the ending of the book. What I liked about the ending was that it seemed realistic, that Titus didn't suddenly pull his head out of his ass and drop everything to be with Violet in her last days. It was sad and she definitely deserved better, but it was a sign of how engrained the feed was into his life that he wouldn't know how to or realize he should do something until it was too late. ( )

5Q, 4P.

This dystopian story taps into social issues regarding the influence of corporations, privacy issues, and issues of free will. I felt this story is relevant with the rapid increase of teens with smart phones, and the social media that is available with a swipe of their fingertip. Ads, apps, and videos surround them and constantly tell them what they should be wearing, doing, eating, thinking, and believing. Feed does in fact reflect the developmental task of intellect. Even from the start, our main character, Titus and his friends are on a trip to the moon and once they decide they are going to an hotel to go dancing, their feed immediately started telling them where they should go (just like a Yelp app, or a Google review). This book is a great way to have teens think about issues of privacy issues, commercialism, and the decisions they make in society. ( )

4Q, 4P - Using the vessel of a technology-riddled dystopia, M.T. Anderson spins the haunting tale of humans constantly plugged in. In this future, everyone's brain is hooked up to a "feed" that constantly spews information and images littered with television shows, advertisements, music, news broadcasts, and instant messaging. When a group of friends find their feeds offline after being "infected" with a network virus, they experience a short time offline. Once restored, Titus and Violet question the feed's role and whether they want it. This was a great twist on the future taken over by technology. Even though it contained a lot of familiar element from the science fiction/dystopian genre, the language and character made the book. At first the cheesy slang and quality of narrative annoyed me because it was overly repetitive and simplistic. Once it becomes how apparent that the feed severally effects the intellect, vocabulary and attention of the characters, I appreciated the authenticity of Titus' inner monologue and the evolution it underwent after being unplugged, developing his relationship with Violet and learning to think for himself. Even though his tone of a bored teenager insecure about his perceived impression was consistent, there were gems of descriptive prose scattered throughout that were beautiful. Titus, Violet and their friends may be in an unimaginable environment participating in activities such as going to "hang out" on the Moon, watching TV in their heads and partying and clubs without gravity, their personalities, anxieties and ambitions remain relevant to today's teens. With all the hype surrounding similar YA novels, I think this would be a popular book. The format is more literary and the love story left of center which might turn off some readers, but the content, language and plot creates a strong draw. ( )

Voya:
The only reason I gave this well-crafted, ahead-of-its-time satire a 4Q is that the futuristic slang makes it so hard to get into. This isn't a read that will likely appeal to reluctant readers. It is also for this reason that I gave it a 3P, though I think that a conversation about the attitude toward technology and consumerism in this book would definitely fuel conversation with teens and make them want to read this book.

"Everything must go."

My Review:
I feel like I have to give this book at least three stars because it's a well-crafted satire written ahead of its time, but I did not enjoy reading it.

Written entirely in futuristic slang, this book is from the perspective of a teen boy who, like most people, has always had a feed implanted in his head that lets him mentally chat with friends, look things up on the web, and even attach memories, smells, and emotions to messages and mentally send them. In the beginning, he sees a beautiful and different girl that he just knows will change him forever. After a hacker puts a virus into the feeds of Titus, Violet and their friends, Violet decides she's going to fight how the feed analyzes her thoughts, feelings, desires and shopping habits. A kid who didn't get a feed until later in childhood than most, Violet begins to figure out that the "normal" families she always longed for are obsessed with commercialism, that awful things are happening in the world, and that her friends care more about the distractions of the feed than her. Titus doesn't understand what she's saying until after her feed has begun to malfunction permanently.

Anderson does a great job of imitating shallow teen speech, inventing slang and ending statements with a question? But reading what sounds like Teen Magazine in the year 2078 made the book really hard to get into. The books indightment of society was harsh and haunting, and with the technology he describes it is surprising that this book was written back in 2002. It mirrors tech and attitudes now--Google specs, anyone? ( )

4Q 4P

Feed is a frightening look into a possible version of our world's future. One in which technology rules the world, and each individual. Told from the perspective of a teenaged boy named Titus, we see how technology has permeated his world, and has compromised his ability to think for himself.

I had a difficult time reading this book - mostly due to the language. I enjoyed the plot line and it's satirical look at our technology driven society, but the language was too much for me to find it enjoyable. Not that the book contains inappropriate or offensive language (or much of it anyway), it is more the sheer stupidity inherent in the speech patterns they used. The slang language that Anderson created was designed to portray a decayed society in which even the doctors spoke like uneducated fools - and it was a great tool that very clearly made Anderson's point about the state of this society, but I felt like it was taking my intelligence level down with it.

Language aside, I appreciated the concept that as our society gets further and further down the technology rabbit hole, we lose something of ourselves - our humanity and intelligence, among other things. This seems like a good cautionary tale for teens as well, or at least something to mull over for a little while - Are their cell phones, computers, game systems, and other forms of technology taking something away from them? Are we, as a society, slowly becoming less intelligent and/or less emotionally connected to one another as we gain in our technological understanding? ( )

Feed creates an atmosphere that is simultaneously alien and uncomfortably familiar; a dystopian future that feels like an actual possibility if humanity continues to follow its current trends. The combination of degraded communication, futuristic slang, and descriptions of the clearly dying planet Earth wholly immerse the reader in the superficially carefree world of Titus and his privileged friends, though this future is not one I care to get lost in. There seems to be little left in the world that is worth salvaging, including its deplorably self-centered inhabitants. Though I had hopes that Titus might be swayed by Violet, seemingly one of the only teenagers within any modicum of self-sufficiency and non-artificial intelligence, he ultimately proves to be no less corrupt than his peers and the reader is left with very little to hope for at all. ( )

5Q, 4P, S & YA -- This is a fascinating novel about a time in the future when computers are embedded into one's body and run core physiological systems including the brain, the lungs, and the heart. No longer in need of the Internet or access to the World Wide Web, the protagonist, Titus and his friends access all the information they need (finely calibrated by mega corporations) via what is known as *the feed.* When a spring break on the moon turns into a nightmare when a societal malcontent hacks into Titus's feed along with other feeds as well. Titus begins to question the nature of his reality including his close relationships. The descriptions of the earth post-apocalypse and the post-colonial moon are fascinating and foreboding and Titus's revelations critical. ( )

"You need the noise of your friends, in space." (page 4)

Titus is your average teen slacker looking to party with his affluent slacker friends over spring break...up on the moon. And maybe even, like, meet someone, you know? Enter Violet, an unusual girl who cares about the world beyond the interactive shopping malls and the Internet embedded in everyone’s brains. Between space and cyberspace, can Titus rise above his hyperconsumeristic decadence to forge a meaningful relationship with her?

My VOYA ratings: 5Q (“Hard to imagine it being better written”) and 3P (“Will appeal with pushing”). With a genius for satire, Anderson immerses the reader in a total dystopian experience through the illiterate slang and sentence fragments of the adolescent narrator and his peers (and even his doctor, good heavens), and through snippets of the feed itself at the end of chapters. I cannot imagine the language and style and plot of the novel being any better, yet that same language and style and plot will certainly grate some nerves and turn off some readers. Young adults who are wowed by this wickedly funny satire, however, will be poised to discover subversive classics such as CATCH-22, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE. And they will be challenged to take a hard look at themselves in their own world from any number of angles: media consumption, materialism, environmental degradation, corporate culture, U.S. foreign policy, language and critical thinking, public education, masculinity, etc.

My initial reaction to the clever technological dystopia of FEED was along the lines of “LOL M.T. Anderson read a bit too much Nicholas Carr [famous article in THE ATLANTIC, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” and THE SHALLOWS: WHAT THE INTERNET IS DOING TO OUR BRAINS] before gifting this brilliant satire to the world.” Then I checked the publication date, and holy cannoli, FEED came out in 2002! So it could very well be the other way around.

Ultimately FEED will go down as one of my all-time favorites because it is parked squarely at the intersection of hilarious and disturbing, to paraphrase a NEW YORK TIMES review (http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/17/books/children-s-books-in-brief-794139.html). Anderson withholds a happy ending for the protagonist and his world, much as he did in THIRSTY (an approach which reminds me a little of the way Joss Whedon kills off characters in his shows). He seems to situate his stories at the cusp of an apocalypse. He seems interested in what leads to ruination. And there are no sequels. It’s maddening, and I love it.

But after nearly 200 pages of audibly snorting at punchlines (I won't spoil any of them for you) and reading choice passages aloud to whoever was in the vicinity, what clinched it for me were items 11 and 12 on Violet’s “definitive list of things I want to do” (page 184):

"11. I want to say we’re from Fort Wayne. And have the proprietor frown, and know we’re lying, but still nod.
12. I would like to actually be from Fort Wayne. Or from a small town outside of it. We won’t have the feed, and we’ll go to 'movies' on dates. We’ll kiss in the upcar. And then, when I’m in my twenties, I’ll go east to the big city, to find my first job."

This reader from a small town outside of Fort Wayne nearly choked as Anderson’s words made full impact on a sensitive part of the brain that is directly connected to the soul. How on earth did he know? ( )

Totally Brag! - in a kind of disturbing and uncomfortable way. I have heard some say that the slang used in this book was distracting and hard to figure out. While I agree with the latter, I have to say that the slang, for me, added to the overall story. I liked seeing the evolution of the language, the ways that different words were used to explain the same things today. I thought that this was really interesting to see especially in light of the all the other things that evolved - if we can call lesions and trips to the moon evolution.

I didn't care for Titus and struggled with the lack of morality and well, critical thinking skills in everyone save Violet and her father. It was scary to think of how the feed became commonplace and unquestioned. This book is one I will remember and one that will make me look more critically at our current culture. ( )