An advance copy of a new book by Lois Lowry, author of The Giver and other classics. It is unfortunately basically the bad version of The Giver. In fact what it mostly reminded me of was ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
telophase's YA dystopia generator, which produces gems like Tweak: Sickness has been banned and the government controls shopping and Whimper: Cats have been banned and the government controls dancing the hustle. In the case of Building 903, books have been banned and the government controls popsicles. Yes, really.
In a future America ruled by a 200 year old dictator, books (ALL books), fiction, art, music, storytelling, playgrounds, live pets (robot pets are OK), free elections, religion, tattoos, matches and other fire-making tools, congregating in groups, iconoclastic clothing, travel, and eating meat or fish are banned. Old people, marriage, and popsicles are controlled by the government. Yes, really.
She leaned over, pushed the button that dispensed a frozen snack, and made a face when she saw it was green; she liked the orange ones better. But she peeled the covering from the green one and licked at it. I bet anything, Tessa thought, I could get Dad to invent a selector button so they wouldn't come out at random; I could choose orange. Or red: the red ones aren't bad. Then, though, the green ones would pile up, and it would be wasteful, I suppose, because no one would ever eat them.
To be fair, I'm just assuming the frozen snacks are popsicles. For all I know she's licking a piece of frozen broccoli.
Tessa's father and twin brother are supergeniuses. Tessa and her mother are just average. I did not care for this. Anyway, Tessa's brother vanishes and the book goes on and on and ON with nothing much happening. I skipped to the end.
The brother was sucked into a book that their neighbor was hiding. He escapes by PRAYING. Then in the last five pages there's suddenly a revolution. The end!
telophase's YA dystopia generator, which produces gems like Tweak: Sickness has been banned and the government controls shopping and Whimper: Cats have been banned and the government controls dancing the hustle. In the case of Building 903, books have been banned and the government controls popsicles. Yes, really.In a future America ruled by a 200 year old dictator, books (ALL books), fiction, art, music, storytelling, playgrounds, live pets (robot pets are OK), free elections, religion, tattoos, matches and other fire-making tools, congregating in groups, iconoclastic clothing, travel, and eating meat or fish are banned. Old people, marriage, and popsicles are controlled by the government. Yes, really.
She leaned over, pushed the button that dispensed a frozen snack, and made a face when she saw it was green; she liked the orange ones better. But she peeled the covering from the green one and licked at it. I bet anything, Tessa thought, I could get Dad to invent a selector button so they wouldn't come out at random; I could choose orange. Or red: the red ones aren't bad. Then, though, the green ones would pile up, and it would be wasteful, I suppose, because no one would ever eat them.
To be fair, I'm just assuming the frozen snacks are popsicles. For all I know she's licking a piece of frozen broccoli.
Tessa's father and twin brother are supergeniuses. Tessa and her mother are just average. I did not care for this. Anyway, Tessa's brother vanishes and the book goes on and on and ON with nothing much happening. I skipped to the end.
The brother was sucked into a book that their neighbor was hiding. He escapes by PRAYING. Then in the last five pages there's suddenly a revolution. The end!
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On first read, I missed the part at the beginning where you described this as "basically the bad version of The Giver", but when I got to this part I was like..... so, basically The Giver? (Not that I recall the government controlling popsicles in The Giver, although it controlled pretty much everything else.)
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(Also, if these are, like, artificially flavored popsicles, I would take the green ones and not the orange ones :P I mean, if I ate popsicles, which I usually don't because they make me have brain freeze.)
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This reminds me of one of Lois Lowry's older books, Taking Care of Terrific, where the bag ladies picket the popsicle seller in the Boston Public Gardens because they want root beer flavored popsicles (it works). I guess Lois Lowry has deeply held opinions about popsicles? At any rate I prefer her realistic fiction.
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Oh the males in the story are supergeniuses and the females are average? That's some nice internalized misogyny there, Lois. Sucked into a book?! So is that the first hint that magic also exists in this world?
What a weird book.
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