1. Feed by M.T. Anderson
Feed (2002) is a dystopian novel of the postcyberpunk genre by M. T. (Matthew Tobin) Anderson. The story revolves around a teenage boy and his relationship with a girl with a vastly different world perspective. They live within a futuristic world where technology has merged electronics and telecommunications with the human mind, something which plays a major role in the novel. The book is a dark satire about corporate power, consumerism, information technology, and data mining in society. Their life revolves around advertising and the Feed does everything for them
This book is right next to 1984 by George Orwell on my bookshelf. What was so upsetting about this story was how surreal it was. Anderson sets up a very likely future where teenagers have the internet hardwired into their brain. Sure, a brain-wiki may SOUND nice, but it’s definitely frightening.
2. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
In The Golden Compass, readers meet for the first time 11-year-old Lyra Belacqua, a precocious orphan growing up within the precincts of Jordan College in Oxford, England. It quickly becomes clear that Lyra’s Oxford is not precisely like our own - nor is her world. In Lyra’s world, everyone has a personal dæmon, a lifelong animal familiar. This is a world in which science, theology and magic are closely intertwined.
I don’t know how old I was when this book first came out. I was doing what I typically did, loitering in front of the Young Adult book shelf at Barnes and Noble. A girl grabbed me. “You should read these.” She shoved The Golden Compass in my hand, while she tucked The Amber Spyglass under her arm. I was a little frightened to read His Dark Materials on the cover. She then began telling me of the adventures that awaited behind the cover. And me, the young and naive little girl with Harry Potter withdrawals, quickly marched to the counter and slammed a twenty down. I was hooked after that. This series is definitely a page turning adventure.
