Feed - a Book Review

"Feed," by M.T. Anderson is a dark novel about power and control. The book is written in first-person narrative through a teenager's perspective. Titus McNeal's speech consists of words like "brag," "so null," and "like" to start off many of his sentences. He uses foul language and proves to be a typical adolescent boy. He also shows throughout the novel that he really has no concern for what is going on around him in the world and school is of no importance to him either. By reading through the perspective of Titus, the book has a certain tone to it that I did not care for. I completely detested his language and could hardly get through the book. I have four teenagers so the mom in me was angry with him a lot. I may have enjoyed "Feed" if it would have been written through an adult's perspective or even Violet's. She cares about what is going on in their world. I understand that its purpose is to appeal to the young adult crowd but I found most of the language in general to be very unnecessary. Teenagers are often times very easily influenced and so by Titus as the narrator, we see how vulnerable they really are; an easy target for mind control.

"Feed" is set in the future and brings technology and the media together and merges it with the brain by way of an implanted computer chip. Often targeted to teens, lives revolve around commercials that shape their thoughts and decisions. As commercials randomly interrupt the dialogue throughout the book, it shows us the extent of how corporate is taking over the world in "Feed." As I read, I cannot help but shutter at the thought of citizens' brains being monitored by the government. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace in today's society, and the thought of a computer chip planted in the human brain seems all too possible.

Throughout the course of the novel, Anderson throws a few messages at his readers. Aside from the obvious power that the corporate world has on our society, technology is following close behind with controlling people in general. Advertisements often mold our decisions on whether or not we will purchase something. We are constantly bombarded with them by way of television, radio, and computer. The book mentions in Part two when Titus and his friends are missing the feed and how they felt empty without it. This was interesting to me because I can relate this to society today. We cannot live without our cell phones or laptops and may experience emptiness ourselves or a feeling of helplessness. Anderson puts in his book that the environment is deteriorating rapidly. Although unsure of the exact message he is trying to send by way of the environment, I know our planet is changing. The "Global Alliance" in "Feed" is fighting with America because of the toxic gas released on communities, the clouds are artificial, and men