I didn't know that...

In the intro lesson for our unit on The Giver the reading teachers on my team found a great prezi introducing the concept of dystopian literature.  (see the prezi here) Now, if you know me, you know that this is one of my all time favorite genres and BONUS it is very popular with the students.

Going through the prezi it mentions all of the great dystopian novels written specifically for young adults, starting, of course, with The Giver then mentioning Divergent, Hunger Games, Maze Runner...then surprise, surprise, it starts naming books I haven't even heard of.  Obviously my reaction is to go immediately to my local library and check out these books.

First up is M.T. Anderson's feed. I have to be honest, this book was not a winner for me.  In fact, I found it very stressful.  Imagine that you have the Internet directly wired into your brain.  This is your feed.  You get new updates and advertisements tailored to your taste all...the...time.  You can also make purchases just making your brain power and your friends are always available to chat. Talk about a teachers worst nightmare, your students can silently chat with each other through the feeds installed in their brains.

As if that isn't enough this society actually has cars that fly and you can literally go to the moon for spring break.

I have often thought that having the whole Internet in my brain would be useful.  After reading feed I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.  Constant advertisements, constant interruptions, more information than you could possibly handle...it was stressful.

But what if there was more to life than the feed?   That of course is the question this book will try to answer.  Fascinating concept but not a book I will re-read anytime soon.

Constant input...that's kids stuff