This book took me so long to read, it was that painful. It confused me at times and at others I just wanted to scream. Long story short: I DID NOT like this book.
So, let's begin this review.
The world building was awful and had no explanation whatsoever on anything. Here's examples:
1. You call cars "trannies"? Every time I read that I continued to think of transgenders, which of course the book has none. It never told why that happened or how a word associated with people who are the opposite gender born in the wrong body became cars, so like other viewers pointed out on Goodreads and Amazon (many of them also thinking of transgenders and transsexuals during this) considered useless. Books have parts that can tick me off, that definitely did.
2. Everyone's vegetarian? I guess the author is one and decided everyone in this world should be, too. There was no explanation at how this happened and made the times when everyone ate have that stick in my head. There has to be good reasoning for it, but there is none. And yet they still breed animals? Do they keep them under constant guidance so they don't breed too much because without eating them they just stand around in zoos, clearly they have to make sure they don't take up too much space.
3. The Reproductive Rights of Women. This was mentioned in the book and I found it hard to believe. This society seems like the last place where women would be shooting out babies, you'd think this society mastered birth control! But no, girls have constant sex but they still get pregnant because of it. Wow.
4. The Tattoo. The tattoo seemed useless, why bother with it because I'm sure forty year old men had sex with their six year old daughter, anyway.
5. Slut Shaming. All that ever happened was Sandy got slut shamed, by her clothes, by the way she acted, just for having a freaking sexuality! I know women have strong sexual desires like men, forget the good girl crap! She's also super stupid, a total stereotype! Sandy is treated like dirt, by people who apparently don't have sex and therefore are above them. Thank you Julia Karr, you can go back to your abstinence only education class! It's the only class I seem to fail in (I've been in one before and it's like birth control doesn't even exist, needless to say I plan on finding some way out of it this year. If I don't I'm actually tempted to buy a pleasure pack from the gas station just so I can break the teacher into at least acknowledging it). And of course the stereotype of teens take control of their sexuality and then someone dies (Sarah Dessen's Someone Like You ring a bell?)! In this case, she dies. Wow.
6. How Did This Happen? It wasn't explained at all other than there was some treaty, which still had no explanation. Really? People live on Venus for crying out loud and it wasn't explained at all! I mean that would have to some serious changes for humans to even be able to reach the surface! Can you take a science lesson? Why aren't there more outspoken Christians because there are a few churches left, and I may be an Atheist but I have some of Jesus Freaks and there were people against the Nazis, the Romans, and the Soviet Union, clearly there would be a bunch of JF's there. So do I find this realistic? With no explanation, then no, I don't.
7. George Orwell. I was sick at the constant 1984 references. 1984 was a great book, and it was anti-sex (Brave New World however was far more believable). This place had a bunch of dead zones (gee, wouldn't the government worry about that?) but in Orwell's even the Proles land was dangerous. And wouldn't you think she wold have mentioned Brave New World of all books? The promiscuity (although women were much better treated in Huxley's and far more believable), the tight cast system, but I'm sure Karr's never even read a single work by Huxley! I have no more to say on this.
8. GLBT. So are there any gays or lesbians? I expect to see rent boys running around because gays won't fall off the earth. I could easily believe those government leaders had sex with men, too. And trans? No, they're just cars.
9. AVEN. I could understand more if Nina were asexual, but no she's a heterosexual but won't have sex, which can be fine, but in the end, no. There aren't any asexuals in this book, either. No gays, lesbians, transgenders and transsexuals, hey probably even transvestites for crying out loud, asexuals, or dodo birds.
I don't consider this a feminist work. The men are sex monsters, the women are too dang submissive, and it reminds me too much of Christian stereotypes. I didn't like this at all, and it felt like it wa s written for a church.
I give this one tiny little star. I hated this book and I won't bother with the sequel.
Read instead:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
1984 by George Orwell
Heck, may as well go read Naomi Wolf for crying out loud!
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