“Feed”- A Different Kind of YA Novel

Ken Rodoff commented on my post yesterday with a recommendation for M. T. Anderson’s “Feed”:

Ken wrote:

“…….if you’re looking for a raw take on our tech-infused adolescents, grab yourself a copy of M.T. Anderson’s ‘Feed’. It’s YA, but it’s worth noting that it has a lot of vulgarity. Makes a nice companion piece for a unit on dystopian fiction…or with any Paco Underhill tome.”

Publishers Weekly on Amazon says:

“In this chilling novel, Anderson (Burger Wuss; Thirsty) imagines a society dominated by the feed a next-generation Internet/television hybrid that is directly hardwired into the brain. Teen narrator Titus never questions his world, in which parents select their babies’ attributes in the conceptionarium, corporations dominate the information stream, and kids learn to employ the feed more efficiently in School. But everything changes when he and his pals travel to the moon for spring break. There Titus meets home-schooled Violet, who thinks for herself, searches out news and asserts that “Everything we’ve grown up with the stories on the feed, the games, all of that it’s all streamlining our personalities so we’re easier to sell to.” Without exposition, Anderson deftly combines elements of today’s teen scene, including parties and shopping malls, with imaginative and disturbing fantasy twists. “Chats” flow privately from mind to mind; Titus flies an “upcar”; people go “mal” (short for “malfunctioning”) in contraband sites that intoxicate by scrambling the feed; and, after Titus and his friends develop lesions, banner ads and sit-coms dub the lesions the newest hot trend, causing one friend to commission a fake one and another to outdo her by getting cuts all over her body. Excerpts from the feed at the close of each chapter demonstrate the blinding barrage of entertainment and temptations for conspicuous consumption. Titus proves a believably flawed hero, and ultimately the novel’s greatest strength lies in his denial of and uncomfortable awakening to the truth. This satire offers a thought-provoking and scathing indictment that may prod readers to examine the more sinister possibilities of corporate- and media-dominated culture. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.”

I just ordered a copy from Amazon (have I mentioned how much I LOVE their used book prices and 1-click ordering? Love, love, love it) and am slightly nervous about venturing outside of my light, chick-lit YA world. All in the name of research, though! Any insight from others who have read this book?