I'm very surprised that I enjoyed this book. Firstly, I rarely ever like science fiction books, and two, the cover looked boring. Although there are some cases that this isn't true, this is certainly a case where you should not judge a book by its cover.

This book is about a boy named Spaz who is a "normal" and meets an gummy (aka an old person) named Ryter. Together, they embark on a journey across lands controlled by different vicious gangs to take a look at Spaz's sister one last time after they were separated from each other. On their way, they meet a really nice "proov" (yes, this must sound weird, but you'll understand once you read the story) named Lanaya who lives in Eden, a place where genetically improved (hence the name "proov") people live. Well I can't reveal any more or it would pretty much be a spoiler, although I have no idea what there is to spoil, as there is no superbly "spoilable" ending here, but the ending is both wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time.

I found that this book seemed a lot like Fahrenheit 451, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones put into one. However, I'm sure that many people will find this book interesting. And personally, I thought this seemed way less gory than The Body of Christopher Creed, which was the previous book I read and was assigned for my summer reading list.

I read this waaaay back in elementary school and have been trying to remember the title for a few years now. Happenstance happened and here we finally are! I think I'm going to reread it soon.

So... I've already failed at my New Year's Sci Fi Resolution, which is to read real, 100% bonified Science Fiction instead of getting taken in by YA and fantasy and every other tom dick and harry book with sci fi themes. But this one pushes all my farenheit 451ish buttons! And, bonus, it's actually good. A bit formulaic but still thoughtful and well-written with 3-dimensional characters. Doesn't give any easy answers. I would fault it for inventing annoying slang, but I think I previously exempted futuristic scifi scenarios from that particular pet peeve, so it gets a pass.

Glad to reread this one for discussion, because I had forgotten so much of the story! Fast-paced and interesting, this is a scary envisioning of a post-apocalyptic future... great for fans of Westerfeld's "Uglies" books, or Lowry's "The Giver" series.

2½

An intersting look at a world where there are no longer books or really any sort of stable civilization.