Feed

Feed

Anderson, M. T. (2002). Feed. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

Feed is a futuristic novel where space travel is a common thing and manners are not. People’s brains are implanted, most of the time at birth, with a direct feed which can be compared to the way Google tracks our interests and then displays ads suited to them. Titus and Violet are teenagers from very different backgrounds—Titus is the typical privileged kid whose life IS the feed and Violet is not.  Violet is the girl from “the wrong side of the tracks” and was raised by a father who is the futuristic version of the anti-establishment type and didn’t allow Violet to have her feed installed at birth, both because they couldn’t afford it and because he didn’t believe in them.  When their feeds are hacked by a lunatic, Titus and Violet find themselves on a path that both drives a wedge between them and pulls them closer together with Violet constantly questioning the feed and its effects and ultimately causing Titus to question everything he’s ever been comfortable with.  For multiple reasons, Violet’s feed is killing her and Titus is incapable of dealing with her situation until the very end.  While I did not care for Feed, it does deliver a strong message about the need to question and think for ourselves and points out the reality of our culture today.  Readers would need to be able to delve into the unknown and think abstractly in order to appreciate Feed.