genre: graphic novel
In this spare yet chilling graphic novel, America as we know it has collapsed under the weight of giant machines and virtual reality headsets that first addict you and then slurp your brainpower. Or, something like that. The text leaves a lot of room for interpretation, so much so that along with the illustrations, our brains get to fill in the gaps in the story ourselves and the story is a sad one. The illustrations are so gripping and I love the images of the little robot who is journeying with our main character, Michelle, as she tries to get somewhere. We aren't sure why she's going where she's going until much later in the book and when we do, I was sincerely surprised in the best of ways.
I got this from the library because I saw that a new Netflix movie was coming out based on it. This book gave me so much to think about and my twelve year old son, that also read it, had SO many thoughts about it. It is a bit harsh and maybe he was a tiny bit too young for it (a few explicit sentences and several possibly upsetting illustrations) but I'm glad I let him give it a try. For kids growing up in a world of iphones and VR headsets, allowing your brain to go down the slippery slope of what might happen in a world were "virtual" becomes more important than "reality"can be a really important exercise.
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