bibliogramma (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bibliogramma) wrote2018-02-28 10:48 pm
bibliogramma) wrote2018-02-28 10:48 pm
Cindy Pon: Want
In the dystopic world of Cindy Pon’s YA novel Want, the earth is irretrievably polluted. A tiny percentage of people, the ones whose families run the Corporations, receive the benefits of wealth - genetic engineering, safe neighbourhoods, clean food, water and air. They live normal life spans, insulated from the poverty and disease which mark the short lives of the others. When they leave their clean homes, they wear designer environmental suits to protect the. From the poisoned world everyone else inhabits. In Taipei, they are known as “you” people; the poor who do the work and die from hunger and the toxic waste that surrounds them are called “mei” people.
The protagonist, Jason Zhou, is a member of an ecological activist group, mostly teenagers from a variety of class backgrounds, led by a respected scientist, Dr. Nataraj. They’ve been supporting her quest to launch legislation that might begin to reduce the pollution that chokes the island, but nothing they do has made any headway against the influence of the powerful corporations.
And then, Dr. Nataraj is murdered, her office found ransacked. The group’s hacker, Lingyi, uncovers evidence suggesting the hit was ordered by Jin Feiming, “the richest and most powerful man in Taiwan” and head of the Jin Corporation, the organisation that builds and provides the power sources for the suits that protect the wealthy from the environment around them.
A desperate plan evolves, to infiltrate Jin Corp, destroy its production facility, disabling the environmental suits and forcing the “yous” to live in the same poisoned world that everyone else does.
Pon’s dystopic thriller is a tightly plotted narrative, with a memorable setting and strongly realised characters. The non-Western setting and the multi-ethnic cast - the main characters are Chinese, Indian and Filipino - make this a welcome addition to the growing list of diverse YA literature. There’s some very kickass female characters (two of whom are queer), a romance that grows across class lines, plenty of action and suspense, and a strong message about environmental issues and corporate callousness and greed. Entertaining and thought-provoking fiction like this is something we can always use more of.
The protagonist, Jason Zhou, is a member of an ecological activist group, mostly teenagers from a variety of class backgrounds, led by a respected scientist, Dr. Nataraj. They’ve been supporting her quest to launch legislation that might begin to reduce the pollution that chokes the island, but nothing they do has made any headway against the influence of the powerful corporations.
And then, Dr. Nataraj is murdered, her office found ransacked. The group’s hacker, Lingyi, uncovers evidence suggesting the hit was ordered by Jin Feiming, “the richest and most powerful man in Taiwan” and head of the Jin Corporation, the organisation that builds and provides the power sources for the suits that protect the wealthy from the environment around them.
A desperate plan evolves, to infiltrate Jin Corp, destroy its production facility, disabling the environmental suits and forcing the “yous” to live in the same poisoned world that everyone else does.
Pon’s dystopic thriller is a tightly plotted narrative, with a memorable setting and strongly realised characters. The non-Western setting and the multi-ethnic cast - the main characters are Chinese, Indian and Filipino - make this a welcome addition to the growing list of diverse YA literature. There’s some very kickass female characters (two of whom are queer), a romance that grows across class lines, plenty of action and suspense, and a strong message about environmental issues and corporate callousness and greed. Entertaining and thought-provoking fiction like this is something we can always use more of.