As I finish up my senior year of high school, I have had some time to reflect on the year itself and how things have transpired. While it has been an up and down year in some regards, and a very stagnant year in others, this year has been much like the books that we have read this semester! All have common messages and ideas, yet they are so different in lots of ways. So let's go through the books and see where we have been taken on these journeys. Each book will get a first, and last, annual award known as the Fat Mowlers (a play of words on famous blogger Matt Fowler).
1984: By all accounts, probably the most famous dystopian novel of all time under Suzanne Collins read a few dystopian novels and said "hey I can change this slightly and make a lot of money", prompting the Hunger Games. But in all seriousness, this was a classic to start with and showed us the power of Big Brother. Technology and the government is a huge part of this class, and this book hits it right on the nose. Although written in 1949, this books seems to accurately guess where society is heading and it's not good. The important thing with this book is to stay patient because the story heats up fast. The Fatt Mowler for this award for this book is "most likely to be that book you sort of kind of remember in maybe a few years".
Feed: While we may not see cooperations as a huge enemy, in this next novel they play a huge role in literally dominating society. While the book was written in 2002, the author has an incredible conception of where technology is going. In this world, everyone has a little chip in their head and they are being shown only either what the government wants them to know, or their preference. The discussions will be focused around the power of technology and how, should we continue down the road we are on, things will get worse before they get better. One of my personal favorite events in the book is when the feed goes offline and no one is quite sure what to do with themselves. So in honor of that, The Fatt Mowler for Feed is "most likely to happen if you don't pay your electric bill ONCE, though vow never to forget again".
Life As We Knew It: If the first thing you did when you saw the cover is ask "why the heck is the moon so big", congrats! You're probably going to like this book and as the right questions while reading it. I would argue that this is the most suspenseful book of the semester, yet what makes this ironic is the characters actually don't do much. Like seriously. Read it. I know that's "not how it actually goes Matt", but this one defiantly has a different tone to it. If you like reading in the books about how the s*** goes wrong, as oppose to when it already has gone bad (like in 1984), this one will keep you on the edge of your seat. This book briefly talks about the environment (don't worry, it's not a huge theme, it only pops up when something goes wrong), so if you're into that there's something for everyone. The Fatt Mowler for this book is "most likely to be your motivation as to why it's a bad idea to live with your parents for too long".
The Handmaid's Tale: I hate to set gender relations back a few hundred years, but there's a good chance that if you read this book and you are a women, there will be a small part of you that just hate the male gender. But that's a good thing, because the events in this book are VERY shaking. But now that I've set back gender relations a few years, you get the idea of the book. This book always feels like you've hit the climax, but it keeps going. Make sure you keep up with the reading because the plot changes faster than a speed limit from getting off the highway. If you ignore it, there will be consequences . Margaret Atwood does an incredible job addressing the question of if we really should keep feminism around (yes), and the idea of HOW to change the idea of feminism comes up a lot. The Fatt Mowler for this book is "most likely to actually happen because the book doesn't involve robotic-cyborg-dragon-eating-fire-breathing-moon-monsters and actually makes some great points".
Blindness: Ho. Ly. Crap. You've got to read this book. It's chilling, it's suspenseful, it makes you sit on the edge of your seat, it's just got everything. We travel to a world where people start going blind and must come together to survive. And yet, there is one that can see among them. I really don't want to ruin this book because the ideas explored and the themes discovered are absolutely incredible. The Fatt Mowler for this book is "most likely to pick up and never put down because yes it just is that unbelievably awesome and suspenseful".
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