Proxy
Author: Alex London
Series: Proxy #1
Publisher: Philomel
Genre: YA Dystopia
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: June 18, 2013
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries
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Synopsis
from Goodreads:
Knox was born into one of the City’s wealthiest
families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest
tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox
breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced
to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is
branded and sentenced to death.
Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.
Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.
Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.
Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.
My
Review:
We start out with a typical dystopia novel. The
world has been destroyed, ravaged by radiation and natural disasters. The last
safe place is in Mountain City. The people that run the city will take you in,
for a price. These lucky refugees get a new identity, access to schools,
medical care, housing, anything they want, but it all gets stacked onto their
ledger. Only they don’t pay off the debt with currency. They pay it off with
years of service. The refugees are called Proxies and they serve the rich people
called Patrons. If a Patron breaks a law or does something bad, their Proxy
gets punished. Talk about an unfair world, especially when the majority of the
time, the refugees didn’t ask to be rescued. They were just taken into this
city without their consent, many as children.
The synopsis sounds awesome, right? What a unique
dystopia when so many seem to blend together. It does not disappoint. This book
was awesome. The plot takes off at a scorching pace. You will not be able to
stop turning the pages to find out what happens next. A lot of times when a
plot moves this quickly I feel as though there is a lack of world-building, but
this was not the case with Proxy. I
still felt like I had a concrete knowledge of what was going on in this
futuristic world and what had happened to bring it all about. London weaves
subtle details into the story that don’t clog up the novel, but provide just
enough background to satisfy his readers.
The characters are amazing. Knox is the Patron in
the story. He is a spoiled rich kid who gets away with murder. Literally. Knox
is constantly getting into trouble: vandalizing, stealing, you name it, he’s
probably done it. Although it may seem he has the perfect life, there is a
somewhat dark background story. His mother died when he was very young and his father
doesn’t act like much of a father. He works a lot and is almost never home. And
we wonder why Knox is so out of control? Something I found very interesting is
that the Patrons are forced to watch their Proxies take their punishments. Knox
has watched his Proxy get punished many times since they were both little boys.
At first it upset him, but he has become somewhat immune to it now. Knox didn’t
really change throughout the book. He continued to think only of himself and do
things only for his own selfish motivations. As much as I wanted to dislike him
though, I didn’t. He was funny and sarcastic: two things I love in a character.
I wanted Knox to grow and several times throughout the novel I thought he had.
But then he would say things like this:
“He wanted to tell her yes,
now he believed. He wanted to tell her he believed what she believed because
maybe then she’d hold his hand, maybe then she’d smile back and remind him who
he used to be. But he didn’t believe and he didn’t say yes. He just couldn’t
fake it. Instead, he shrugged. ‘I guess it doesn’t matter either way.’”
But still, a part of me felt like Knox was just too
hard on himself. That maybe he was denying his true feelings. But that’s just
my opinion.
Knox’s Proxy, Syd is amazing. I loved him so much. (Sidenote:
All of the refugees brought in are given a new name that the system pulls from
old books. Syd’s full name is Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities. There are other characters like Atticus Finch
and Tom Sawyer. I thought this was such a cool way to make reference to some
beloved classics.) Syd is an orphan and refugee and he got unluckily paired
with Knox. Many refugees continue to spend credit on things like medical
upgrades (new contacts, hair color, skin color, etc.), but Syd refuses. He is
very careful about not accruing any more debt. He wants to complete the years
of service he owes and then free himself.
Syd brings diversity to this book which I loved. He
is described as having dark skin and he is also gay. I don’t feel like there is
enough diversity in books these days, so was excited to see it here. Syd is a
really strong character; he has to be after taking Knox’s punishments since he
was four years old. He takes the punishments willingly until his Patron
accidentally kills someone and Syd is going to be sent to jail, which is
basically a death sentence for him. He decides to take matters into his own
hands and runs.
In a strange turn of events, he ends up meeting Knox
and they run together to try and beat the system. Something I liked about Syd
was his unwillingness to trust anyone. It made him believable. Someone in his
situation shouldn’t trust anyone and he didn’t. As much as I loved Syd, he did
have flaws. He was cynical, which was understandable, but Syd only cares about
one thing: keeping himself alive. Even when he is presented with opportunities
to save others, he chooses himself and continues to run. In this respect, I
felt like he and Knox were very similar. That being said, he does develop and
change a lot throughout the book, making me fall in love with him even more.
Let’s talk about my favorite thing. Plot twists.
Holy crap. There was literally a plot twist in like every other chapter. Things
I never saw coming. I was constantly going “what????” or “no!!!” In addition to
the plot twists, this book had so many feels. It ripped my heart out. After I
finished I closed the book and cried. It was such a heart-breaking story about
a boy who was sentenced to an unfair life and another who is struggling to
understand just how unfair that life is. This book is about friendship and
loyalty. It’s about self-preservation and sacrifice. This book blew my mind. If
you like dystopias this is a must-read. I highly recommend it. You will not
regret picking up this book. It will grab onto you from the first page until
the last. Happy reading all!
I've been on the fence about this book for some reason, but I think I'm going to have to read it now. Great review! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteYou should! I really liked it! One thing I didn't mention in the review though, mostly bc it ended up not being a really big deal is that the POV is kind of confusing at first. We start with alternating POV between Syd and Knox, but when they meet it switches to 3rd person omniscient. It wasn't that a big deal, but when it first switched I was a little confused. But compared with how good the book was, I quickly forgot about it!
DeleteLoved this book, exactly what I was looking for in a long time!
ReplyDeleteI did too! It was a really unique dystopian!
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