LOVED the premise of this. Loved loved loved. This is worth reading for the premise alone. Loved the dynamics between the three main characters. But otherwise, this fell into the dystopian trap of having a complex solution that was hard to buy and led to an extraordinary chase, and maybe I've just been reading too many books with this formula. ( )

Syd lives in a future version of the world, in which there is an even deeper divide between the Haves (patrons) and the Have Nots (proxies). As a proxy, Syd gets punished for even indiscretion his patron, Knox, commits, until one day Knox wrecks his father's sports car, killing his date. Syd is tortured and then sentenced to 16 years in a prison camp for Knox's crime. But Syd has finally had enough and escapes, then accidentally runs into his patron, whom he has never met. Together they set off on a journey first to get Syd safely across the desert and to the relative safety of the rebel-controlled ruins of Detroit, but that goal evolves into a quest to discover if Syd really is the key to bringing down the corrupt system. Of course, they're running from The Man the entire time, and in the forefront of their pursuers is Knox's overbearing, criminal, bully of a father.

The premise is great. I generally love dystopian, running-for-their-lives type stories and characters. But this one fell a little flat for me. The pacing was too slow, maybe? I just wasn't at all on the edge of my seat where I wanted to be. The stakes seemed high enough, I guess, but the immediacy and urgency were lacking in the writing. *shrug* ( )

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.

A fast-paced, thrill-ride of novel full of non-stop action, heart-hammering suspense and true friendship—just as moving as it is exhilarating. Fans of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series, James Dashner's Maze Runner, Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking series, and Marie Lu's Legend trilogy will be swept away by this story.

Really loved this one. Think M.T. Anderson's FEED meets Lloyd Alexander's THE BLACK CAULDRON, with some queer content thrown in. I like a dystopia where tonally it seems exactly like the world we live in. Good pacing, realistic characters, killer ending that gives a satisfying conclusion to the story but made me eager to read the next book.

What didn't I like? Minor, minor things. There were some typos early in the book, and the publisher's description on the copyright page reverses the names of the main characters (doesn't anyone read that stuff?) I had a hard time believing that kids who've never seen horses could mount and ride horses that easily. That's all, everything else about this novel pleases me.

Considering that this novel is about a world destroyed by our corporate overlords, why not buy it from an independent bookstore? Check indiebound dot org. http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780399257766 ( )

Proxy reads like a dystopian retelling of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Class, luxuries, technology, medical care, debt, and housing separate the rich from the poor. I liked this book. I feel like there could be a sequel, but there doesn’t have to be. Not all questions have to be answered. All I could think about after I finished this was single words, impressions from the book. I put them in a poem. It sums up my feelings rather nicely, I think.

Proxy
delegate, envoy,
agent, representative,
Privacy

Debt
owed, interest,
fees, repayment,
Collateral

Earn
work, wages,
purchase, labor,
Deserve

Sacrifice
offering, donation,
victim, propitiation,
Jubilee
( )