We Are Satellites

This is the sort of near-future sci-fi that's really just one fictional innovation away from the world it was written in, and clearly used as a lens to look at ourselves. It follows one very relatable family and their challenges in adapting--and in some ways being unable to adapt--to a wave of fast social change. I identified strongly enough with each of the main characters in some way that each of their crises broke my heart a little.

The ending wrapped things up a little too neatly and I found that particularly disappointing because it broke the easy belieavability of the rest of the book. But the rest was so good that I can't hold it against book or author.

A warmly thoughtful and engaged family pulled in all directions as society's definition of "neurotypical" shifts beneath them. Seems YA in many respects, extent of conflicts and constrained depths.

I enjoyed the story of this book very much, but the writing felt weak. The dialogue was often presented as just cold back-and-forth. There was emotion in what was being said, just not in how it was written.

Blue LEDs are the absolute worst.

Seriously though: I've been in the position of worrying if my lack of a cell phone will mean I can't enter buildings anymore. I've got friends who worry about embedded computers that are keeping their hearts running, that use software that is impossible to audit or improve. I've purposefully hacked my focus (in the opposite direction as seen in this book, and without using tech or meds). So there's a lot of stuff in this book that I'm very happy to see engaged with in the way it is here. This was mostly a 5 star read for me, dinged a bit for being a bit too simplistic at the end maybe.