3 stars but still recommending it! I really thought this was going to be at least a four star read but it didn’t quite get there. I enjoyed the speculation about what the near future might hold. I see this book as a story about the time before dystopia fully takes hold, and how a plucky group of youngsters try to use their positions in the institutions leading the world there to avoid the final plunge. It’s all about subversion and potential revolution. Although there are mentions of a climate crisis, the story is most interested in a how social media might evolve in this proto-dystopian world, and the many permutations - pure entertainment, unapologetic product promotion, and even political movements - it might take. I’m not sure it quite gets to where it wants to go. There’s a joke about 1/3 through about a self help seminar the protagonist calls “Desi Power Chakra” (if you don’t know what desi is look it up before reading this book). It has to do with making your enemies think you’re friends and being three steps ahead of everyone, and that idea plays into the climax. But it seems the book might be three steps ahead of itself. So many things are brought up and almost get to something, but nothing gets resolved or returned to once the plot moves past it. It’s a shame because if any one of those themes had come to a resolution, I would likely have had only good things to say about the book, even if a few were still left floating. But to not use any of them seems like a lack of structure. Perhaps that’s meant to reflect the state of India, the constant push towards revolution and innovation but so much remaining the same. If it was intentional, it didn’t work for me. Still there was a lot of interesting ideas and I’m sure I’ll be thinking about it for a while.