Ginny Frost 
Want by Cindy Pon
fulfilled the category “Book
about a Social Justice Issue” for the PopSugar 2021 Reading Challenge.
I also read The Vanishing
Half by Brit Bennett after I finished the first title. I’d hoped for a less obvious
plot. The novel was good. But if I reviewed it, I’d be rehashing topics I’ve
already discussed on the blog. With Forbidden, though the period is earlier,
the topic of passing as white is a central part of the conflict. In The
Vanishing Half, there’s more family, sexual identity, and other racial
issues. But I didn’t care for the ending. Too much seemed unresolved. Plus,
being a white suburbanite, I’m not sure it’s my place to do more than listen
and learn about race issues. Oh, and fix my inner biases. So, I will keep
reading books such as this.
Anyway, Want was an altogether
different story. The plot takes place in the future in an environmentally
savaged Taipei. In this bleak environment, the rich can shake off the worries about
destroying the planet by purchasing products to ignore them. In the city, the
poor struggle to breathe and find adequate health care in the smog-filled
streets. The break between the haves and have-nots is enormous. They even use
these terms in everyday speech.
A small group of environmentally
conscious teens decides to take on the big corporation that sells the breathing
suits. Jason Zhou transforms himself into a You (pronounced yo), one of the
rich, to infiltrate the company. Along the way, he discovers romance,
corruption, and an evil plot.
As a sci-fi suspense book, Want
has all you need. I hesitated to use it for the blog because at times the plot
was contrived. (Says the romance writer, forgive me.) Like my last choice, the
author seemed to go one step too far in building conflict. It’s felt like, “Hey, all this
bad stuff and now a romance. OMG, and then… wait, there’s more.” Too much
coincidence and contrivance for my taste.
But the concepts used by the
author to build her setting were amazing. The world-building is spectacular,
detailed, and very plausible. Which makes it also a bit scary—the use of a devastated
environment as setting. We could be in the same situation in twenty or thirty
years if we keep this up. If we don’t
take care of this planet, we will kill ourselves off.
Also, the issues about socio-economic
differences highlight a real-world problem. We are beginning to see the scope in
the United States. The uber-rich plan flights into space rather than invest in
green and renewable resources for this planet. Millions of people struggle to
survive working several jobs. One health care disaster and they could be on the
street. While the rich play and play and play, indifferent to the struggle of
others.
The future Ms. Pon shows us is absolutely
achievable if we don’t change
our actions and attitudes quickly.
I give Want by
Cindy Pon Four Calla Lilies.