Print is dead. Will our ability to think die with it? In the near-future, Anana Johnson works for her father at the last American dictionary still in print; all others have long ago sold out to the Word Exchange, a for-profit app for the latest smartphone-style device (the Meme) that supplies definitions for words the user doesn't know. People have grown more and more dependent on the Meme, which anticipates its users needs and desires (a memory of grandma's cookies, for example, will result in the ingredients for the cookies being automatically added to a virtual shopping cart), and some people even have the device implanted directly in their brain.
The last print edition of the dictionary is nearly raedy for publication, but then Anana's father disappears, and a strange word flu (contagious aphasia accompanied by fever) begins to spread.
I'm a little torn on how I feel about the concept of this book. On one hand, I agree with the importance of the printed word. The tactile enjoyment of a good book is highly overlooked, and there's definitely something to be said for looking at something that's not a screen, can't malfunction, and has no load time. But on the other hand, I read this book on an e-reader and am writing this review on a laptop, so there are some definite perks to technology.
Story-wise, this book moves a little too slow to keep the tension running high. Anana's a pretty cool character, a smart everywoman. Bart was interesting enough, although he kinda got on my nerves, and his voice at times seemed a little forced. I wish we'd gotten to see a little more interaction between Bart and Anana; their romance seemed inevitable but lacked a natural progression. It would've been nice to see them working out the mystery together.
The word flu was an interesting plot device, and I have to admit that unforeseen detrimental effects of our over-reliance on technology is pretty scary, as is how vulnerable we may be making ourselves if these devices are tampered with. However, the sheer number of aphasic conversations made the dialogue fairly hard to follow at times. B-
Review based on an uncorrected ARC received from NetGalley.
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