Bluescreen, by Dan Wells

Bluescreen by Dan Wells takes place in Los Angeles, 2050 where almost everything is digital. Marisa Carneseca is a sixteen year old hacker and gamer who lives in Mirador, where on regular days she helps around in her family's restaurant and plays “Overworld” with friends. However, on days not-so-normal, she is on a mission to save thousands of lives from a digital drug called “Bluescreen”, a drug that corrupts people's minds and turns them into a puppet for a master yet to be named.

When I first read this book I was under the impression of this being just another ordinary, typical, dystopian novel. I was wrong. Throughout the story I have developed deep thoughts about whether or not the storyline would be true in the future or not. The novel "Bluescreen" represents how technology can mess with an individual’s mind, but also benefit it in a certain way. I think this is significant because it shows that the more you rely on technology, the more you are likely to lose connection and fade away from the real world. However, that doesn't mean it's going to ruin your life. In most stories that involve ideas like this, the characters are clueless and think that this is just part of life while the readers are shown the “bad side” of that lifestyle. However, this is not true in Bluescreen. At some point of the story Marisa realizes how attached everyone has become to digital life, but instead of portraying this as something bad, she uses her knowledge as an advantage. The variety of books available to people each have different perspectives on certain topics. Therefore, this helps people look at these topics from different viewpoints, which evolves society as a whole.

Reviewed Ellen S., Grade 9

Glendale Central Library