Gregory Scott Katsoulis

In a world where every word and gesture is copyrighted and individuals are charged for speech, Speth Jime chooses to never speak again, inspiring others to follow in her footsteps and sparking a revolution.

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Ella

when i was seventeen i learned to hate capitalism <3

mevi

** spoiler alert **
           Oh my goodness, this book had an AMAZING concept and I feel the author could have elaborated on so many things. I wish there was a 'definition' page on Placers, trademark names, what is classified as free, etc. I think the middle of the book was purely filler - nothing added, and that's why I'm going to give it 3.5/5. The ending was wrapped up too quickly, and I'm not too happy that she talked in the end because there must be several domes in America, so there is a lot more to work on (hence the 2nd book). Don't think I'm going to grab the second book, unless it's an audiobook, so I can go through it faster.

courtney garrison

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This book had me interested. I mean its entire plot is basically a world where every word or action you use, you are charged for. Imagine saying I love you to your spouse or kids and you are charged for that. Your basic right to speak freely is gone and if you have done something to break that copyright or trademark, you are takin into debt collectors. You are turned into a slave and can possibly never be free. It is truly awful to even imagine.

Your MC is Speth, yes the name is awful, but it is all her parents could afford. Every word, action, name, or trademark is owned by a company. Speth is soon turning 15 and will have her “Last Day”. Your last day is where you are given sponsors and you get a cuff put on your wrist, to track you and every word you say. Speth is on her way to her party when breecher, a boy who likes her comes up to her and kisses her. He then walks to the edge of the bridge and jumps. Speth is left watching and wonders if this world is really what it should be. Everyone is looking to her and ready to listen to her speech. She slowly does a zipper across her lips and is silent from that moment on, vowing to never talk again.

For the most part, I did enjoy this book. I have never read a book like it and it was interesting to think about. I could not imagine being charged for every word I spoke or even being charged to kiss someone. There were a few parts that were frantically weird or strange, but it’s also a different world so I wouldn’t expect to feel normal reading it.

One thing that had me kinda of cringed is the fact they printed their food. In this world real food is apparently a luxury. You had printed sheets of what they called wheatlock. All I can think of is the malnutrition and chemicals from the ink jets that printed the food. The printers also don’t work if you are not connected to the wifi. So imagine a power outage, you can eat anything unless it comes back on. You would essentially starve to death.

Overall the writing was well done and the plot had me interested. Unfortunately, there were at times moments I wanted to DNF it or just stop reading. Certain spots felt like they dragged on, some weren’t needed at all. I did enjoy the book and the premise of it. Gregory did a good job writing, I’m just not a big fan of it. I think it was way more hyped than it should have been and I was expecting more from it.

Nadine 

Clever and well crafted dystopian book on a future where words & gestures are trade marked and innovation is patented out of existence by the treat of lawsuits and counter claims. 
Excellent read for ms / HS

Eleanor Luhar

I finally got round to finishing this book a little while back, and I am so glad I did! As usual, I will avoid going into too much detail regarding the plot so as to prevent spoiling it for any potential readers.
The protagonist in this novel is Speth. Her name was chosen for it's low price - the world she lives in charges citizens for everything. After the age of 15, a special cuff tracks speech, gestures, purchases and so on, and fines the individual accordingly. It's copyrighting to the extreme. And, sadly, it really doesn't seem all that far-fetched.
On Speth's fifteenth birthday, she has her speech prepared and sponsors ready with products to advertise at her party. But a friend of hers suddenly takes a drastic move, stunning Speth into silence. And so, unintentionally, Speth begins a revolution.
Speth continues to uphold her silence, even when offered money and even attacked. Miraculously, she runs into a near-mythical group of people - the Product Placers. Nobody has ever seen them before. There is no footage of them, even in this world of constant monitoring and recording. And, even more miraculously, is that the Placers decide to help her.
Along with her own issues, Speth is trying to solve problems in her own home. Her parents have been taken to repay an old, old family debt, while her sister has been sued for looking too much like a famous actress. People - the Silents - begin to look up to her as a leader, and there are lawyers who are willing to pay good money to stop her "rebellion".
There is a lot going on in this book, as you can probably tell from this brief summary. The development of Speth's relationships is really interesting, considering she can't speak or communicate in any way. I was also really quite surprised with how the romantic plot went, honestly. And toward the end... there is a huge blow. I definitely was not expecting that to happen.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It took me a while to get round to finishing, but not because I found it tiresome or anything like that. I found myself actually struggling to put it down as I got toward the end, which sounds really cliche but is the honest truth. It was so realistic and plausible, scarily so. 5 stars for this.

Erin Russell

3.75/5 stars. Interesting concept, infuriating main character. Enjoyed the ride it took me on but may not be continuing the series.

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