Book Review: Proxy by Alex London

Syd is a proxy. Ever since he was orphaned as a child, he’s been financially tied to Knox. Every time Knox does something wrong, it’s Syd who gets punished. But at least this way Syd can get an education and try to work his way out of debt. That is until Knox does something too big to forgive – he steals a car and kills a girl in the crash he causes, narrowly escaping death himself. But that means that Syd is essentially sentenced to sure death for a crime he had no part of. So he decides to escape. But how is he supposed to find a way out of a city that tracks his every move? And where will he go? And most of all, why is it that everyone seems so intent on finding him?

Oh Lord, where do I start? First off, I usually do not enjoy dystopian novels at all, but with Proxy, I found myself frantically turning the pages, unable to put it down because I needed to know what happened. And when I got to the end, I NEEDED A SEQUEL, ASAP!! (So if you haven’t guessed, I loved it.) Proxy is great for so many reasons. The world-building is impeccable, and it actually relates very well to the world today – especially for those of us just about to go off to college, what with all the debt and loans that come along with it. And the characters are perfect – obviously not as people, since they are all flawed in some way, but they resemble real people so much, both in their actions and thoughts. (So that means no love triangles – thank God!) And on top of that, they are diverse. Not all the characters are white and straight (as so many dystopias tend to be), and that’s so refreshing to find. So I’m pretty much just fangirling so hard right now. I strongly recommend Proxy to you, especially if you might be growing tired of dystopias – or if you love them! I’ve already read Proxy twice, and I just finished its sequel Guardian (which comes out May 29^th) and is even better (yes it’s possible!) than the first. I cannot wait to meet Alex London at TBF 2014!!!

Happy reading!
Elizabeth

Also, check out our interview with Alex London! A non-spoiler-y review of Guardian will also be coming soon!