Veronica's Reviews > Braintown

Building on the Alice in Wonderland framework, Laura Hernandez creates a dystopian world ruled by a dictator and where girls are raised, no bred, to be trophy wives. Alice immediately does not fit in to her world and you are left to wonder how she has survived this long. She speaks her mind and as most teen feminist characters gets herself in trouble. Except in Braintown this can lead to death. After a tragic accident in a plastic surgery machine (a press of a button gives the teens dimensions that would topple even Barbie), Alice stumbles upon a path that changes her life.

A mix of Alice in Wonderland, The Matrix, and a Gender and Women's Studies class, Braintown works as a YA. But it is too heavy with Alice's feminist awakening for someone who has studied the field. Some YA novels are for adults, this is definitely for teens who are new to feminist thought.

The story was uneven and I felt the conclusion was a bit rushed, but the journey was worth it.