Proxy

By: Alex London

Narrated by: Andrew Sweeney

The adventure novel of the year! Inspired by The Whipping Boy and Feed, this adrenaline-fueled thriller will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games for its razor-sharp insights into the nature of human survival and its clever writing.

Knox was born into one of the City's wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want - the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox's. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox's father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys' resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

A fast-paced, thrill-ride of novel full of non-stop action, heart-hammering suspense and true friendship - just as moving as it is exhilarating. Fans of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series, James Dashner's Maze Runner, Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking series, and Marie Lu's Legend will be swept away by this story.

©2013 Alex London (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"I fell in love with this story from the first sentence to the final, epic page. London is a force to be reckoned with." (Marie Lu, author of the Legend trilogy)

“A fast-paced dystopian novel which should appeal to readers of the Hunger Games." (VOYA)

"Not only is Proxy an edge-of-your-seat literary thrill ride, it’s an important and groundbreaking novel as well...London has crafted a true tour de force." (Matt de la Peña, author of Mexican White Boy)

loved this book

I wonder why I've never heard of this before. I loved this book! The MC really grabbed my heart. He's not your typical YA antagonist but a wonderful character to get to know. I recommend this book to any YA reader no matter how old they are. (I am one of the oldest YA readers I know.)

I liked it.

Quite good, if you like futuristic post apocalyptic stuff.
I could definitely sense something allegorical going on but it's also good if you're not the literary analysis type.
I'm pretty sure there were some religious overtones.
One of the main characters is LGBT+ but the plot doesn't revolve around it at all, he's just casually gay.
Some of the characters sound like surfer dudes but that's their accents based on where they're from.
I don't know what it is but something felt off about the writing style. It doesn't affect the story, it just feels like some vague second hand awkwardness.
All of this said, I'd been looking to read this book since a couple of years ago and I was not disappointed at all. It lived up to it's hype and kept me hooked. I couldn't stop listening until it was over. If I had to put it any other way, it feels like Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) and Elysium (Movie) had a baby and this is it.

Strong characters, simplistic but enjoyable plot

It seems perhaps foolish to chastise a children's book for having a plot that feels overly simplistic and that's why I still rated this story so highly. It has a great dialogue dealing with concepts of capitalism and socialism well developed characters that critic the way female, people of color, and queer characters are often written about. I very much enjoyed the way Knox's character seems to be exploring concepts of romantic attraction vs sexual attraction at a level that is understandable and relatable to young audiences!

Skeptical but then enthralled.

Any additional comments?

Honestly, I just want Audible to hurry up and put the second book on here.

Teara

This book will have you crying in the club, be forewarned. Performance could be better but I enjoyed it very much.

Harmful attempt at diversity

A Black gay main character whose only “romantic” moments are kisses with a straight white boy. A Black man’s locs initially described as “snakes.” These characterizations and descriptions are reductive and harmful, and definitely decreased my ability to enjoy this book.

Very good.

I finished it in 1 day because it was good. *Spoiler* It was sad when Nox died. 😭

Decent

I've been looking for books that include LGBT main characters without the book specifically being about their orientation. This book is definitely in the category I enjoy!

Amazing

Loved the narrator, loved the story, loved everything! This story is perfect for people who love sci-fi and I thought it was well written.

Interesting idea, but not very realistic

If you could sum up Proxy in three words, what would they be?

Easy, fun, illogical

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The general idea of proxies is interesting, but there were many instances where things happened that simply would and could never happen. I mean, I'm all for suspension of disbelief in stories, but I like the story to stick to the rules it sets for its universe. There were moments during this book when I was actually saying, "oh, come ooonnn!" out loud. That being said, if you allow yourself to just get over these inconsistencies, this is certainly a fun listen.

What does Andrew Sweeney bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Andrew does a wonderful job. I always love listening to a book where the narrator is a guy (or girl), but I don't even notice when they are reading the characters who are the opposite sex. Andrew is one of those narrators. He creates a voice for each character, but none of them are so over the top that they distract from the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

There were a few times when I kept listening even after I got out of the car during particularly exciting parts.

Any additional comments?

This is an intriguing idea, and I did enjoy myself overall. One of my favorite things about this book is that the main character is gay but the story isn't about him being gay. His homosexuality is simply a part of who he happens to be. In that regard, this book is ahead of its time.