We all have little white lies. In fact, in basic British/American culture, you are taught to tell them, to be polite. The baby is ugly, and you fawn over it. The dress is out of date, and doesnl’t flatter, and you find a nice thing to say about it. The hairstyle doesn’t suit the person who loves it, and you agree with them.

So, the basis of this book is to get rid of these lies, as well as the half-truths, the full on lies, and most importantly, the lies told by politicians. This is a dystopian future, where the US and the Russians have had a war, and lost a lot of cities and people. The current president has control of the news media, and the country is in ruins, not because of the war, but because of something the Russians did, after the war, taking over the backend of the banking system, and ruining the economy. So, Sam, and his friends, want to earn money, and decide to develop a device that will make people tell the truth.

It was a well written, believable story. I kept wondering where it was going to all end up, which is a good thing, a good sort of suspense to have. The tech was all beliebvable, as was the state of the country.

The teenagers seemed human, as did the adults. My only problem with the book, if it could be called a problem was how close we were to the type of politicians in this book, of the type of propaganda. Very chilling. I suppose the best dystopian stories are like that, believable, and too close to home.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I personally am not a fan of this book, but others may love it. It’s quirky and has a decent foundation but I wasn’t able to really connect with it on any level.

The idea  of a Truth App makes for a thought-provoking plot, and the author does an admirable job of going beyond the initial benefits, exposing corrupt government official, greedy companies, etc., and exploring the darker ramifications of such an invention.  Outcomes that don't immediately spring to the surface when considering what a truthful society would look like.  For me, this was the best part of the book.

What didn't work as well for me was the underdevelopment of the characters.  Although Sam undergoes a change in his overall arc, most of the characters feel one-dimensional.  In some cases, I had to double check who was talking because they seemed interchangeable at times.   

This is a quick read with some cool sci-fi elements (bionic limbs!) and intriguing ideas and concepts, but the characters prevented me from being totally invested in the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

I found this disappointing. I've really enjoyed McIntosh's books in the past, but this felt like nothing special. The world building wasn't that interesting, the plot wasn't that interesting, and the characters felt like ciphers. There were parts I liked, but overall it wasn't particularly memorable and I don't think it'll stick with me.

This was a Netgalley book.
This book was just okay for me. The character I liked the best was killed off early in the book. Sam is 17 and seems to be the leader of the group. He does and says some things that are offensive, however he is quite immature at the start of the book. The setting is a future where the economy has collapsed. The government and most law officials are corrupt, it really isn't totally unrealistic. Sam and his group of friends come up with an idea for a portable lie detector and with each of them being super smart and having there own skill to pull it off, they manage to do it. The government finds out and tries to buy them out. The group declines and that's why Theo was killed, he was a warning to the kids that they needed to sell.
This book is about a boy coming of age. A community coming together to take down a corrupt government. Making a new life.
The story was okay, as soon as I was done with this one it was forgotten.

The Future Will Be BS Free was an amazing read, and that is not BS. In a dystopian future, the global economy has collapsed in a way that has reduced most of the people to homelessness. There aren't jobs for most people, the police and government are corrupt, and there is almost nothing positive going on in the world.

When the local gifted and talented high school is eliminated, Sam and his group of friends decide to take some technology they had found and create a portable lie detector. Most of them are in it to get rich, but Theo, the heart of their group, is wanting to create a better world. They finally get their prototype working, and right away they have a buyer. He offers them millions of dollars for all of their research, and a guarantee that they will not recreate their work. When they refuse, Theo turns up dead and the pressure is increased. It becomes a race against time, and against some powerful people. Can Sam and his friends finish their device and get it out to the public before they're stopped? If no one can lie, how will society survive?

This book was well written, and had an incredible pace. While almost everything was fully fleshed out, there was plenty of action to keep everything moving. It was odd to see how much happened to make the world worse with the kids' invention, which was a great change from most dystopian YA novels. There were definitely negative responses to what they did, and the main characters had to deal with the fallout of their invention. Their group made tough choices and definitely did things that the "heroes" in stories do not normally do. But when your world is BS free, everyone's faults come out, I guess.

Read this book. Join the revolution. Find your truth.

This book follows Sam and his close group of friends through the development, production, and consequences of creating a portable lie detection test. They name it the Truth App. The Truth App begins as a way for them to create a product so the people can have something to fight against their corrupt government. All the propaganda and "news" is created by President Vitnik. They want to expose the lies they are being fed to the entire country. When they get it out into the world, they realize telling the truth comes with consequences they hadn't realized.
This was such an interesting read. I really enjoyed that it lead you through all stages of getting the Truth App out into the world. Everything in this book, I could see happening. It was kind of scary and shocking. Lost a star because I wish their had been more conflict between the group and Vitnik. Otherwise, really enjoyed it.

The concept is interesting, but in many ways, the characters seemed so rote and predictable.

The plot is a winner; the characters are secondary. If you read The Future Will Be BS Free with this in mind, you'll have a good time. True, it's another teen-saves-the-world sci-fi action adventure, but it's also thought-provoking. My favorite line in the book is, "Secrets aren't the same as lies." Here's the true moral dilemma faced by the characters, as well as by the government, as well as by the reader. The intriguing aspects of their invention are if technology has the ability to differentiate between a lie and a secret, and how soon in the future could this become our reality. Even though the details of why and what kind of war there was are vague, that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the cyborg aspect of the characters that evolved from the back story. They were fun, tough underdogs, and I found myself rooting for them - especially because these cyber-enhanced characters had more personality than the main, teen characters. Don't let the underdeveloped teen characters deter you from sitting back and enjoying the tension - both in action in in morality.

If you’re going to read The Future will be BS Free, it’s important to remember that our main character is a sexually frustrated teenaged boy. He’s poor. His mother is disabled. The girl he loves (his best friend) doesn’t love him back. And the future seems to hold exactly nothing for him. You won’t always like the things Sam does (some of them are just awful), but you’ll eventually like *him* just fine.

Will McIntosh brings us a mix of near future SF and a coming of age story that resonates. Sam and his friends create something that will change the world. And, to be truthful, while some of Sam’s friends are thinking about the good of humanity, Sam is thinking about money. Money so they have heat and regular food. Money so they can live in place where the police won’t steal his money and bully him for being out after curfew. Money to get his mom new legs and maybe change their lives completely.

Their invention does change the world, but in ways maybe more horrible than wonderful. And suddenly, the consequences of their invention are deadly.

McIntosh forces the reader to confront their own secrets and to ask if truth is freeing or devastating. And the answer isn’t easy.

As for Sam, he finally grows up, but faces a lot of horrors doing so and he faces up to his past behavior.

I liked the book, but I’m not quite ready to confess all my secrets to the world…yet.

<b>I came out to have a good time right now and I honestly feel so attacked right now.</b> Here I was, thinking this would be a deep, slightly parodied view on Putin-esque America, along the lines of <i>Animal Farm</i>, but this is a strong lesson in why I try to <b>never get my hopes up</b> when it comes to books. What this book actually is is a bunch of annoying, cookie-cutter teenagers with a main character who makes me want to jump out a window.

The world-building was,,,,,, actually pretty good! I was reading it and thinking that this is what America may actually be in a few years under a certain president who shall remain nameless. And the writing! Also pretty good! If this book had been all writing and world-building I probably a) would have finished it, and b) would have given it a solid three stars! Nothing special but all-around good.

Now it’s time to get messy. (trigger warning for bulimia mention and sexual harassment)

The main character, Sam, drove. me. up. the. wall. I wasn’t a fan of him, and was therefore not a fan of the book. One sentence that stood out to me in particular went like this, <blockquote><i>”Rebe was overweight, but in the right places."</i></blockquote> a) get this fatphobic crap out of my face, b) this doesn’t even make sense. This is so gross. Why would you even say that? And can we talk about how the 1 (one) overweight character has an eating disorder? That’s so gross and such a bad, bad stereotype that Rebe would be the one character who isn’t happy with the way her body looks. I have no idea how crap like this is still being published, but I’m honestly just so tired of it. Ugh. And what are the “right” places to be overweight?? Why is the MC sexualizing one of his platonic friend’s bodies, anyway? I want this book to please go away and never look at me again.

But, believe it or not, that gross statement was not the worst thing that happened. I probably would have kept reading if that had been the only problematic statement, because, hey, maybe it’s all a part of the MC’s character arc!! But honestly there is another capital-H Horrible thing that the MC said and I just,,,,,,, what the <i>hell</i>.

So there’s this girl, Molly, that the main character likes, and they used to be best friends and one time when they were video-chatting she thought that she had hung up at the end of the conversation, but hadn’t,,,, and Sam, the main character,,,,,, <b>MUTED HIS END OF THE LINE AND WATCHED HER IN HER BEDROOM FOR TWO HOURS LIKE SOME CREEPY ASSHOLE AND I’M SORRY FOR SWEARING BUT WTF WTF WTF</b> and not only <i>that</i> but she <b>TOOK A SHOWER AND HE WATCHED HER AND DIDN’T EVEN HANG UP THE VIDEO MESSAGE LIKE SERIOUSLY WHAT KIND OF CREEP</b> and he didn’t hang up. <b>HE DIDN’T HANG UP.</b>

And <i>supposedly</i> *eye roll* he felt really bad about it after, but,,, he never told her,,, and never apologized for it,,,, and when he’s talking about it in the exposition he “had to cross his legs just thinking about it.” Awful and guilty, my eye. If he felt bad about it after he would have TOLD HER about it and APOLOGIZED PROFUSELY but noooooOOOOOoOooOoooo he just feels entirely justified in his creepiness. It’s just,,,, so out of line. And we’re supposed to feel bad for this chap??? Screw you, Sam. Take your 5’5”, only shaves twice a week frame and get out of my face. I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you.<blockquote><img src="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/be/2e/73/be2e73816f3890cde8d94a2e60981859.jpg" width="700" height="300" alt="description"/></blockquote>
In conclusion, I would skip this one. Hey, maybe the bad things will be changed in the finished copy (please,,,, let them be changed in the finished copy),,, and then it might be a worthwhile book to read, but for now, it’s, uh, not good. At all. Honestly, I would rather read a poorly written book with flat characters and no plot that has stunning diversity and body positivity and no creepy characters who enjoy sexually harassing their friends than horse-crap like this.

I received a free ARC for NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I found the narrative disjointed and hard to follow. It also seemed like Millennial Entitled indulgent whining to me.
Younger crowd may find it enjoyable. I did not.