A wild wild book. Not sure it’ll be for everyone but it includes a dystopian climate crisis, a tv show of the past, and a future where language is cut short where the mc witnesses a shooting. I didn’t always know what was going on but the twist of what the tv show represents was great.

Published by Pantheon on February 13, 2024

Sometimes, after the fifth or sixth time I’ve said to myself “I’m not sure I like this book,” I stop reading it. I persevered with Plastic. A mix of engaging moments and wtf moments convinced me that my continued attention was warranted, but in the end, my reaction remains: I’m not sure I like this book.

Erin seems to be living in a television show, or perhaps she views her life that way. Chapters start with “In this scene,” followed by a description of Erin’s activities, presumably narrated by Erin. She watches a popular television show (Nuclear Family, a show about post-apocalyptic teen angst in which some of the characters are waffles or robots) and talks to friends about their membership in the Church of Divine Acceptance, a pseudo-religion that equates faith with technology (“No God or weird stuff there.”).

Conjugations of “to be” and other bits of conventional sentence structure have disappeared in Erin’s post-apocalyptic world (“How Owen doing? He back home now?” is answered “He just get out hospital”), although Erin speaks fluidly when she narrates her life. The language change seems odd given that kids still play Marco Polo (words that seem more likely to disappear than “is” and “of”). But the kids are made of plastic, so any additional oddness is comparatively easy to accept.

Ah yes, the plastic. Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier. Erin and her friends are plastic “figurines.” Maybe they only feel like they are plastic (a final scene suggests they might really have skin made of flesh), although they repair injuries to their bodies with Wound Glue. They seem human in most other respects, including the pleasure they take in alcohol, drugs, and sex. Erin sometimes orders a Hot Date when she wants to get laid, although her Smartbody can give her an equivalent experience with a virtual hookup.

Erin spent her inheritance on a Smartbody to help her avoid the reality of terrorism, global warming (the “heat leap”) caused by burning chicken bones as fuel, and the aftermath of a nuclear conflict. She escapes into a virtual reality called Smartworld.

Erin uses virtual reality to recreate Patrick, who died in front of her in a high school terrorism incident. She even gives herself a virtual pregnancy until she becomes angry and clicks the menu for a virtual abortion. Later in the story, Erin will develop a relationship with Jacob, a blind figurine.

Erin’s sister disappeared a terrorist bombing. Her father died of Brad Pitt disease (and perhaps of a broken heart after his boyfriend left him). In the virtual world, Erin receives unwanted warnings that caution her to avoid terrorist attacks. She suspects she knows the source of the warnings but doesn’t want to confirm her suspicions. On the other hand, not reporting the warnings will have its own consequences, including (at the least) being placed on a watch list by the oppressive government that tries to keep everyone under constant surveillance. That’s easy when people spend most of their lives getting high and living in a virtual world.

My impression is that Scott Guild excelled in creative writing classes. Plastic is certainly creative, but the novel feels like a series of gimmicks — interesting gimmicks, to be sure — that never quite cohere into a whole that is equal to, much less greater than, the sum of its parts. I didn’t become absorbed in the reality that Guild built, perhaps because I never quite saw its point. The metaphor of people living plastic lives seems a bit obvious. Still, Plastic might encourage readers to see quasi-religion, the risks of totalitarian government, terrorism, virtual reality, and the other topics that animate the story in a new light. Barring that, the story has some entertainment value, even if it doesn’t promote emotional engagement with its plastic characters.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

I am ending my NetGalley journey with the book Plastic by Scott Guild at 25%, not because I don't like the story, but because the barrier to read a story like Plastic is a step too high. What I mean by that is the writing style. I understand why Scott Guild would chose to write an AI like world in short script, weird grammar and sentence structures that miss entire words; it fits the story and again, it's a good story. But, for a reader like me, who needs the correct spelling and those missing words, it's not an easy read. I've chosen to switch to the audiobook version before writing my Goodreads review because again, I like the story, but this book is quite-literally not written so every single person can read it.

Side note, I don't have dyslexia but my daughter does. I asked her to read a chapter. She physically couldn't get through it. In the future, that may be something to think about.

This book was so odd...

I am a huge fan of what other people would consider "weird" books but this one was just too much. Having to read from these non-human characters with intentional broken English throughout the ENTIRE book was, to put it simply, insufferable. Would have been less annoying if there was less dialogue, but there was A TON of dialogue. The plot was also just not interesting to me and felt so disconnected, especially with the changes in narrative.

The only reason I am giving this 2 stars instead of a 1 star rating is because of originality. I commend Scott Guild for writing something unlike anything I have ever read before, however I am not sure it paid off in the end unfortunately.

This book is very interesting. Dystopian Barbie with an ecoterrorism twist. I’m not sure it feels entirely flushed out, though. Kind of a lot of topics shoved into one not-too-long book, which I do like because I feel like books have been too long and not edited enough these days, but I have to say I could have taken a bit more of this story overall. I got a little lost in the middle and felt like there were kind of a lot of characters to keep track of. But overall this book was super interesting and it would make a super epic miniseries or movie.

Plastic is a wildly creative and unique book that manages to do so much through its absurdist premise. It’s bizarre, entertaining, and somehow it works. Thank you to Netgalley for the early review copy, Plastic is available now!

I don’t even know if I can describe the plot in a way that does it justice. Erin is a plastic “figurine” who lives in a dystopian, technologically-advanced and seemingly superficial world. But this world is a lot darker than it seems. An eco terrorist group is at large, and bombings are frequent—all of the characters have experienced the loss of a loved one, including Erin. Erin also has a secret. Her sister, Fiona, who ran away when Erin was in high school, is one of the main leaders of the terrorist group. Erin deals with the recent loss of her father and her anger at her sister by escaping into virtual reality worlds and obsessing over her favorite TV show, Nuclear Family. This is where it gets weird: the figurines only eat boiled chicken, there is a race of waffle people—yes, people who are literally waffles—and Erin breaks out into song every couple of chapters.

Each chapter is also framed as a tv show episode, complete with descriptions of camera angles and musical numbers. The dialogue is also jarring—the figurines speak to each other in an imaginary future dialogue of English that mimics text messaging, consisting of dropped nouns and babyish slang (blummo for sad, for example).

All this takes a bit to get used to as a reader, and I resented the characters at first for seeming like such airheads. But this book is as dark as it is comedic, and by the end, even the question of why each chapter is framed like a tv show episode is answered.

Tackling big topics like eco terrorism, technology, climate change, grief, trauma and more, Plastic will undoubtedly go down as one of the most surprising and memorable books I’ve ever read.

And apparently you can listen to the songs from the book on Spotify!

Plastic was weird and fun and dark all at the same time. My brain kinda hurts after reading this, but I imagine I will not stop thinking about this book for a long time. This was BIZARRE, but I love bizarre, and I loved Plastic.

I do not know quite what I was expecting when I started reading Plastic, but it was not what I thought. It is weird, dystopian, and unique. Erin is a girl made of plastic, living in a plastic world (envision Barbie, but not really- all is plastic, but not fantastic). She works at a mall at Tablet Town and on her way in one day, a bomb goes off. This is part of a string of eco-terrorist incidents plaguing the country. She answers a call of distress on her phone app and meets Jacob, a blind man who has just lost is mother in the attack. Erin and Jacob form a strong bond, through mostly a virtual world, where they wear Smartbodies. While in this virtual world, Erin is being sent messages about an upcoming large ecoterrorist attack. She tries to evade these warnings, as she does not want to get caught up in activities. You see, her sister has a history with these group and coordinated a bomb while she was in college, and since then Erin and her father have been shunned and are under surveillance.

This book is a unique blend of almost satire with a dystopian future. At times it all appears as a bit absurd, while at others, very relatable. I think this one may be polarizing for folks. I do not know what to think about the ending. Additionally, when the characters speak to one another it's in a shorthand almost like texting. This is interspersed with Erin's monologues to the audience which are not using that shorthand. Oh, and characters break out in song? This was an odd one, but way to swing for it on your debut, Scott Guild!

Thank you to Pantheon via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC! This is probably one of the most bizarre / enticing novels I've read, but it is soooo insanely good.

In a post-Barbie movie landscape, the premise of plastic dolls operating perfunctorily in their fictitious, synthetic world sounds alluring and innocuous. But Scott Guild delivers something far more complex, using his artificial characters and their plastic world and silly abbreviated dialogue as an apparatus for a message so intensive that its execution is almost comical. Guild writes of ecoterrorist groups, massacres, gun violence, climate change, grief, loss, and everything under the sun, all while crafting some ridiculous aspects of this plastic world (e.g., only eating boiled chicken, Brad Pitt Disease???). The entire time I was reading this book, I couldn't help but think how I shouldn't be laughing, how unfunny this should be just based on the plot points. But this novel's humor is as unending as its gravity. There's something so remarkable about Guild's writing and the way it so easily allows for dichotomy between utter sincerity and absurdism.

This is an instant classic for me. The insanity and creativity of this book intersected so spectacularly that reading this was like watching a supernova. The last quarter of the book was unputdownable — the pace, the twists, the writing were all perfectly aligned. By the end, I felt like I was being turned inside out and then put into a washing machine. I would highly recommend going into this book blind!!!

"Plastic" delivers an absurdist narrative with impeccable world-building. Guild's talent shines through, crafting a captivating story that navigates themes of climate change, politics, and love. Despite initial doubts about the language, the seamless connection between characters and scenes left me spellbound. This innovative novel is a must-read, leaving a lasting impression that lingers long after the final page.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐭 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐉𝐨𝐫𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞 & 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐫𝐨𝐧
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

Thank you Pantheon for my #gifted copy of Plastic!

I’ll start by saying I don’t usually read dystopian or science fiction novels. With that said, I really found Plastic to be engaging, sometimes funny, and profound. I found the premise brilliant and really appreciated how this was laid out like a movie script. While I personally had a difficult time connecting with this book, I think anyone who enjoys dystopian novels will really appreciate this one.

Posted on Goodreads on February 8, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around February 13, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on February 13, 2024
**-will post on designated date

Whatever you think this is about, it's not that. Erin is a lonely plastic girl living in a lonely post-war plastic world. Her sister is missing and everyone else she loves is dead. When she meets Jacob after a terrorist attack on her work, she starts to think she might be able to turn her life around and trust someone again.

There was a lot going on here. I mostly enjoyed it; Erin is an interesting character, but I found myself most interested in Owen and Max and their relationship before and after the war. Still not sure what the waffle show was about, though, other than maybe a figment of Erin's imagination? A way for her to deal with her father's stories?

The main issue I had was the “short speak” that the characters adopted after the war. It made me think of Kevin from the office and immediately took me out of the story every time I had to parse what they were saying.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

According to the synopsis of this book it sounded like it was going to be a dystopian black mirror vibe. I was super excited to get into it. Unfortunately the writing style for me was just really hard for me to get into. Starting chapters with “the episode opens up on.” And the communication between characters was hard for me to follow and understand o kept having to reread. It’s not for me but I think when it’s released my husband will love it it’s very up his alley.

This novel was perfectly absurdist. Such unique world building. While initially I thought the language being a bit off and shortened would throw me off, Guild is quite a talented writer and makes it work incredibly well. I can't wait to discuss this one with others and I'm really curious to read any interviews with the author because there are so many metaphorical parallels to the world and I'm so curious what everyone else might think. Huge thank you to Pantheon for the ARC of this one.

Unique, weird, dystopian novels are some of my favorites to read. Scott Guild has delivered something truly ahead of its time with this wonderful novel.

Going in, I did not quite know what to expect, and I will admit that it took several chapters to adjust to the way that the characters talked. However, once you can follow the choppy dialogue, this is a magnificent fever dream that will keep you intrigued and wondering what is happening, and yet you will not realize just how much satire and information the author is delivering about the current state of things in our world.

If you enjoy books by authors like Mona Awad or Lydia Millet, then you should try this book. Or if you're just looking for something different that will be entertaining and challenge what you think about things, then read this book!

This didn’t work out for me. The writing did not flow well so it made reading the book feel tedious rather than enjoyable. I’m sure it is just better suited to someone else’s tastes.

Plastic was a dream. A fever dream that is, in the BEST way. As a fan of weird books like Rouge and Bunny, I fell hard for this one and it did not disappoint. The story follows a plastic girl, a literal figurine, in her post nuclear world (with advanced technology) while also dealing with a climate crisis and ruthless eco-terrorists to boot. Nearly everyone in the book has lost someone or is someone who was lost to eco-terrorist attacks. The book uncovers her navigating this life of struggle and grief while she meets Jacob, a blind survivor of one said attack and she falls for him. It’s so much more than that though; Plastic was innovative, creative and set in a bizarre world not far from our own in the way it’s themes were relative and modern. Climate change, gun control, nuclear weapons, radical politics, death, and religion are some themes the story explores. The dialogue was such a big mystery to me and in the end, I was enamored with how well that was explained but also how all the characters and the scenes/episodes were connected; it was unreal. I read it in two days and would probably read anything he wrote from here on out; I don’t see how or when I won’t think about this book. Definitely recommend.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but i just couldn’t get into it. I couldn’t get pass the dialogue of the characters. It has really good potential and sounds like it could do really well once published. Unfortunately, it’s just not for me.

I really wanted to love this book but I just could not get into it! I really want to enjoy my reading and am making an effort to read books that grab me in the first pages. I really struggled to get my mind around what was happening here, and I just wasn’t excited by this one at all.

This futuristic, dystopian fantasy novel features a far-from-ideal world of plastic people (think Barbies and Kens) who live lives very similar to humans, but for their creaky plastic joints and chips in the place of injuries.

A generation ago, 50 million plastic people have been killed in a nuclear war, and a tech-forward surveillance state has taken over governance. While nukes have been taken off the table, a young group of eco-terrorists have formed a collective known as Sea Change who worry that the lasting effects of nuclear war along with climate change has reached a tipping point and radical action is needed to save a dying planet. Given an indifferent government and apathetic population, Sea Change has decided to make their point through increasingly violent explosive terrorist attacks on civilians.

Our lonely heroine Erin works in a large shop called Tablet Town, but mainly lives for her life outside of work wearing a Smartbody and living in a Virtual Reality World. For years she’s created a virtual world around a young man she never met, but who caught her eye with interest right before dying in front of Erin in a Sea Change bombing. One day while a work, Sea Change launches a terrorist attack on Tablet Town, which Erin witnesses in the parking lot. On social media Jacob, a shy boy, puts out a SOS, and she works her way to his car to comfort him, launching them into a budding relationship.

Meanwhile paralleling the political divide of America, the society has become split between highly conservative waffle people (looking truly like waffles and made of carbs) who have dominated in politics and the more liberal plastic people. The plastics see the waffles as merely craving “the syrup of power.” These two rarely cross socialize, though there is a highly popular TV soap called Nuclear Family, featuring a best friendship and same sex relationship between a plastic boy and a waffle boy.

Written as a movie script or screen play, the narrative creatively jumps between staccato conversations where spoken language has been reduced to texting shortcuts, longer first-person internal narration in regular language, monologues facing the camera, and spotlight moments where a character bursts into song as if on stage. All that’s missing is the great next plastic movie aka Barbie that this book calls for.

Thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.