Who Runs the World?

The heart of this novel lies with River’s great-grandmother, as memories of the boyfriend who was killed by the plague and the baby brother she was forced to give up drive her to hide the XY, even at peril to herself and her family. It’s that emotional core that gives Mason humanity and the reader the opportunity to care for him as a character despite his initially appearing as a one-dimensional stand-in for males everywhere. This could therefore serve as an interesting counterpart to DeStefano’s Wither (BCCB 3/11) or as a primer for Margaret Atwood’s adult works.