A review by popthebutterfly
Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson

dark funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

Disclaimer: I purchased this book from my local bookstore. Support your Indie Bookstores! 

 

Book: Landscape with Invisible Hand 

 

Author: M.T. Anderson 

 

Book Series: Standalone 

 

Rating: 5/5 

 

Diversity: MC with a chronic illness (mentions a name, but it didn’t look like it was an actual name when I googled it? But if I’m wrong please correct me) 

 

Recommended For...: 

 

Publication Date: September 12, 2017 

 

Genre: YA Dystopian Sci-Fi 

 

Age Relevance: suicide mentioned, slight romance, bullying, slight language 

 

Explanation of Above: There are a couple of mentions of suicide and scenes of bullying. The romance is slight and there is some slight cursing in the book. 

 

Publisher: Candlewick Press 

 

Pages: 149 

 

Synopsis: When the vuvv first landed, it came as a surprise to aspiring artist Adam and the rest of planet Earth - but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Can it really be called an invasion when the vuvv generously offered free advanced technology and cures for every illness imaginable? As it turns out, yes. With his parents' jobs replaced by alien tech and no money for food, clean water, or the vuvv's miraculous medicine, Adam and his girlfriend, Chloe, have to get creative to survive. And since the vuvv crave anything they deem "classic" Earth culture (doo-wop music, still-life paintings of fruit, true love), recording 1950s-style dates for the vuvv to watch in a pay-per-minute format seems like a brilliant idea. But it's hard for Adam and Chloe to sell true love when they hate each other more with every passing episode. Soon enough, Adam must decide how far he's willing to go - and what he's willing to sacrifice - to give the vuvv what they want. 

 

Review: I think this is my new favorite dystopian read! I loved that the book wasn’t scary in like a horror sense, but when you think about it it’s absolutely terrifying. The main focal point of the book is our MC and his family as they try to get money to survive in an economy run by aliens who don’t understand Earth economics. The hellish Earth left after they’ve assumed power is startlingly worse than the current predicament we’re in and in the end the “solution” was very bleak but freeing. I didn’t really expect this to be the book I got when I started reading it because I only had seen the movie trailer prior to picking up this read, but the book I got was so much better than I thought it would have ever been and I only hope the movie does it justice. The book also took me awhile to get through, while short, because it left me with a lot of things to ponder about the world as the author clearly intended this to be commentary on modern day politics. I also loved that the MC was a chronic illness rep, as you normally don’t see that in dystopian reads. I loved this book. I would love anything set in this world. 

 

The only issue I had with the book is that the pacing is quick as the book is quite short. I would have loved to see more character development from some of the side characters, but otherwise I loved the read. 

 

Verdict: I highly recommend this one.