A review by megatsunami
The State of Us by Shaun David Hutchinson

3.0

I enjoyed reading this book but there were a few bits that tripped me up. The "opposites attract" romance was fun (if not completely realistic... would they really connect that quickly?). I see from other reviews that there's been some criticism around one of the main character (Dre)'s representation as a Latino character who doesn't seem to have much cultural identity or to acknowledge issues that would likely , which I think is fair. It's too bad because I've always appreciated the author's representation of Latinx characters in his previous books and felt he was thoughtful and nuanced about it. Also, although the third party candidate was definitely a recognizable type (sort of a Donald Trump/ Elon Musk mash-up?) who I could totally see running for president, I was annoyed that the book portrayed the third party candidate as the bad guy, while Democrats and Republicans are apparently the good guys even if one is slightly less good than the other. Our two-party electoral system is so damaging, and the idea that anyone challenging that is part of the problem... is part of the problem.