(Would be 4 1/2 stars if I could!)
World-Mart is the story of a very possible future reality – class segregation, failing energy supplies, food shortages, global warming, anti-biotic resistant viruses and governmental control over every action and choice made in life. Your background, upbringing and ability to follow without questioning dictate whether you thrive or simply survive in the world.
This is a thought-provoking and quite frightening book. I particularly found the idea of euthanasia of the ill and voluntary euthanasia for people who have found themselves, for whatever reason, demoted through the class ranks to be very disturbing and a reflection of the importance we place on bettering or at least maintaining our own statuses in life.
World-Mart also contains some wonderful poetry written by one of the main characters, Shelley, which I found particularly moving.
My only negative with this book was that some scenes played out way too quickly and could have been fleshed-out a little further, particularly to give a little more life to some of the characters. However this does not mean that the characters were flat or one-dimensional, simply that I wished I had gotten a chance to know them better, and particularly to know how the world came to be that of World-Mart.
Full review on my blog http://theaussiezombie.blogspot.com/