Mark Reads ‘Feed’: Chapter Three

In the third chapter of Feed, I’m in. For real. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Feed.

Three

No, seriously, this is it. I’m in for the long run after this chapter. I wanted to know how this was going to be different from the pack (LOL GET IT, BECAUSE LIKE ZOMBIES ARE IN PACKS AND… okay, shush), and here’s my answer:

The world turned to blogs when the world turned to shit.

There is so much new information in this chapter, some of which I don’t understand quite yet, so let’s deal with this and FLAIL ABOUT.

• Oh god, THIS ALL TAKES PLACE IN THE BAY AREA. I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS BECAUSE NOTHING TAKES PLACE HERE. Well, I mean that a lot of fictional stories aren’t in Oakland or Berkeley or San Francisco. BIGOTRY.
• The more I think about it, the more terrifying a zombie apocalypse in Berkeley sounds. It really is a “tangled warren.” Also, half the people who live there are already the most irritating people on earth, so if they turned to zombies, it would be insufferable.
• HOLY SHIT, PHILLIP MASON WAS SIX. Six!!!!
• I initially did not understand Georgia’s claim that her parents “chased the numbers.” It wasn’t until the end of the chapter that I felt like I could start to comprehend the massive influence blogs have in this zombie-infested world.
• I am fascinated by this idea that the Masons tried to raise their children as normally as possible in a world with zombies and a deadly virus, and this is how things turned out. I wonder what that conversation was like? How was the transition for the Mason parents when they realized they had to let their children explore outside their comfort zone, outside of the blue-sky-haven that they’d built?
• Okay, all the viral checks these people have to go through are RIDICULOUS. I mean, all of them make sense, especially since Georgia finally reveals that the Kellis-Amberlee virus already lives inside everyone. It must merely be activated, and it does not take a bit to do so. It can be a simple (and tiny) transmission of fluids that does the trick. FUCKED UP. That makes this all so much more risky than a normal zombie story.
• “But what’s the point of life if you can’t take risks now and then, like coming into the damn house with your brother?”
• Okay, I’m already so into the emotional subtext this story is giving me. This family has stuck together for years, and they’ll be damned if a virus check separates them. Shaun and Georgia would rather die together than have one of them live on. And as someone who was adopted with my twin, I get this forever and ever and ever.
• Oh shit, Georgia has retinal KA and her eyes are fucked up.
• BLOGGING LICENSES! OH MY GOD, THERE ARE BLOGGING LICENSES. And they allow people into certain areas based on their hazard rating. You know, I’m so impressed that this book is already about living with zombies. There’s a detailed and complicated government in place at this point in the future. Feed is not about it being formed.
• Yosemite is a Level 3 hazard zone. I’m actually surprised it’s not Level 2 or Level 1. Zombies must have completely decimated that place, considering how easy it is to get trapped in that valley.
• That shower is INTENSE.
• How does the shower computer know the “travel records” of Georgia? Is there GPS on the van or the motorbike or something?
• There is a ratings system for blogs. This is just… my god, it’s so genius. There’s an entire network that supports them! They have to get accredited! Buffy, Shaun, and Georgia belong to the Bridge Supporters! Oh god, are there zombies on the Bay Bridge or the Golden Gate Bridge???
• WHAT
• WHAT
• WHAT???
• THERE IS STILL A PRESIDENT
• AND IT’S A CAMPAIGN YEAR
• WHAT THE HELL
• I know it’s obvious to us, but the entire section Grant writes about why the “real” media ultimately failed is just so spot on. I absolutely believe that this is what would happen if there was a real zombie apocalypse. The media conglomerates would fail to protect us, and we’d have to turn to everyday folks to “triangulate” the news. I even like the idea that triangulation is a thing, that people have gotten used to reading multiple sources to find the news instead of relying on one single network or individual.
• The Wall. My heart. MY HEART. Oh god, my last blog post is going to be some awful butt joke from my Tumblr, isn’t it? Must consider this when posting to my blog.
• I didn’t get why Shaun was called an Irwin until the end of the chapter. STEVE IRWIN. h e l p.
• Oh, there’s totally a fanfiction branch of the Fictionals. THERE HAS TO BE.

I am so excited for this book. SO EXCITED.

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