The Limit, Kristen Landon

The Limit
Kristen Landon
ISBN: 9781442402713
Read January 3, 2014

Middle-grade dystopia: 13-year old Matt is the scapegoat for his family's lack of money savvy - he's off to the workhouse to earn enough money to get them back under the federally-mandated family debt limit. Fortunately, Matt is a genius, and assigned to work in the Top Level, a world short school days, even shorter work days, indoor pools, gyms, and unlimited spending accounts.  Unfortunately for Matt, something extra despicable seems to be happening in his workhouse, and his family's money woes are suddenly the least of his problems, while his cushy life up Top may be adding to them.

Not an amazing read, but not shabby either.  It suffered a bit from the juvenile/middle-grade/YA trap that makes adults into imbeciles in order to ease plotting concerns, but not overly so (and to be honest, I know lots of people who are either in denial or incapable regarding their finances).  

The kids in focus are super-genius, but they still act like kids - goofing off, playing around, working out boundaries between teasing and bullying, but all of that stays in the background in service of straightforward furthering of the plot.  That's somewhat to the detriment of the story, actually, especially in the neglect of the female characters, and of the villainess and her motivations and background.

Matt's motivations seem organic and realistic, as do his rebellions.  I'm only left wondering why on earth the villainess didn't seem to have had any experience with any other hormonal and rebellious teens before this, as she seemed totally unable to comprehend the concept of continuing defiance.

The book sorts itself out quickly, the denouement skips effortlessly over some really interesting questions (why and how did a workhouse concept actually come to pass) and moves blithely onward to a slightly-less-dystopic endpoint.  The whole plotline really felt like a stripped-down and much less world-built version of Ready Player One.