Pills and Starships

by Lydia Millet

Seventeen-year-old Nat and her hacker brother Sam have come to Hawaii for their parents' Final Week. Global warming has devastated the planet, and the disintegrating society that remains is run by "corporates" who keep the population complacent through a constant diet of "pharma." The few Americans who still live well also live long -- so long that older adults, like Nat's parents, bow out not by natural means but by buying death contracts. While Nat grapples with the bizarre ritual of her parents' slickly engineered last days, Sam begins to uncover a secret, wilder Hawaii hidden beneath the high-gloss corporate veneer. Their family's Final Week races toward its climax in the face of a looming hurricane as Nat struggles to protect herself and the people she loves -- along the way forging her own surprising path to hope.

• ISBN13: 9781617752759
• Publish Date: 10 June 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Akashic Books,U.S.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

The cover and title are what initially got my attention about Pills and Starships, but then I read the description and it says babies are illegal! That's when I knew I had to read this! Then I started reading, and knew I made a good decision, because it's written as a journal! Natalie, her brother Sam, and their parents are spending a week in Hawaii, and are required to keep a journal of their time there. This isn't some fun family vacation though. They're there for the parents' "Final Week." Basically, in this future, humans live longer, and death is no longer a natural part of life. Older people take out contracts to end their lives, so there's a pretty lucrative business in assisted suicide. But it's totally normal! Weird, I know.

Pills and Starships starts out with Natalie telling us all about her world, and how it compares to what she knows of the world her parents grew up in. It may be a bit info-dumpy at times, but I found it fascinating! The main issue with this future is that climate change is completely out of control, so all of these corporations have popped up to get the world in order. Fresh produce and meat are rare, no pets allowed, procreation is illegal, there's carbon taxes, laws against crowds (to limit the spread of disease). The list goes on and on! I 100% believed in this possible future.

Of course, the part of the world we get to learn the most about is the death process. It's turned into this kind of big celebration, but no one can really enjoy it without their "pharm" cocktail. Natalie's parents are given some pills that cause them to be blissfully happy, but eventually they start to lose their memories. This means their Final Week activities are on a very strict schedule. Natalie writes about these things so nonchalantly, but this is just what she's use to. It's not like she doesn't love her parents, or isn't going to miss them. She just doesn't know death any other way. But that's where the minor plot kicks in.

Pills and Starships is not a plot driven novel at all. The first half or so is pretty much just Natalie's observations and feelings. But then, she and her brother have a moment. He's discovered an off the grid type community in the jungle who are trying to lead a better life away from all of the pills and propaganda. They even have smuggled babies and sea turtles! Needless to say, Natalie and Sam want to join them, along with their parents. It's going to be difficult with the tight schedule and with their parents (literally) drugged out of their minds. Plus, there's a category six (REALLY bad) hurricane on the way.

I really liked Pills and Starships a lot. There's really not much happening plot-wise, it was more about how Natalie sees the world and changing her ways. She's not immune to her situation and turns to the variety of pills provided when needed, but she and her brother also know there's another way to live and they just have to make the effort to live it.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.