This is an interesting take on a couple of topics that are currently trending, both in books and in current news. The characters are plastic figurines, basically in a movie or tv set. There are tv shows within the tv show. Major topics are climate change, domestic terrorism, and prejudice. It is very clever at times. The story moves well and the characters are engaging. Despite the plastic world, the descriptions are detailed enough that it is easy to envision the entire novel.

This is not quite 🍌👖, but I still enjoyed it. I'm giving this my recommendation.

In the year of our lord 2023 and the year of Barbie, this is the perfect fit. Highly recommend reading this one.

I think this novel is really ahead of its time. Would like to see more from this author in the future.

Plastic has a promising premise and start. It follows Erin, a plastic girl in a plastic world that she resides in alone. Her father is dead, her sister is an eco-terrorist, and the only guy she's ever thought of romantically is also dead. It's a pretty bleak set-up, and that bleakness and sense of grief and hopelessness was very well-written, and made the hope and love Erin feels later on in the novel even more lovely.

However, I had a lot of trouble following the plot and understanding what the author was trying to do here. There are a lot of threads that are laid out, including a line of thinking on eco-terrorism, a TV show called Nuclear Family that seems partially imagined, a virtual world that can be entered through SmartBodies, and a mysterious ending that confused me all over again. I don't mind a little ambiguity in books, but nothing seemed to connect in a satisfying way. I could give you lots of theories about the world that Scott Guild created here, but none of them really make sense given the details provided in the book.

Overall, I felt pretty indifferent about this one. It definitely has some promising writing and some interesting concepts woven in there, but ultimately, Plastic was too scattered for me to really get a hold of.

OH, BLUMMO, BIG TIME. THIS BOOK WAY BIG ME. (that's some inside jargon for all my Plastic readers.)

I am so thankful to Scott Guild, Netgalley, Pantheon Books, and Penguin Random House for granting me advanced physical and digital access to this layered gem that has held my attention DAYS after finishing it. We love a good thinker type of read. This baby hits shelves on February 13, 2024, and I can't wait to hear what my fellow satirical/absurdist fic babes think.

Erin James is just a plastic girl living in a plastic world, and hold up because this isn't a happy-go-lucky Barbie retelling; this tale is layered with political and socio-economic complexities that mirror our dying planet and will have you staring at the wall afterward, contemplating it all.

Anyway, Erin works at Tablet Town and is a plastic figurine that goes about her day trying to avoid the evolving eco-terrorism that has battered the world as she knows it. Upon arriving at her retail job one day, she runs into just that: an explosion from an Eco-terrorist group looking to send a message. After receiving a distress call from her mobile device, she crawls through the rubble and finds a very helpless blind man, Jacob, who's just lost his mother to the outcry and is mentally processing the aftermath of what's to come.

The two form a close relationship within the confines of their Smartbody Virtual Reality world, going on dates, and processing grief the best way two plastic figurines know how. But danger lingers on the horizon, because Erin keeps receiving random messages from advertisements and mascots that seems a little too directed to be a coincidence. Erin holds familial ties to one of the bigger eco-terrorist groups, through her sister and she keeps trying to warn her baby sister of a BIG BIG BLUMMO attack, a nuclear one -- that could end plastic life as everyone knows it.

Plastic is a dystopian tale, sure, but it also feels very realistic in what's to come our our dying planet. We've already got wars, fascist governing bodies, ultra-futuristic technologies, and various climate crises... Are we next for this scenario? Blummo.

Erin is a plastic girl living in a plastic world. Every day she eats a breakfast of boiled chicken, then conveys her articulated body to Tablet Town, where she sells other figurines Smartbodies: wearable tech that allows full, physical immersion in a virtual world, a refuge from real life’s brutal wars, oppressive governmental monitoring, and omnipresent eco-terrorist insurgency. If you cut her, she will not bleed—but she and her fellow figurines can still be cracked or blown apart by gunfire or bombs, or crumble away from nuclear fallout. Erin, who’s lost her father, sister, and the love of her life, certainly knows plenty about death.
Both a crypto-comedic dystopian fantasy and a deadly serious dissection of our own farcical pre-apocalypse, Scott Guild’s debut novel is an achingly beautiful, disarmingly welcoming, and fabulously inventive look at the hollow core of modern American society—and a guide to how we might reanimate all its broken plastic pieces.

Reading that, you may think you know what the book is going to be about. But you don’t. This book is not what it claims to be. Like a bad episode of Black Mirror, it cares more about aesthetics than substance. And the aesthetics don’t make up for what lurks underneath.

Erin is plastic. She’s actually plastic. I kept waiting for a fourth wall to break, to show that she maybe was not, in actuality, a plastic person. But she is, and so is everyone else. But they weren’t always. Because this book takes place on our planet, in our future. We have flashbacks that show Erin as a flesh and blood human. She skins her knee and she bleeds. But then suddenly she, and everyone else, is plastic, and it is not explained or addressed.

This isn’t a stylistic choice, because other oddities are addressed. The most egregious being the way the characters speak. Their English cannot even be likened to internet vernacular or mannerisms. It’s just… broken and infantilized. Apparently, we decide this is a better way to speak in the future. It’s supposedly quicker, more efficient. It’s also a great way to work in cheeky names for climate change and fossil fuels. HeatLeap and Ground-Up-Bone fit right in with “wow wow”, “blummo”, and “qunky”.

Another point against the description: Erin does not lose the love of her life. She watches someone die and decides he was her soul mate. She obsesses over him to the point that she uses his likeness as an AI companion. She exploits the memories of his grieving loved ones to legitimize her fantasy. And when she can’t handle the lies anymore she kills the AI. Violently. I am a fan of unsympathetic characters but Erin isn’t framed as one. The reader is constantly asked to feel sorry for Erin, sometimes through song.
Yes, through song. This is a book with musical numbers. Both in the story and in the substory within a story. If you want to listen to them, there is an album releasing alongside the album. At least one of these songs is word for word one that Erin sings. Half of this book is treated like an episode of a tv show that isn’t happening. It’s just how Erin sees her life. But that substory within a story? That is a TV show Erin watches, except it’s also her fanfiction of that story based on her dad’s past. If you’re confused, Erin shows up in an episode that she’s watching, so, you’re right to be.

The main crux of my issue lies in this other TV show. It is an absurd take on the fallout of a nuclear war. And I do mean absurd as the genre—there are waffles, robots, and fur cubes in addition to plastic people. The waffles and robots speak normally and seem to occupy the same space as humans. The president is a waffle. But the fur cubes speak nonsense and fly around… while also holding down jobs and operating as humans in society. Absurdism is fine, it has its place. But here, it really lacks purpose.

I mentioned the president is a waffle. This is the president who starts the nuclear war. The love interest of the show is also a waffle. He experiences all manner of prejudice and assumptions because of his bread. If you wanted to read “skin” or “race” or “religion” etc in the place of bread, so did I. It seems like the natural conclusion of that description. Here’s where it falls apart.

This book ends in an overtly Christian cemetery. The author takes great pains to detail the different headstones. There are Virgin Marys, saints, angels, Christs… and that’s it. Millions of people—this is a mass grave—and all are good Christians awaiting the rapture. Erin spends the last few pages in constant prayer. People find God on their deathbed. Faith and peace is discussed at length as the answer to nuclear war and terrorism.

So we have a book with terror groups, with labor camps, with “Suspect Status”. A book about the fate of our world as whole in a future ravaged by climate change and war. And this book's answer is a very specific religious group. People are dying due to beliefs like the one this book holds. This is not inventive, it is not welcoming, it is not beautiful. This is a book about a future while ignoring our global present. And it’s marketed as a fun time with sing-a-longs.

If you do want to see for yourself, Plastic by Scott Guild comes out on February 13th, 2023 from Pantheon.

I sped through this book, but then took a long pause to write anything about it because I'm not sure how to express my thoughts on it without giving everything away! I'm talking about "Plastic" by Scott Guild. I have not read anything that felt as wholly original as this since, well, maybe Paul Beattys "The Sellout"? I loved it
    Plastic takes place in a world that feels all too familiar to ours, even though it isn't. Erin is our lead, she is in fact, made of plastic, as are all of the characters. Her daily routine is much like that of ours, gets up, goes to work, selling Smartbodies, suits that allow access to be fully immersed in a virtual reality world. She also finds escape in watching reruns of a surreal comedy called "Nuclear Family",  which we get to experience alongside her. Read as though we've been given a movie to watch, with set directions and music numbers (more on that later)
     A violent event takes place where Erin works that introduces new people into her life and changes her existence and outlook. Yeah, the world in Plastic is not a perfect one, they are subject to violent environmental activist attacks. The storylines blend together so well at the end and left my mouth ajar for a bit and broke my heart.
    So here's the thing about this book. Its brilliant. Its very cheeky. This dystopian satire nails the facade of a modern American society and shoves us under a microscope. From the clipped language (I see you all ditching vowels ...we aren't far from this), to the all too true stories of work camps and treatment of humans, LGBTQ relationships. Most of all, the way this book tackles the aftermath of a mass shooting/catastrophic event. We often get the story of the event, but never of what happens after. Guild handles it beautifully in such an inventive way.
    I know I've said this before, but make a note on your calendars for Feb 13th for the release of this one. I have not been so excited for a physical book release as I have for this one.
   But wait! There's more! There will also be a release of an album of baroque-pop songs telling the story of Plastic through the musical numbers in the book.

The synopsis of this made me excited about this one, as well as the cover. The writing style was not expected, and I really can't do it. It is just not for me, which is unfortunate, because I really wanted to get into the story, but couldn't. I am sure there will be people out there who love this story.

This novel could've been something brilliant, but I found the writing and plot to be underwhelming. I'm giving it 3 stars because this book is unique, but I don't think it will be memorable for me. I don't think dystopian/sci-fi novels are for me. I'm always trying to read books outside my comfort zone, but I just couldn't connect with the overall story. There's deep elements and serious subject matter that I muchly appreciated, but the dark comedy that is sprinkled throughout the story just felt uneven and lackluster. I so wanted to like "Plastic" more. It definitely had potential to be an absolute masterpiece, but instead the ending left me feeling cold and detached.

While this was not a bad book by any means, I don't think Plastic was meant for me. It took some time to get into the book, to understand the world the author describes. I would be interested in reading more reviews, profiles and thought pieces on this book to fill in gaps I didn't understand.

thank you netgalley for the arc! what a strange lil book this was!

it took me a min to get into, and i'm still not positive i really enjoyed it a whole lot, but it was definitely a unique read. the story seems a lil goofy at first (and it is) but it's so heavy and layered too -- about grief, trauma, belonging. reminiscent of the barbie movie at times, which i think folks will like.

i think i'd recommend this one to certain people probably, and i'm curious to hear how people like it when it's released!

this sits somewhere just above 3 stars for me, rounded down.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

What a strange, fascinating, trippy book. It really genuinely feels like a child playing with dolls while watching the evening news, the combination of terror and dreamlike qualities combining into a strange, trance like book. I never knew where it was going but I couldn't put it down. Fascinating!

WOW This book will turn your brain inside out! (In a good way).

I can't help but compare it a bit to the Barbie Movie set up. In Plastic, Erin is a plastic girl living in a plastic world. She is still recovering from a terrorist attack that killed her first love. The death of her father not too soon after and the disappearance of her sister has left her virtually alone.

She continues to work in Tablet Town, where she works for Smartbodies - a technology that allows entrance into a completely virtual world. When she meets Jacob on a dating app, she is hopeful for a new chapter in her life. But the horrors of the past and the secrets she is keeping are seeping into her everyday life. Can she move on from the past? Should she? Set in a surreal dystopia with snippets of a retro comedy show called "Nuclear Family," Scott Guild has created a masterwork on society today.

#Knopf #Pantheon #Plastic #ScottGuild

This is truly a one-of-a-kind novel, at least I’ve never read anything like it. It was so strange and surreal; I’m looking forward to seeing what other reviewers think of it. I found it quite touching, especially the shorthand way of speaking that the characters had. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Erin is a plastic girl living in a dangerous world. Haunted by a trauma in her past that she otherwise keeps secret, Erin tries to live her unextraordinary life one day at a time while everything around her is in a constant state of chaos.

If this can be considered sci-fi, this is the kind of sci-fi I would prefer to read--it's based so much on a reality that readers are familiar with, but has an uncanny valley-like twist to it. However, our reality can mirror the events in Plastic very soon if we're not careful, as Guild explores hot-button issues like (the disbelief of) climate change and gun violence.

The sitcom interludes were fun and weird and helped sustain the surreal vibe throughout the whole novel.

I loved this. Thanks to the publisher and NG!