HAPPY POINTS

by Chris Andrews

In the near future, President Jessica Hunt rolls out an initiative that promises to solve all of society's equality problems, the XPI system. While there are fears of tyrannical government behavior similar to China's social credit system, this system is different: it's a social debit system in which each citizen is allotted a balance of experience points based on their privilege.

Jonathan Robertson, a high school junior, is a big fan of the system, but his twin brother, Max, and the rest of his family struggle with the deeper ramifications.

Happy Points follows Jonathan's family as they make it through the early months after the system's launch. But how long can they make it together? Will friends and family be divided? Where is the line between being a good neighbor, a good citizen and a free human being?

353 pages, Paperback

Published September 2, 2021

About the author

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Reviews

[Ken Orton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a really good work from a first time author. The first part of the book introduces and thoroughly so the main characters so that you have a distinct image in your mind. Those personalities become more and more important as the book progresses. Somewhat in the manner of works like "1984" and "Brave New World" the book takes you to a future time (unfortunately perhaps not too distant future) where the government controls most aspects of your life. With the current politics and Washington administration you can easily see us slipping into this type scenario. For that reason, it could fit into sci-fi although I don't think that's all it is. There is nothing supernatural here. The pace starts slowly and rightfully so as you need to understand the situation in the US at the time. However, in the latter half things start to move rapidly and it then becomes quite a page-turner. Give it a try. Those who first purchased Stephen King or even Jules Verne possessed books that were very valuable as time passed.