Flux is a strange, trippy read. I enjoyed it and I think you will too, if you’re ready for it.

The story follows three people: 8-year old Bo, 28-year old Brandon and 48-year old Blue. All of them have experienced some type of loss that alters the course of their lives. Bo loses his mother in an accident, which makes him angry, and rightfully so. Brandon loses his job at a magazine (right before Christmas), causing him to have one of the weirdest days of his life. And Blue loses his family and does the unthinkable (or maybe not) to get it back. Intertwined with each story is the love each character has for a fictional show called Raider, with breakdowns of different episodes and real life backstory on the rise and fall of the show’s lead actor. The addition of the show is almost seamless, so much so that anytime the story pivoted away from it, I began anticipating when I would get back to it and what would be revealed.

I enjoyed this book so much because although it incorporates time and technology, it felt fresh. At one point, when the technology is in use, it was hard to tell what was real or not. I felt like I was in it myself, on a loop I couldn’t get out of. It was trippy (there’s that word again) but also a pretty frightening. Tech startups are a scam imo and the one in the book felt like WeWork and Theranos on steroids.

But I think what made me love Flux so much is it answered the question of how far someone would go to fix a wrong from the past. Depending on what it is that needs fixing, I think many of us would go very, very far if it meant changing the lives they currently have. I thought about it a lot once I was done reading and have been thinking about it ever since.

I am really thankful to the publishers for giving me the chance to read this book before it was released. I definitely think readers will enjoy it. I’m looking to reading more from Jinwoo Chong.

Content Warnings: racism; mild violence; death; drug and alcohol use

Where to buy: The Lit. Bar Loyalty Bookstores Amazon