My review of Operation Bounce House (eARC from NetGalley)
I feel as if this book will go down onto a list of books like Brave New World, 1984, and Lord of the Flies. I don't know when Dinniman began writing this, but it seems as if it was written at the beginning of 2026. It is clearly a reflection of the world's current political climate as well as the social climate. Reading this as an American who is seeing the world through liberal eyes, it startled me reading the "Earthers" do what they do as well as how the leaders are controlling it.
I loved the commentary throughout regarding artificial intelligence and how it can be helpful as well as how badly it can harm people. (Coming from a person who is staunchly anti-generative AI)
This novel covers topics ranging from the artificial intelligence, to media presence, to how propaganda from the media and government can drastically change people's perspectives, to how some governments are treating their own citizens as well as others in separate countries.
I absolutely see this as a novel that Literary Arts teachers will assign to their classes, and I highly recommend it to everyone to read. I was incredibly impressed by Dinniman's work and can't wait to read more. (Also, I loved the Princess Donut reference. I know her in passing from hearing about the Dungeon Crawler Carl series)
