The Resistors

Gish Jen wrote this futuristic novel called The Resisters. Set somewhere in America society is split into two groups. The "Netted" are people with jobs. The "Surplus" are people who are not allowed to work. The surplus people live on swamps or on boats while the netted can live on dry land.  The netted children go to school and college. The surplus people do not go to school or college. The Internet is partly artificial intelligence and partly surveillance technology. The country is now called AutoAmerica  and the land is flooded. The main character is Gwen. She is born to a surplus couple. Her father was a professor. Her mother was a lawyer. They live on a swamp and raise their own food because they don't trust that the food the government gives to the surplus people is not tainted or modified in some harmful way. Gwen is born with a talent for great pitching of baseballs. As she grows up her talent is noticed by the netted who want to use her to win the Olympics. I enjoyed this story and how Gwen and her family managed to keep their lives as normal and as human as possible during trying times.