First, the caveats. This book is not for everyone. It has terrifying moments, along with some graphic, explicit scenes that many may find offensive. 
 With that said, I give a lot of latitude to books that are written with extreme skill, and to a moving story that is well told. The Windup Girl, for me, is outstanding in both those respects. Ten pages in, I was hooked, having found the rhythm of some unusual terminology and the dystopian scene. From that point on, I couldn't put it down, and there aren't very many books that have that effect on me. 
 Put simply, this is a terrifying, all-too-real vision of a possible future. Bacigalupi has assembled a tale of extreme power. It has a churning, visceral energy and a flow of events with a logic that first surprises, and then seems inevitable. I have read many great novels, but it is hard to think of another with the sustained emotional punch of this one. 
 Why read such a book, with such an emphatic, don't-feel-good message? For me, it is an ounce of prevention - a kick in the pants to start thinking about a better way to move forward. I firmly believe in illuminating the path we are on, and asking if we really want to go there. More about that in future reviews of other books. 
 As an extreme cautionary tale, for me this is as good as it gets. It won't brighten your day. But it could lead to positive steps if we understand why this may happen, and come out thinking that it doesn't have to.