New You Forever by Steve Cole

The year is 2070, and the New You Foundation claim to have found the ultimate answer to the climate crisis. They want human beings to transform themselves into Pleekas - perfect artificial replicas. Pleekas can go on for ever but won't create waste or use the Earth's resources.

Too good to be true?

When a chance meeting leads young journalist Anders Jones to the sinister truth, he must risk everything to expose New You - if it's not already too late ...

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“Perfect humans. Perfect world. What could possibly go wrong?”

✶ PRE-READING ✶

Tech thriller that feels scarily plausible. A top HiLo publisher, a near-future dystopia, and a scheme promising perfection? Yes please — I’m ready for the tension.

✶ POST-READING ✶

As I thought...
Ten years ago, this would have been full-on sci-fi fantasy. Now? Reading it feels like peeking at a not-so-distant reality. The tech concepts and the New You Foundation’s promises are terrifyingly believable.

It surprised me by...
The darkness of the executives’ actions. I won’t spoil anything, but there are proper jaw-dropping, morally twisted moments that make the tension hit harder than expected.

✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦

📚 Book: Big Hero 6 — futuristic tech, AI ethics, and kids trying to stop corporate schemes
📺 Movie/TV: Stitch! — chaotic science gone slightly wrong, kids at the center of morally messy fun

✦ MUSIC PAIRING ✦

🎵 Featured Song: “Overheated” — captures the relentless, tense tech energy
🎶 Vibe Album: Synthesized Heavy Metal — dark, metallic, and urgent, perfect for the high-stakes near-future
🎧 Artist Recommendation: Any industrial synth artist — for that cold, metallic, tension-filled hum

✧ VIBE CHECK ✧

• Colour Palette: Metallic grey

• Soundtrack: Overheated tech with heavy synth pulses

• Season: Dead of winter — cold with nowhere to hide

• Mood: Tense, worried, edgy

• Scent: Ozone and machinery heating up

★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★

Page of Swords — Everyday Witch Tarot
A young man stands alert, sword raised, books scattered at his feet — perfectly capturing Anders’ investigative spirit. Curious, quick-thinking, and undaunted by the risks, he mirrors Anders as he uncovers the dark truth behind the New You Foundation. The dropped bag and scattered books echo the chaos and urgency of a young journalist thrust into a dangerous world, reminding us that courage often comes with messiness, curiosity, and a readiness to act before all the pieces are neatly in place.