Olga Gardner Galvin’s The Alphabet Challenge depicts our world’s future as one that has transcended discrimination of all kinds, becoming compassionate and overly sensitive to the needs of the population. It is the PeopleCare organization that has acquired a monopoly on care activism and that runs the business of caring. It has possibly more control over laws regarding fair and non-discriminatory practices than the national four-party political system. PeopleCare works to level the playing field so that every group of people has an equal access to life and happiness. However, while it works to create diane faupprogress for groups like “People for Free Orange Juice for Everyone,” it must also assist the needs of “People Against Citrus Fruit.” Gardner Galvin’s novel points out the absurdity of caring for everyone, attempting to bring advances to different groups of people who have conflicting goals. It also makes explicit the horrors of assuming a group identity over an individualistic one. The “group” becomes more important than the individual within it, therefore resulting in the needs of the person being neglected. After all, red meat cannot be made legal simply for one “uncaring” individual in society. Such an occurrence would deeply offend those groups of people opposed to eating meat. It is bad enough that chicken, although socially stigmatized, can still be legally acquired. This hilarious, satirical, and eye-opening novel is witty and engaging. At a time when we are also working to combat social injustice and all forms of discrimination, Gardner Galvin’s work reminds us that while, of course, we must not overlook the needs of our neighbors, we must also not be afraid to have a dissenting opinion. It also reminds us that life, in general, is not fair, and it is close to impossible to protect everyone. We simply have to persevere and work for what we need in life as an individual. A powerful message, The Alphabet Challenge also insists that we cannot wait for someone else to do the work for us. I read this book in just a few days. It was easy to love the characters and impossible to put down. It continually surprised the reader with the ridiculous ways in which “caring” has turned into: tattle-taling non-recyclers into jail, thriving in the black-market sales of sugar and butter, and pushing smokers towards designated smoking areas at the very edges of society. The people of this world must walk on eggshells to ensure that their actions do not offend others, and they must do so by giving up their own personal freedoms.