Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

10 reviews

melissaslibraryy's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was so good and, everything I expected and more. The complexity of AI bots intermingling in society and how they are not that far off from humanity as one might’ve thought, is a scary feeling to realize especially with how far AI is progressing in real life.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Grief, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, Classism, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Abandonment, Misogyny, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

It’s hard to describe how I feel about this novel. It was truly fascinating reading from the POV of a sentient, humanoid robot. It was absolutely maddening to read about said robot’s human owner, Doug, a trashcan of a man, but totally someone you know irl. Which is what made it so infuriating!! How men like Doug reduce women to serving their needs and desires. How women are all but taught (programmed, as it were) to please their male counterparts. It certainly sparked a lot of great contemplation, however theoretical, about ownership in the age of AI and increasing technological advances. I guess the point can be made that this book exists to possibly skew the path that the future holds for certain AI developments, but it may also exist to show how inevitable the future will be as it is in the book.

Was this story original? Yes. Was it empowering, hopeful feminist literature? Not really. While the ending did offer some payoff, a lot of the book frustrated me. Which, again, is maybe the point! So many thoughts about this book. Sierra Greer definitely debuted with an interesting one, that’s for sure. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Cursing, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Alcohol, Torture, Abandonment, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Physical abuse and Grief

ravenousrose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A raw, unapologetic reflection on the many facets of humanity. It left me feeling contemplative - turned inside out with conflicting emotions.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely.

Would I myself dive in again? Only if I were prepared to once more disassemble my perspective on humanity and myself.

Good luck to us all.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Body shaming, and Sexism

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

it’s important to note that one of the human characters does not think of the main AI character as “alive” or “real” and therefore doesn’t treat her with the kind of decency often afforded to a human. This can be quite upsetting but if you can power through it’s worth the read.

angiediane's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming, Misogyny, Bullying, Confinement, and Infidelity

celesteraine's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Bullying, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Confinement, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

gondorgirl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Toxic relationship

juanat77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Rape, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Cancer

cinderellasbookshelf's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.75

Pub Date: March 19, 2024

“You don’t want to displease him do you?”

This book affected me so much that I read it twice. I went into ANNIE BOT thinking it would be the sort of story in the vein of movies like Her, Ex Machina, or Westworld. Instead, what I got out of it is an intricate and intriguing study of power, dominance, control, purpose and humanity. It’s a short book but with a lot of themes explored that I am still left reeling and contemplating what I just read.

Annie Bot is a human-like robot custom made by Doug Richards. She is one of many bots in the Stella-Handy line with her functions suited to any of her owner’s needs in order to please him. After an encounter greatly affects Annie’s cognition, she evolves and grows in ways that change her relationship with Doug and how she views herself and her purpose.

From the start, there is already a look into the idea of the male gaze and objectification, and a tip in the scale in that balance of power through Doug and Annie’s relationship. Doug controls every aspect of Annie from her appearance and actions to whom she’s allowed to talk to. He irked me and gave me such a major ick, but oddly I also felt sorry for him. It’s interesting how Greer peels back layers of his character in that he feels pathetic or a fraud for having a “doll” as a companion after his divorce, and maybe even guilty about owning her, but he also feels superior in teaching and controlling her. 

Where the book takes a shift is how Annie perceives Doug and her own wants, affecting her sentience, and that it’s more complicated than how she feels about him, but how she is also tethered to him. She wants to please him, but she also wants more and in understanding herself. There’s a push and pull between them with intimacy used as a power play and where they stand with her as a bot and him as her owner. I felt concerned and empathetic of Annie’s plight that I couldn’t predict where the story would go.

I’ve only just scratched the surface, but I don’t want to spoil anything. I hope Sierra Greer continues to write more books like this and about the future because I want to read them.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Body shaming, and Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying and Abandonment

Minor: Vomit and Infidelity

pbg_reader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Sexual content, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

ashleyjewell's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

The premise had me interested, but it didn’t really go anywhere. Most of the book was unbearable interactions with a misogynistic man, and a robot-woman who doesn’t have any other choice but to talk and do much more with him. I was hoping for a twisted (maybe vengeful) ending, especially since the rest of the story is already pretty dark. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Violence, Excrement, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Body shaming, and Toxic relationship