Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

65 reviews

beehives's review against another edition

• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

The book is an interesting meditation on the nature of humanity in an age of technology. Ultimately I feel it didn't push this boundary enough - there's a multitude of existing critical fiction and non-fiction that explores questions about post-humanism from far more radical (and, IMO, interesting) perspectives; this book felt more like a cis-het white woman's look at the ways tech might change or reflect human relationships and identity. That criticism aside, the characters are vibrant and endearing (Delta!!!), the narration from Annie's POV is very engaging, and the book is both easy to read and relatively thought-provoking. I liked the ending in particular - it's clearly foreshadowed but still feels satisfying and appropriate if a bit rushed.

One other slightly annoying aspect of the book was the constant name-dropping of various authors. Why? What was the point? To show this author is well-read? It might have been more poignant to focus on contrasting just two authors or genres as Annie explores a world outside Doug's control (e.g., Western novels exemplifying white male colonization vs. Ursula K. LeGuin's decolonial sci-fi or Margaret Atwood's feminist rage/grief dystopia). I'm glad Annie - and the author - has read Casey McQuiston, but why does that matter? In what way does YA romance affect her world view? The book never goes deep enough to ask these questions or force the reader to consider them, which is a shame since the answers would make the central story that much more impactful.

More (better) book recs in the same vein: Does it Count If Your First Time Is With an Android? (comic); All Systems Red / Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells; A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers; A Closed and Common Orbit also by Becky Chambers; Ancillary Justice / Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie; Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae (music album/short stories); Autonomous by Annalee Newitz; A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway (nonfiction, take it from here in your desired direction of analysis).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Abandonment, and Body shaming

Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Cancer and Physical abuse

where_the_books_live's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Sexual content

csmoke85's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Sexual content

katerinatroyanovich's review against another edition

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am speechless after finishing Annie Bot. This is my first 5 star read of the year and WOW I know I made the right choice waiting to give out this rating because this blew the other books I’ve read out of the park. At first this is West World meets Barbie but it goes so much deeper. It ends as a beautiful but devastatingly honest portrait of womanhood and the shackles of the patriarchy. Be sure to check trigger warnings but otherwise this is a must read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual violence

juliabingel's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

fascinating, frightening, fantastic

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Body shaming, Confinement, Rape, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Misogyny

mybestfriendisabook's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

hooked by the intro, ended up buying at a bookstore and finished during that day of traveling! loved it

interesting meditation on AI sex dolls. tense and thrilling. funny, eerie, and dystopian but also realistic and unsurprising in today’s world. 
enjoyed the 🥵 scenes. 
similar vibes to Poor Things (disclaimer: i only watched the film)

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body shaming and Gaslighting

issymaae'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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Confinement and Body shaming

Minor: Death of parent

kenzzisaurus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-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 makes you uncomfortable in the best ways. The world is very easy to imagine being real and it’s easy to understand the frustration and growth of Annie and how Doug and her life changes because of this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Body shaming

vaekay's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Torture, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Confinement, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, and Terminal illness

Minor: Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, and Transphobia

gabs_parr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-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

5.0

Annie is an autodidactic robot who was created to be the perfect girlfriend for Doug, her human owner. She’s always learning and getting smarter and more “human”. Doug initially loves that she’s not perfect and wants her to be like a real woman and to challenge him, but the smarter she gets, the more complicated their relationship grows. 

It’s kind of like Stepford Wives in the sense of perfect robot wives, but with more emphasis on power dynamics/control, autonomy, intimacy and what we actually want from relationships, romantic and platonic. This book is less a critique on the patriarchy, which was pretty much the main theme of SW, and instead it dives more into observations of what it means to be human and live the human experience. 

I’ve only just finished and I already know that I’m going to be thinking about this book for months to come. The relationships were just so dynamic and complex. Every character was various shades of morally gray depending on the scene we were in. No one was ever purely “good” or “evil”. There is no true good or bad guy. There are just complex emotions and relationships and deep rooted questions about autonomy, love, sex, and power. 

Annie’s inner relationship with herself is just as compelling as her relationship with Doug and both relationships will keep you guessing as to what her next move will be. I know I will certainly be thinking about her final choices for months to come (and Doug’s too, they both grew enormously and changed into almost unrecognizable characters by the end of this book). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, and Death of parent