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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I’m bummed because this isn’t what I thought it was going to be
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
i feel like i'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content, Car accident
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Really great prose. Some bits structurally that showed it’s a debut, but I really enjoyed it anyway & will read whatever Dryoff does next.
they already found the cure for loneliness. it's called "Reading + An Active Imagination"
...anyway.
like many things, this had a lot of great ideas and fell flat on the execution. it never really works for me when the first 200+ pages of a book are exposition and then the climax hits with 40 pages to go, and this was left feeling sloppy and rushed. this book felt like it had the concept it wanted, and the ending it knew it wanted to get to, and then it just kind of rambled in between.
reading the epilogue and finding our protagonist transformed, with none of the development it would have taken to get there, felt frustrating. also i just don't know why this book felt like it needed a love triangle, or why the roommate had to be constantly eating and made fun of for that, or (and maybe it's just me) why this had to do that sci-fi thing where you just capitalize common phrases to indicate they have taken on some sort of dystopian brand.
oh well.
bottom line: this was really promising, and i really enjoyed moments of it, but its last page and its middle pages threw me off.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
...anyway.
like many things, this had a lot of great ideas and fell flat on the execution. it never really works for me when the first 200+ pages of a book are exposition and then the climax hits with 40 pages to go, and this was left feeling sloppy and rushed. this book felt like it had the concept it wanted, and the ending it knew it wanted to get to, and then it just kind of rambled in between.
reading the epilogue and finding our protagonist transformed,
Spoiler
armed with friendships with barely mentioned characters, a terminated relationship that had showed no signs of being stopped, and a totally different career pathoh well.
bottom line: this was really promising, and i really enjoyed moments of it, but its last page and its middle pages threw me off.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
"[S]ometimes the most human thing is not knowing how to be human at all."
This twee story has a ridiculous premise, a predictable plot, and for some reason it hit me at exactly the right time. If you're looking for a story about an AI, you've come to the wrong place. I actively avoid books about AI like [b:Annie Bot|156023123|Annie Bot|Sierra Greer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1690812484l/156023123._SY75_.jpg|169347780]. But this isn't a book about AI, it's a book about flesh and blood people. People overcoming loneliness and developing the tools and relationships to do that. Lee is a fun, if a little thin, main character that initially tries to research her way through life. Her first person thoughts are littered with literally bold statements that she picked up in her research. I was initially wary of her as a character, but she kept growing on me as the story progresses. The 3rd person portions from other perspectives didn't work for me as well because Janet didn't feel fleshed out enough as a character. There are also some non-workplace Office Space vibes in ways I won't elaborate on here for fear of spoilers. It felt rushed and incomplete in moments, but as someone who is always learning to human a little better, I can forgive the book its faults.
This twee story has a ridiculous premise, a predictable plot, and for some reason it hit me at exactly the right time. If you're looking for a story about an AI, you've come to the wrong place. I actively avoid books about AI like [b:Annie Bot|156023123|Annie Bot|Sierra Greer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1690812484l/156023123._SY75_.jpg|169347780]. But this isn't a book about AI, it's a book about flesh and blood people. People overcoming loneliness and developing the tools and relationships to do that. Lee is a fun, if a little thin, main character that initially tries to research her way through life. Her first person thoughts are littered with literally bold statements that she picked up in her research. I was initially wary of her as a character, but she kept growing on me as the story progresses. The 3rd person portions from other perspectives didn't work for me as well because Janet didn't feel fleshed out enough as a character. There are also some non-workplace Office Space vibes in ways I won't elaborate on here for fear of spoilers. It felt rushed and incomplete in moments, but as someone who is always learning to human a little better, I can forgive the book its faults.
I was getting pretty annoyed thinking that I knew what this book was getting at. It's not this big reveal, but there are things that were surprisingly sweet. It reminded me a lot of [b:The Very Nice Box|54310999|The Very Nice Box|Laura Blackett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614098065l/54310999._SY75_.jpg|84747772], but it was happier overall.
loved! roller coaster of emotions and you just want to cheer for our protagonist and celebrate life