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Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content
Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Death of parent, Alcohol
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery
Moderate: Vomit, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War
I would have liked to explore more of the AI themes but it was hard because the book is focused on these constant 'sex scenes' and sex acts. So, I skipped around the book instead. Consent is dubious not only because Annie starts out with the naivety of a child but also because she's programmed to please Doug and treated like nothing more. He's also about as stereotypical of a misogynist as you can get and it feels like a caricature. And I got tired of hearing about his god damned pistachio shells, like seriously, if you're eating them why don't you just clean up after yourself oh my god?!
The ways bots work in this world is inconsistent. Annie can think independently and take risks but can't disobey, except for the times when she can. Annie can't feel temperature or taste, but she shivers when touched with something cold and leans to inhale a candle. She has no need to eat and has to empty her food pouch every time, but apparently that doesn't translate to being inseminated (ew that I even have to think about it, but it happens so much that you have to wonder where its all going...)
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery
Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture
Minor: Cancer, Racism, Death of parent, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Self harm, Vomit, Stalking, Abandonment, Alcohol
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming, Vomit
Minor: Transphobia, Alcohol
The abuse in the book seemed pretty realistic up until the end.
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Stalking, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Physical abuse, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
The book provides the focal pov of a Cuddle Bunny model of an Stella line AI sex robot called Annie, who has "computer smarts", as she puts it, but also social and emotional artificial intelligence that are constantly evolving. Annie cannot be distinguished from a human by a stranger, unless they are told otherwise.
"Stella Bot, reduce sensitivity to Doug's displeasure," she murmurs, but she is not in charge of her own settings. Her core does not recognize authority in her voice.
The bot is basically a human-like thiniking, feeling being but without any agency or authority over her own life or body. She is owned by her purchaser Doug, who designed how she should be created from discarded embryos and mechanical parts all the way from her appearance to her personality traits.
The morality of this dilemma of ownership vs. right to one's own personhood is the main conflict in the book, and is presented by the disturbed feelings it raises in Annie and those around her. As Annie evolves, she shifts from merely reflecting the thoughts and wishes of her owner to thinking by herself. When she achieves enough conseptual thinking and experience, she realizes
Besides this specuative issue of AI personhood, the book addresses multiple problems that are relevant in our contemporary reality. To name a few, there are presentations of domestic violence, emotional abuse, mental health issues, and domestic role expectations. The book is not an emotionally easy read throughout, but one that makes you think and reflect on the society we live in, besides acting as an imagining of a potential future as entertainment.
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol