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A review by manikahemmerixh
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
4.5
I'm not adding a star rating yet (updated to 4.5) because I want some more time to ruminate, but also to share my thoughts upon initially finishing Annie Bot. Premise wise, I'm actually surprised that I even felt drawn to read this. I'm not intrigued by AI and its capabilities, nearly the complete opposite. However, I think this is very well done. I didn't read the story with all the implications of my own discomfort with AI, because while that's part of the experience, I think it's too complicated to factor in, especially for review purposes.
Annie may not be human, but at times her experience felt achingly similar to how it feels to be a human woman and I found myself strongly empathizing for her (nearly to the point of tears tbh). In that way, it can be uncomfortable to read as Annie is in a complicated, abusive relationship with her owner that feels very real to the reader. Nor does it shy away from the fact that Annie is meant to be a sex toy or a "Cuddle Bunny" as the book dubs it., but none of it is executed in a way that made me want to crawl out of my skin more than the way that it intended to. It's so nuanced (but short and succinct) that I feel like I could read it again already just to keep trying to get a better grasp on it.
Annie may not be human, but at times her experience felt achingly similar to how it feels to be a human woman and I found myself strongly empathizing for her (nearly to the point of tears tbh). In that way, it can be uncomfortable to read as Annie is in a complicated, abusive relationship with her owner that feels very real to the reader. Nor does it shy away from the fact that Annie is meant to be a sex toy or a "Cuddle Bunny" as the book dubs it., but none of it is executed in a way that made me want to crawl out of my skin more than the way that it intended to. It's so nuanced (but short and succinct) that I feel like I could read it again already just to keep trying to get a better grasp on it.