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A review by alongreader
Jinxed by Amy McCulloch
4.0
The future has never felt closer in this fun novel for teens and tweens.
Lacey's world is dominated by Moncha, the creators of the baku; a robotic pet that functions as a smartphone. She's desperate to join their ranks and become a companioneer, dedicated to creating newer, more lifelike baku. But things are rotten in Moncha and it will take all her skills and all her friends to help her figure out what's gone wrong.
This is a wonderful read, set just a few steps away from our world. Instead of going for sleek flat phones, Moncha went for robot animals, from insects right up to boars and eagles. Naturally, the larger animals are most expensive, but that's only fair, isn't it?
I liked the characters, they were well done, but I struggled with the idea of the baku battles. With something explicitly designed to be your best friend, and expensive to buy and repair, why would you risk it in all out battle? And in one of the battles, a competitor is explicitly causing damage for damage's sake, his opponent is already down and out. Why wouldn't the teachers stop him?
I love the idea of the baku, and I will definitely read the second part because that cliffhanger! Gah! And hopefully the reasoning behind the battles will become clearer to me in the second one. Maybe I just missed something!
Overall, a really great read. Off to hunt down the second one!
Lacey's world is dominated by Moncha, the creators of the baku; a robotic pet that functions as a smartphone. She's desperate to join their ranks and become a companioneer, dedicated to creating newer, more lifelike baku. But things are rotten in Moncha and it will take all her skills and all her friends to help her figure out what's gone wrong.
This is a wonderful read, set just a few steps away from our world. Instead of going for sleek flat phones, Moncha went for robot animals, from insects right up to boars and eagles. Naturally, the larger animals are most expensive, but that's only fair, isn't it?
I liked the characters, they were well done, but I struggled with the idea of the baku battles. With something explicitly designed to be your best friend, and expensive to buy and repair, why would you risk it in all out battle? And in one of the battles, a competitor is explicitly causing damage for damage's sake, his opponent is already down and out. Why wouldn't the teachers stop him?
I love the idea of the baku, and I will definitely read the second part because that cliffhanger! Gah! And hopefully the reasoning behind the battles will become clearer to me in the second one. Maybe I just missed something!
Overall, a really great read. Off to hunt down the second one!