My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group Canada
Publication Date: April 5th, 2016
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Point of View: 3rd Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 8+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Animals, Robots, Family, Community
BLURB:
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island. Why is she there? Where did she come from? And, most important, how will she survive in her harsh surroundings? Roz’s only hope is to learn from the island’s hostile animal inhabitants. When she tries to care for an orphaned gosling, the other animals finally decide to help, and the island starts to feel like home. Until one day, the robot’s mysterious past comes back to haunt her….
I don’t believe I’ve ever said this in a review of a book before, but I think a lovely video game for kids can be made out of Peter Brown’s new middle grade novel.
The illustrations made me think that, with their original style and 3-D quality. Plus the story could work.
Because this is about a robot female (Roz) who mysteriously ends up on an island devoid of humans but filled with animals that form a certain community.
Roz tries to be part of that community by being friendly and helpful with the animals around her. It takes time and patience from Roz, but the community of animals slowly starts to admit her in their circle. Of course, there will always be those who won’t accept her, because we cannot be loved by everyone.
I could easily imagine exploring the beautiful island filled with animals as Roz in a video game. But anyway, I doubt it would happen, so I’ll stop bringing it up.
It’s a story that I would read to my kid, if I had one. There are so many themes included. It’s about community, trust, friendship, loyalty and family.
Although it’s obviously imaginary, it’s not all fabrication. A lot of what is seen inside this novel—such as Roz’s struggles to belong and the animals’ mistrust of Roz who is not *like them*—can be translated into our contemporary world.
Lovely. Just lovely.
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Interesting concept
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Aw this sounds adorable! Truth be told I’d totally pick this up just on the cover alone, haha! It does sound really interesting though – thanks for bringing it to my attention!
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This sounds really lovely, and I like the illustrations. I was not sure what to make of this book from the title alone, but I will definitely be picking it up now. Thank you for sharing it with us 🙂
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I saw this book when I was looking for books to buy my niece for Christmas. It didn’t sound like her type of book, so I passed, but now I’m regretting my decision since it seems to be more than it appears.
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