Boys/men want women who are as gorgeous as possible, with the body type they most desire, who will agree with them on everything, be utterly devoted to them, and be available for sex at any moment - regardless of how little time they have known each other. That's what I got out of this story. About halfway through this book, I flipped back to the front cover to double-check the author's name. (look) *sigh* (Yep, written by a man. Obviously.) I can't actually imagine a female enjoying this book. Reading it just gave me an icky feeling all over.

The premise is that a bunch of kids watch a girl livestream her suicide and they don't contact the police. This could have been a FANTASTIC opening concept in another author's hands. John Green or Jay Asher, maybe. It's never explained why, but for some reason, the new school counselor decides some of these boys are "disassociated" because they spend too much time in the virtual world (all of their classes are online as well). To fix their inability to connect with humans in socially acceptable ways they give the boys expensive, lifelike, artificial intelligence-equipped robots. Teenage girl robots. Ughhhh... see how flawed this concept is already? How is a robot supposed to help someone connect with real people? Especially when that robot (a teenage girl) is programmed to like what the boy likes, agree with what the boy says, wait at home all day for the boy to arrive, and GIVE THE BOY PHYSICAL INTIMACY after an appropriate period of time. Seriously? So, you think teenage boys are going to be BETTER at interacting with real live girls if this is where their expectations lie? And we haven't even gotten to the part about the boys' first instinct being to find a way to get around the mandated timeframe before allowing said sexual intimacy.

Every part of this story is problematic. Why don't they make lifelike boy dolls? Why are only teenage boys given these girl robots? Surely, out of the 175 people who supposedly watched this suicide play out in real-time online there were some females who watched it and did nothing as well. Were they offered counseling? The other main plot point of "teenage boys disassociating" likewise could have been great opening material if handled by a different author. But we never even really see evidence of this supposed disassociation. We have one boy, seemingly sweet, who doesn't have many friends and is bullied by the rich, mean boys at school. And we have another boy, the rich, mean boy, who is just an asshole. That doesn't mean he is disassociated. He's just an entitled jerk.

By the end of the story, the only "person" who has shown any growth at all is the robot. (um, okay) There is no arc of these boys learning how to connect (really there was no evidence of them not connecting in the first place) or growing in their understanding of the female half of the population. There was a sort of side story about the company who made the robots and some sort of nefarious intentions on their part, but that part of the story is never fleshed out, either (a third plotline that could have been good book on its own).

I'm not really sure for whom this book is written. It was short enough and an easy enough read (took me maybe three hours) for middle-grade readers, but the subject matter contains a lot of adult references: smoking, drinking, drunk-driving, sex, and sexual thoughts, so I have to assume it's meant for high school age. Besides the author being a competent writer - grammar-wise, sentence structure, voice of the characters, etc - I really cannot recommend this book to anyone. And please, for the love of future mankind (and womankind), don't buy this book for a teenage boy. ( )

Narrated by Chris Patton. At their private boys' school, David is popular and wealthy; Charlie is a reclusive nerd on scholarship who gets around by bicycle. They both end up being connected by Rose, one of a line of robot girls designed to help disassociated teens make emotional connections to others. I wasn't really sure where this strange story was leading or what it all meant (we all need human connections?), but Rose does change David and Charlie in a positive way. Narrator Patton gives youthful voice to the various teen types and emotions of the story. ( )

Check out my other listens at Eargasms Audiobook Reviews

This was a really interesting read but not really what the blurb leads you to believe. I did not find it to be stunning or hilarious. There are a a few funny moments but mostly it is angsty and though provoking.

The key element of the kids dis-associative disorder is very relevant to today's teens. The start of the book is really jarring with the teen suicide. It would have been nice to get more of the background situation of that event.

The narrative alternates between three POVs, Charlie the quiet loner, David the rich self absorbed kid and Rose the companion robot. Charlie and Rose both had substance and growth throughout the book. David seemed like he was going to grow but really stayed the same jerk from beginning to end. It makes you feel bad for Rose, she is programmed to love him no matter what, that might even be a commentary on teenage romances in general.

The end is rather vague for Rose, you are never really sure what becomes of her. Charlie has a clearer ending and it is well deserved. David is kind of in the same place he was at the start of the book.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Chris Patton, he did a great job of getting me into the story. Each character has a distinct voice, it was really easy to tell who was speaking. His reading speed helps to make the book move along at a steady pace. He did a great job with the ladies voices as well.

I liked the book but it was not a love connection. There seemed to be so much potential for the characters, sadly the ball was dropped. In the end it was entertaining and thought provoking but never really became deep. It was more of a snack than a full meal, definitely leaves you wanting more. ( )

The second half of the book is MUCH better than the first, because Cusik finally starts to deal with the ethical implications of Rose's existence. That's also the part where she begins to be a true adolescent character. My only real complaint is that I wish the book had maybe started there and gone forward. Competently written, with some inspired moments in the prose. ( )

This was an interesting read. I liked the characters, but I wasn't super attached to any of them. They all underwent plausible stunting and growth as the story progressed. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, though. I feel like it might be a little too tactfully full circle. ( )