Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Annie Bot

Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

m_a_j's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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beckyremillard's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I don’t normally read science fiction but I could stop. This book was definitely thought provoking and intense.

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lauren_shilling's review

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This book was good, but it wasn't a new favorite or anything. It was a very fast read, and I did enjoy it, but it wasn't groundbreaking to me. It had a great idea that invites a lot of questions and commentary on individuals and the control women have over their own bodies, and I did enjoy how the book made me think, but it didn't invite any new ideas into my life. I like when a book like this makes me think about an aspect I may not have considered before, makes me reflect on myself or the people around me, or gives me a perspective I haven't really thought about before. While this book did provide an interesting perspective of a robot, it didn't do so in a way that made me consider something new or reconsider something familiar. It presented ideas I had already thought about, and didn't really give me anything new to think about. I did really enjoy the main character. Annie was a great protagonist, and I did like that she isn't perfect 100% of the time, despite how hard she tries to be. She's still learning, and she's very sheltered too, so some things that seem easy and obvious to many people aren't to her. I thought that was handled and portrayed really well in the book, and I loved watching her journey. I also thought that Doug was an interesting character. He gave a very nuanced look at the men that are present in so many women's lives and how even someone who isn't pure evil can still be very bad for you. Doug is not the epitome of an evil man,

but that doesn't take away from the fact that he is not good for her, he is still oftentimes controlling, he is still abusive in a lot of ways, and that he does inhibit her growth.

He's a great character to explore through Annie's eyes. Again, I did like this book a lot, it just wasn't a new favorite and it is a bit forgettable. I would still recommend it to anyone thinking about trying it, as it does have a lot of interesting points and ideas.

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mandi_lea's review

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dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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beehives's review

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Strong character development? Yes

4.0

The book is an interesting meditation on the nature of humanity in an age of technology. Ultimately I feel it didn't push this boundary enough - there's a multitude of existing critical fiction and non-fiction that explores questions about post-humanism from far more radical (and, IMO, interesting) perspectives; this book felt more like a cis-het white woman's look at the ways tech might change or reflect human relationships and identity. That criticism aside, the characters are vibrant and endearing (Delta!!!), the narration from Annie's POV is very engaging, and the book is both easy to read and relatively thought-provoking. I liked the ending in particular - it's clearly foreshadowed but still feels satisfying and appropriate if a bit rushed.

One other slightly annoying aspect of the book was the constant name-dropping of various authors. Why? What was the point? To show this author is well-read? It might have been more poignant to focus on contrasting just two authors or genres as Annie explores a world outside Doug's control (e.g., Western novels exemplifying white male colonization vs. Ursula K. LeGuin's decolonial sci-fi or Margaret Atwood's feminist rage/grief dystopia). I'm glad Annie - and the author - has read Casey McQuiston, but why does that matter? In what way does YA romance affect her world view? The book never goes deep enough to ask these questions or force the reader to consider them, which is a shame since the answers would make the central story that much more impactful.

More (better) book recs in the same vein: Does it Count If Your First Time Is With an Android? (comic); All Systems Red / Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells; A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers; A Closed and Common Orbit also by Becky Chambers; Ancillary Justice / Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie; Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae (music album/short stories); Autonomous by Annalee Newitz; A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway (nonfiction, take it from here in your desired direction of analysis).

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booksillremember's review

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If you think this book is about some dystopian future, read it again. You could replace Annie with a human woman and it would still be a 100% realistic depiction. This novel is a hard-hitting commentary on domestic slavery, the patriarchy, personhood, and relationship abuse.

Doug is portrayed as an average guy, even a good guy by his own and society's standards. He prides himself on not even hitting Annie, which serves to show the multitude of other forms of abuse he inflicts on her constantly. He is such a "good guy", that him learning some basic human decency can be seen as immense character growth, the bare minimum feels like going above and beyond if the bar is set that low.

He is a man-child, unable to regulate his own emotions or pursue a relationship with a person who has equal rights. Annie is programmed to enable him and his stunted emotional growth. It really shows how the patriarchy harms everyone, although of course not in equal measures.

I don't know if I loved the ending, but it is realistic that he has to set her free. I wish there had been more android-to-android interactions and community, but I get that it was hard because she was the most advanced at the time. I just wish Cody had been a woman, it feels icky that she has to depend on yet another man.

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