The Best Reader + TIME

How To Say Goodbye in Robot — Natalie Standiford

"... a cute, quick, enjoyable read about the chaos that is life and the real characters who live it." — Miss Remmers

Book Summary:

"New to town, Beatrice is expecting her new best friend to be one of the girls she meets on the first day. But instead, the alphabet conspires to seat her next to Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, a quiet loner who hasn't made a new friend since third grade. Something about him, though, gets to Bea, and soon they form an unexpected friendship. It's not romance, exactly — but it's definitely love. Still, Bea can't quite dispel Jonah's gloom and doom — and as she finds out his family history, she understands why. Can Bea help Jonah? Or is he destined to vanish?"

This book has been sitting on my shelves for about eight months. I love the cover and the title sounded interesting — but in reality, I had no idea what this book was about until I opened it up for the first time.

Beginning with a seemingly random chapter about a gerbil, this story caught my interest right away. I didn't know where it was going... and I'm not 100% sure I know where it ended up.

It's hard to describe this book because for so much of it I didn't know what the central plot was. Was it about the dysfunctional family, Bea's struggle to find her niche, the radio call in's and their drama, Ghost Boy and his dysfunction? Like I said, even after reading the book, I'm not really sure where it went. Does that bug me? Not really.

It was a good story with a lot going on. I did find myself skimming the radio talk show text after I had realized what the purpose of the talk show was. I enjoyed the randomness (exhibit A: the gerbil chapter) and liked how, as the story continued, it didn't seem so random but it didn't fit together in a nice little bow either — much like real life.

"How to Say Goodbye in Robot" was a cute, quick, enjoyable read about the chaos that is life and the real characters who live it.

Originality: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 8/10
My reaction/enjoyment: 7/10
Cover: 9/10
Overall: 50/60 B

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To the FTC, with love: Review Copy

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How To Say Goodbye in Robot — Natalie Standiford + TIME