The closeted son of an ultra-conservative president must keep a budding romance secret from his father while protecting himself from a sentient computer program that’s terrorizing the United States—and has zeroed in on him as its next target—in this “socially conscious sci-fi thriller to shelve between The Terminator and Romeo and Juliet” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
In the near future, scientists create what may be a new form of life: an artificial human named Charlotte. All goes well until Charlotte escapes, transfers her consciousness to the Internet, and begins terrorizing the American public.
Charlotte’s attacks have everyone on high alert—everyone except Lee Fisher, the closeted son of the US president. Lee has other things to worry about, like keeping his Secret Service detail from finding out about his crush on Nico, the eccentric, Shakespeare-obsessed new boy at school. And keeping Nico from finding out about his recent suicide attempt. And keeping himself from freaking out about all his secrets.
But when attacks start happening at his school, Lee realizes he’s Charlotte’s next target. Even worse, Nico may be part of Charlotte’s plan too.
As Lee races to save himself, uncover Charlotte’s plan, and figure out if he can trust Nico, he comes to a whole new understanding of what it means to be alive…and what makes life worth living.
World where robots and humans are getting to be on equal footing? Check. A cute romance between a introvert and a boy with a heart of gold? Check. An interesting antagonist? Check. Willful Machines is definitely a solid addition to the science fiction end of the Young Adult age range.
What I liked:
-Charlotte was a brilliant main antagonist. I feel like her motivations were very solid, and it wasn't a simple matter of right and wrong.
-Gremlin! I think Gremlin was 1) completely and utterly adorable, and 2) a significant part of one of the most sweet moments between Nico and Lee;
-The layering in the plot: there were a lot of reveals, some of which where fairly obvious going off textual evidence, and some which really shifted the entire perspective of the plot;
What I wasn't such a fan of:
-There were some insensitive bits in the text that I was surprised slipped through the editing process, namely the part where Lee was describing how racially ambiguous Nico was;
-The climax didn't really end? It just kind of dissipated, so the ending was quite unsatisfying
-The romance was quite fast in developing, especially given the time frame of the book
-The last plot twist made no sense to me at all. I can't say more without spoiling it but ugh.
The verdict: A twisty, faced paced read that definitely kept me hooked and had its moments. Would read a sequel if there were to be one.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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13 January, 2020:
Finished reading
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13 January, 2020:
Reviewed