How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie StandifordNew 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?
Review:
How to Say Goodbye in Robot was just…wow! I really enjoyed it and it was so different than a lot of the books I’ve been reading lately that I was just sucked in. The main character was not my favorite, but seeing as how well written the novel was I could overlook Bea’s annoyingness at times. It’s hard to have a perfect main character, so I think it almost made Bea more realistic, she wasn’t perfect. I liked how this book centered on the more lonely, low key people, rather than the most popular ones. The friendship between Bea and Jonah was unique, but valuable. There was no romance, nothing more than the feeling of friendship. I liked how big a role friendship played in this novel and happiness was also key. The late night radio show was great and I looked forward to reading about Myrna and Larry and Herb and everyone else. The characters were all quirky and most all were likable.
The mystery surrounding Matthew added another dimension to the book. It was amazing how close the bond was between Jonah and Matthew, that they had felt the pull to each other all those years. Friendship did play a big role, but family kind of took a backseat. Bea’s family was just insane and half the time I had no idea what was going on with her mother. The ending contained a lot of answers, though. I liked and disliked the ending. It was so sad and abrupt, I just have no words to explain how I felt about it. I would have liked more, but it did seem to be the best ending the more I thought about it. There wasn’t really any other way the author could have gone.
I loved the unique facts the author tied in. The Icelandic hairdressers.. that was just so funny! I really like being able to come away with something from a book and How to Say Goodbye in Robot really let me do that. Fun facts, lessons in friendship, learning to value your family… there were a lot of great things inside this book. How to Say Goodbye in Robot made me really think how much people’s lives can be impacted by one event and how so much can happen over the space of a year. I would definitely recommend reading How to Say Goodbye in Robot soon! It was well written, unique, and the cover is great, too. In addition the title is perfect, goodbyes and robots- two big parts of this novel.
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
Great review, Kelsey. This sounds both quirky and touching, I definitely want to read it.
ReplyDeleteWow, sounds amazing! The title is just so fun. :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting! I should consider reading this!
ReplyDeleteNice review. This sounds really good. I'll be picking this up. :)
ReplyDeleteAw this book sounds sooo cute! I might read it.
ReplyDeleteNice review, I think I'm adding it to my list!
ReplyDeleteI really want to read this. I have it from the library so hopefully I can get to it soon! It sounds cute, and a good read. Great review!! :)
ReplyDelete-Arielle
I'm glad you liked ROBOT... I loved it. Definitely a favorite! I don't think it is for everyone, but it is defintely worth checking out!
ReplyDeleteThis looks really quirky and cute. I've been wanting to get my hands on a copy of this and read it for myself.
ReplyDelete...Icelandic hairdressers? Never heard of such a thing! :D
Glad you enjoyed this book! I have yet to read it, even though I see it everywhere. I like the cover also. Guess I should read it soon!
ReplyDeleteWow, this book sounds amazing. I really want to read it now.
ReplyDeleteI read an arc of ROBOT and loved it! It was definitely one of the best books I read in 2009!! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you enjoyed it, I did too! I know, the ending was sad. =( But overall the book was fantastic and PINK! I just love the cover!
ReplyDeleteI wanna read it sooo badly, you made it sound really good.
ReplyDeleteIt's so rare when a novel is so good that it makes you overlook the annoyingness of the main character. I'm dying to read about these icelandic hairdressers!
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