Thom reviewed Girl parts by John Cusick
Review of 'Girl parts' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
A debut novel about a two teen boys (one rich, one poor) and a girl robot. Both boys are disconnected from the real world, and both learn to connect by the end of the story. While the message is good, the medium is not - both the YA plot and the boys have a lot of problems.
The fembot AI and chassis are far beyond current capabilities, but we will let that go. Over the course of the novel, she learns to be more human, and in doing so, becomes more annoying. Perhaps it is her environment - she is purchased for David, the rich kid with no morals and a dysfunctional family. Teaching him lessons (through electric shocks) doesn't work directly, but does open his eyes eventually. That change of heart is not really shown, weakening the character and plot.
This novel contains the angst of some YA novels, …
A debut novel about a two teen boys (one rich, one poor) and a girl robot. Both boys are disconnected from the real world, and both learn to connect by the end of the story. While the message is good, the medium is not - both the YA plot and the boys have a lot of problems.
The fembot AI and chassis are far beyond current capabilities, but we will let that go. Over the course of the novel, she learns to be more human, and in doing so, becomes more annoying. Perhaps it is her environment - she is purchased for David, the rich kid with no morals and a dysfunctional family. Teaching him lessons (through electric shocks) doesn't work directly, but does open his eyes eventually. That change of heart is not really shown, weakening the character and plot.
This novel contains the angst of some YA novels, with some added sex scenes. I would avoid it for that audience - the underlying message seems to be girls are robots, responsible for male pleasure. It doesn't really work as a Romance novel either. This story starts out with a powerful scene - a girl committing suicide on live camera - but doesn't really follow up on that. Additionally, the fembot corporation and school psychologist are portrayed as somewhat evil, but are never unmasked or vanquished. The author has a short story sequel freely available, so perhaps that wraps up some of the plot.
Overall, this book left me cold. It is relatively short, which is perhaps the only reason I didn't abandon it. I can't recommend it for any audience.