Unboxing Libby

Tween robots rage against the machine in debut author Cherrywell’s contemporary take on a robot uprising. In the 2280s, humanoid machines—created by Minerva Social Computing to test the viability of life on other planets—are activated in a Martian colony to prepare for the arrival of human residents. Each robot subsect has been developed to exhibit a variety of personalities based on TV show archetypes. One subsect, tween Libbies, are “always chipper, cheerful, and sweet.” But one of the Libbies, nicknamed Max, has been experiencing unprecedented mood swings and begun questioning authority. She also wants to befriend grouchy bot Roxanne, despite having it “hard-coded into me” that Roxanne was “bad news.” Soon, however, Max and Roxanne begin testing the limits of their perfectly programmed A.I.Cademy. And as Max seeks answers about why she “seemed a little different from the other Libbies,” she and Roxanne start encouraging other bots to push boundaries and bend the rules. The robots’ unlikely rebellion paves the way for self-actualization and -reflection, presenting existential ideas about personhood and commodification through a delightfully upbeat adventure. Most character skin tones are “weirdly clustered over onto the lighter end of the scale.” Ages 8–12. Agent: Marie Lamba, Jennifer De Chiara Literary. (Apr.)