Adam-2

Immediately I loved the concept. I was drawn in from the start by our cute robot (Adam-2) who is trapped in a basement and 'just trying to be a good boy' as instructed by his creator (who he refers to as his father). Adam-2 uncomplainingly repeats the exact same routine every day for more than 200 years. He is discovered by two children, Runa and Linden. As the story goes on, I found myself loving Linden more and more. Ze is inspirational!There are great concepts for children (and adults) to consider, such as our attitude towards machines with intelligence, and the vicious cycle of wars that can continue for many decades because of lack of forgiveness and empathy for the other point of view.To follow up on a book as amazing as Orion Lost was a big ask, but Alastair Chisholm has smashed it out of the park with this effort. Highly recommended.

This was just as thrilling as I’d hoped it would be. I absolutely loved the setting of a futuristic, dystopian Edinburgh, ravaged by fierce warring between two opposing forces. It was certainly a suitably imposing backdrop for the events which take place in the story.Understandably, the ethical debate about to what extent robots with artificial intelligence should be considered human, and just what separates human intelligence from artificial intelligence was a key theme in this story. There were certainly moments when I found it hard to sympathise with the cruelty, discriminatory behaviour of some humans towards the robots, but the robot force also displayed similar behaviours. Who’s right and who’s wrong?The lead character, Adam-2, is sure to capture readers’ hearts as he faces a terrible dilemma. But there’s a whole host of other characters with equally difficult decisions to make. It was good to see one of the characters preferring to use pronouns other than those traditionally assigned to a specific gender. It’s important for such characters to be be more widely represented in children’s literature.Alastair Chisholm really is a fantastic writer of middle grade sci-Fi and fans will be pleased to know that he now has another title out – ‘The Consequence Girl,’ which I can confirm is equally as good as his other works.

I really enjoyed this. Adam is a robot who has been locked in a basement for 200 years. When he finally leaves his home he discovers a world very different to the one he remembers, a world where humans and robots are are at war.Some quite complex ideas here but a fantastic story that cracks along at a good pace. I think perfect for a confident reader age 10 and up.

We all listened to this story on a long car journey (2 adults, a 13 year old and a 9 year old) and were mesmerised! So many discussion starters - from hearing non-binary pronouns for the first time, to artificial intelligence taking over to how humans will respond. Deep! Moving! Utterly brilliant.

An absolutely top children's book that delves into some complex themes in a subtle but exciting way. Great characters and an exhilarating story line. I was gripped from the start and loved the range of characters. Loved it!

I'm so excited to read more from this author! Dystopian fiction has been a real hit with us lately. I had a inkling I'd love it from the cover alone, but this fast-paced, action-packed adventure also got me right in the feelings. Fantastic and expertly done. Great for kids (but also a thrilling read for us adult MG fans too).

I went into this with high hopes having heard nothing but praise for the author's previous book. Even then, this book surpassed my expectations. When a short scene about a character growing vegetables makes you cry, you know you're reading a good book!The story is set 200+ years in the future in a world where humans and robots with advanced intelligence are at war. I don't want to say much about the plot as it's definitely one of those books where I'd advise going in knowing little and discovering what it's about along the way.What I will talk about is how I felt whilst reading. Right from the beginning, this book was pulling at my heartstrings, making me smile and posing interesting questions for me to ponder in between reading. I loved the skillful way the author wrote scenes that were so simple on first glance but actually conveyed complex ideas and questions about what it really means to be human.The characters were all wonderful. By this, I don't mean that they were all good, as there were a lot that were more grey than simply good or bad, but they all fit into the story wonderfully. I loved the inclusion of a non-binary character and their preferred pronouns, especially in a book where gender wasn't one of the main themes.Even though the book is set far in the future there's a lot of themes covered that are relevant today. I would love to read this book with a Year 5 or 6 class because the discussion we could have throughout would be brilliant. Towards the end, I began to wonder how the author would end things as the problems posed seemed so big, it would be almost impossible to solve them in a believable but also satisfying way. I needn't have worried. The ending was just the right amount of hopeful, realistic and bittersweet for me and having only just dried my tears from the previous page, I burst out sobbing all over again at the final scene!This is one of the best books I have read in recent years and I would recommend it to readers aged 10+ who like speculative fiction and futuristic stories. It would be a great read for those who are fans of Philip Reeve, Jonathan Stroud and Struan Murray.Content: as you might assume in a story involving wars, there is some content about death and how characters are dealing with their grief.

I bought this book for my son in response to a book review I read on GeekDad.I should have paid more attention to the review--one of the characters identifies as "nonbinary" and uses gender neutral pronouns. While this was written in the review, I didn't really think much about it because the book's focus is on robots and humans. I can see a robot being nonbinary.So, this review is just a heads-up for those parents who don't want to inject this particular social issue into their kid's life. If this was for young adults, I wouldn't think much about it, but I think it's marketed for ages 9 and up.