Cager Messer has a serious drug problem. His friend Billy and caretaker Rowan (whom no one is sure is actually a human and not a bot) decide that an environment completely removed from temptation might be best to clean him up, and they shanghai Cager and travel to Cager's father's new vacation starliner, the Tennessee. Since it's not opened for business yet, all that will be there is a crapload of bots, Cager, Billy, and Rowan.

Of course, like any plans, they don't quite survive execution. Once the boys get there, they realize there's a few problems with the ship, and they've got two young female stowaways. It's a big ship, though, so it takes awhile for them to actually run into each other.

Bottom line? This book was bizarre. Amusingly bizarre in some places, bafflingly so in others. There's a lot of teenage dick jokes, drug use, and robots that show only extremes in emotion. That point was actually where I found a bit distasteful and tiresome--one of the emotions robots in this world can get stuck on is outrage. When those bots have fits, they yell about being 'offended' and 'triggered' at the slightest provocation, which felt like commentary on the internet today. After the first few times, the point was made. The more it happens throughout the book, the more tiresome it became.

I've liked Smith's work in the past, and his tendency toward the quirky and bizarre typically amuses. This time missed the mark a bit for me.

Two spoiled teenage kids, sons of the richest men on earth, end up stranded on a luxury liner space vehicle and it looks like they are the last humans alive in the universe, or at least that’s what they think. It’s a world of cyborgs, war, drugs, and a crazy video series featuring Bonk and Mooney in the absurd and at times totally confusing novel Rabbit and Robot by Andrew Smith.

Cager Messer and Billy Hinman have led a sheltered life with carefully selected friends who are interviewed for the position. Basically ostracized from the general world at large, the two boys are usually left to their own devices and watched over by Rowan, Cager’s caretaker since birth. A cynical world is revealed full of curse words, sexual innuendos, bodily functions, and cyborgs who are obsessed with one thing or another unwittingly imparted into their being by disgruntled, happy, or horny workers. While these advancements of technology might be considered useful tools, like a toaster or can opener, their lifelike compositions make them difficult to ignore until, that is, they become infected with a “virus” and begin behaving unlike any modern human being.

Lots of twists and turns, this story is sure to appeal to the gross side of any preteen/teenage boy but might turn off anyone sensitive to antisocial behaviors such as constant swearing, erections, and farting. A “fun” little bit of entertainment with short chapters, lots of sumptuous meals, and some pompous robots who are prone to pontification along with their own fair share of gratuitous violence.

Despite the disgusting details, I’m giving this one four stars with a thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review also appears on my blog, Gotta Read:

https://ellenk59.wordpress.com/2019/01/04/rabbit-and-robot-by-andrew-smith/

Cager and Billy, two wealthy privileged kids living in the future, escape to the Tennessee, a giant space ship owned by Cager's dad. Cager is trying to kick a drug habit, so Billy essentially kidnaps him and traps him in space where his access to drugs is cut off. Unfortunately, while they are on the ship, a world-ending war breaks out on Earth, stranding Cager, Billy and their guardian, Rowen, in space forever with nothing but cogs (robot people meant to serve the ship's passengers) for company.

This is the first Andrew Smith book that I've read. I've heard such great things about his other books and have been wanting to read something by him. I appreciate the creativity of the story, and I was interested enough to read 250 pages, but ultimately, I decided to stop. I just wasn't enjoying myself and would rather be reading something else. This book isn't without merit. There is humor and the characters have some depth. I think there are readers out there for this book. It just isn't really my cup of tea.

I didn't enjoy this as much as Grasshopper Jungle. It seemed like it was going for the same style and even made a reference or two to it, but somehow it lacked the same enjoyment. It was too over the top and I just became desensitized and didn't care about it anymore.

Cager is taken aboard a nearly unmanned spaceship by his best friend to help rehabilitate him from his drug addiction. I love how Cager approaches problems with his rich boy naïveté while also being open minded. Insane cogs (robots) run the ship and make the humans uncomfortable with their lack of tact. This one isn’t for everyone with its strong language and crude humor. However, the world building is unique, with Smith’s signature humor and heart.

I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of Rabbit & Robot and I will just say... WOW. I was just blown away by the story, the characters, the humor, the messaging, the philosophy, etc. The whole concept is pretty genius and the way that Smith creates a plot, conflict, and tension, well, the dude's a masterful writer, a genius of YA lit and lit just in general.

I know that Smith has been compared to Vonnegut previously and I am always looking for those connections in his writing and being a huge Vonnegut fan I can say that this book is probably his most Vonnegut-y so far. Moreso than Grasshopper Jungle and The Alex Crow and those were pretty Vonnegut-y. The big questions of who we are, what are we doing here, and why, and trying to figure all those things out, well, I don't think that Cager and Billy are every going to figure those things out when they're 16, but they have a pretty solid hold on it by the end of Rabbit & Robot. I love the way that they end up on The Tennessee and I love the conflict that they continue to face being rich kids who don't know anything about being social, and I love that they try and figure out how to make sense of it all.

I would certainly teach this book to my 8th graders but there is a ton of potentially offensive language within these pages. But, I've always been a fan and protector of the NCTE right to read, so if there was a problem, I would trust the kid and their parents to make the right decision. The language pales in comparison to the potential conversations one can have with a classroom of engaged students (and make no mistake, students will be engaged). The difference between coders and bonks, humans and robots, and of course, what does it all mean and why the hell are we all here, are all pieces of the puzzles and Smith gives us a treasure trove of potential talking and writing points.

"Love and hope are what make us what we are." A perfect ideology for all humanity. Sadly, and I wonder if this is what Smith was getting at, we're pretty far away from love and hope is really all we have left (for now at least). Needless to say, I loved this book and plan on purchasing a copy of it when it comes out (and hopefully getting it signed by the man himself).

Such good stuff!

Of all the books to get an ARC for, this is the one I was waiting for. And let me tell you - all of my hopes and dreams were answered! This book is weird and wonderful and so Andrew Smith it made me realize just how much I missed him! Fans of "Grasshopper Jungle" are going to devour this one, because it certainly has a similar vibe, while also being completely different at the same time (if that makes any sense). Additionally, after reading this, I also remember what I love most about Andrew Smith - and that is the fact that through all the weird and the silly and the just plain crazy, his characters are always, ALWAYS, thoughtful and compelling and layered. Cager is such a fantastic protagonist, one who at the end of the day and amid all the shenanigans aboard the "Tennessee," just wants a taste of normal teenagdom. I think a lot of older teen readers will rally behind Cager and appreciate just how layered of a character he is making this a necessary purchase for all YA collections.

ALL the stars

I kept waiting for some deeper meaning to appear underneath the drug haze, gallons of robot mucus, erections, and mood swings, and I was ultimately disappointed. Certainly there are messages here about consumerism and the sort of "us vs. them" closed-minded ignorance that humans seem to specialize in, but it wasn't enough for me. I wanted the ending to reveal its cards with a punch to the gut, but instead I was left confused and muttering..."Well, DUH."

Where Grasshopper Jungle felt weird in an interesting and unique way, this felt repetitive and kind of silly. It's absolutely possible that I missed something here.

A more meaningful (even fifteen years later) read-alike is Feed by M.T. Anderson.