The Wild Robot meets the Barbie movie, but make it a space opera! This unique story about futuristic lifelike robot dolls makes for a compelling read. Max's voice is hilarious; I laughed several times.

I will admit, though, that I didn't completely buy the story. The whole time I was thinking, "But they're NOT people, they really are just machines, their emotions and thoughts are synthetic!" And we really don't want robots smart enough to outsmart and overthrow us. So I didn't sympathize with the robots' plight too much. I think if they'd been magically-living dolls like in Toy Story, the concept would have worked better for me. That said, I did appreciate the exploration of free will and personhood, even if I didn't agree with the conclusions.

Also, about three-quarters of the way through, I started suspecting that Max's unique code was a metaphor for transgenderism, even bringing in, "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck..."

This was a fun book about what it means to be yourself, even if yourself isn't who others expect you to be. It was never explicitly stated, but I definitely saw similarities between Max figuring out who she truly is with trans and nonbinary people.

The characters are supposed to be around 12, but most of them felt a bit older. Maybe it was in their coding. Roxanne calling others "cupcake" made her seem more like a 45-year-old waitress at a truck stop than a middle-school-aged kid.

Throwing their own arms at each other was great and I found how Dari was described in the Sky Surferrz theme song downright hilarious.

I will definitely read from Steph Cherrywell again.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.

Whoah! Mind blown. I knew I was going to read about robots, but I like to go into a book as blind as possible so that was all I knew. I loved all the incredible themes within and out of the box of Unboxing Libby. I can only imagine that readers will be able to take even more themes as they read and make the story their own. Just read it. It will be a fun adventure.
If you’re one who needs more information here is a bit more. AI robots on Mars because of course the Earth is becoming less and less livable so the robots are going to go test out some possible communities for future habitation. But what happens as they learn to adapt to new situations?
Humans can relate to themes of self-expression, learning and understanding who and what you stand for, betrayal, and friendships. What really makes you who you are? What really makes a friend a good friend?

The premise and description of Unboxing Libby immediately brought to mind Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. I didn’t expect to find a masterpiece like Ishiguro’s but the parallels are sometimes there.. in Unboxing Libby we are faced with a world of what I pictured as animatronic American Girl dolls, except I guess they were human sized. There are different models, among them, Izzy, Nora, Wendy, Roxanne and of course Libby. Each model is a specific personality type, Noras are for example artistic, Wendys are brainiacs and Libbys are cheerful and the perfect friend. The book opens with her birth (unboxing) and from early on we realize that this Libby is “different.”
Libby is atypical for a robot. She seems to have unLibby thoughts and fights against her preprogrammed scripts. In fact,
Libby is pretty sure she is not a Libby on the inside and tries to figure out where she fits in. The story progresses with Libby trying to learn who she really is and we see her influence on some of the other robots. For me, the middle is where the story falls apart. It felt hopelessly muddled and I felt like details were being glossed over. By the time we get to the big event/climax, the Halloween Party, I was about ready to throw in the towel. Things were happening with no explanation or reason, as if there was a rush to get to the end.
The end was rushed and happened way too fast to be at all satisfying. The character of Ms. Jessie came across as an evil, hysterical , threatening woman — but she came out of nowhere, having been introduced in the very beginning and ignored to this point. There was no buildup to her being the “big bad”.
All in all it wasn’t a terrible book but I think it could have been much better. It is worth a read if you come across it.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book so I was able to sit back and enjoy the story as it unfolded. There are so many themes here that would make for interesting conversations with middle grade readers. Especially with the current push in AI and more life-like robots - when you give a robot a personality and feelings what ethics come into play when those robots are decommissioned? I found myself sometimes forgetting that the characters were not human after following their very human-like problems with identity and finding a place to fit in. I also thought the idea of the same models of robots expressing their personalities in different ways was a very interesting way to mirror the obstacles young people have in figuring out who they are. I work in a high school and have on more than one occasion had the thought that so many of the students look the same - they style their hair the same way, wear the same types of clothing, do their make-up the same way, etc. It reminds me of the concept of "mass produced individuality" - which is why I so appreciated this book's message of discovering who you really are and that sometimes you can be a little bit of lots of personalities. Max is far from a perfect person and that's what truly makes her so relatable. I loved that she was the one to kind of start the fight, but needed her friends in order to truly bring about the change and security she and the other robots needed. The way in which the "big-bad-company' is brought down was as unexpected as it was genius. I highly recommend this book for classroom and school libraries!

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Unboxing Libby pulls on the nostalgic strings for anyone who has played with an American Girl Doll and wished it could come to life.

Set in the far future when colonization of Mars is possible, Libby and her other AI doll friends have one job: to simulate future communities and work out the kinks before humans move in. Their variety of models are programmed with memories, personalities, and skill sets originally designed to provide children with engaging play and friendship. Left to their own devices with limited human interaction, it's only a matter of time before the AI begin to think for themselves especially when one doesn't quite fit the mold.

I found the plot to be predictable of AI, but still a fun take for middle-grade readers. I could easily see this becoming a series.

This was awesome! Such a fantastic balance of action, humor, and heart. I really enjoyed reading it. Excerpts about the dolls or different corporate interviews made the world feel immersive. The humor and social commentary were sharp and also trusted the reader to understand.

The first middle-grade novel I read this year is Steph Cherrywell’s Unboxing Libby, which begins with the robot Libby powering up fresh out of her pink packaging. Think American Girl dolls meet Marionettes Inc.
The story takes place on Mars a couple hundred years in the future, in an unfinished community eventually meant for humans: Libby’s mother is a robot, her schoolmates and their parents are robots, there are robots everywhere. They’re all only children of single parents to maximize resources. There are a range of types: nice Libby, brainy Wendy, artistic Nora, fun Mike, and so forth.
I wasn’t expecting to be so captivated, but the attention to detail early on in the story made for an intriguing start: the robots have “clumsy counters” so that they randomly stumble or drop stuff now and then; there are eight other Libbys at Libby’s school but to avoid confusion they have nicknames; they can eat but are given paper food because real food is scarce and for humans. Cherrywell’s attention to detail stayed consistent throughout the story, and she has built a world that’s immersive. At first it’s fun, just a bit creepy and then it’s very unsettling indeed.
The robots are based on a program called A.I.Cadamy Girls, and some of the robots have watched the series and this plays into how the story unfolds. Cherrywell builds the story in clever layers, and there are plenty of familiar concerns likely to resonate with middle grade readers here: identity, bullying, isolation, stereotyping. In addition to the sociable Libbies, there are the Roxannes, who are – at least on the surface – bullies, introverted artist Noras, bookish Wendies, Miracles who sing, and so on. These robots were created as toys, but have been repurposed to inhabit planned Mars settlements to discover “potential problems” before the people do. This is as sinister as it sounds and makes for an excellent story.
What unfolds is as much a story about the reader as it is about Libby Maxwell and the other robots; Cherrywell lulls us into forgetting the robots aren’t human, and then startles us back to that awareness. It’s likely the reader will be thinking outside the story about artificial intelligence and the ethics of designing systems to be as human as possible, as well as issues like disposability and consumerism.
I thought constantly of Ray Bradbury’s short fiction and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie as I read, and it’s the accessibly clever attention to detail and knack for sensibility shared by both that I find most satisfying here.
I recommend this to friends as a an engaging and odd escape from the dark science fiction for adults many of us read. But for the target audience, this is a solid introduction to fantastic fiction, and would suit readers who enjoy Nicola Skinner, Laura Amy Schlitz, or Derek Landy.
I received an advance copy of Unboxing Libby by Steph Cherrywell from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a strong concept and enjoyed the element that I was hoping for, it uses the android element perfectly and enjoyed the concept of this. Steph Cherrywell has a strong writing style and was engaged with how the characters were written.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing this book, with my honest review below.

What a great book for those who have nostalgia recalling American Girl Dolls and, of course, its target audience of younger readers. I’d go ahead and say this is a targeted for a bookworm at ten, but otherwise closer to 12 - 15 age group (12 being the age of our main character, Libby), though as an adult I enjoyed it as well.

Set on Mars two hundred years in the future, the people on earth have mastered AI and robotics enough to create lifelike robots that are sophisticated enough to inhabit communities on the red planet which is being settled for human life after a past of mining. These robots are put in the communities to ‘try them out’ and the data around their day to day, which mimics that of the humans who will eventually live in their homes, will help find dangers before people move in. The robots are those who don’t sell well on earth, and Libby and her classmates are more specifically A.I.Cademy girls who are party of a popular earth show. Much like our carebears they are known for their somewhat cookie cutter personalities and interests. Libby SHOULD be kind and supportive and focused on baking and the color pink, but due to some issues with her code she breaks the mold, acting just a bit like all the other girls and disregarding the rules set up for her community.

The book offers plenty of background and context to help world build and introduces each character through their doll/robot personae early on. It also throws in a great ‘mystery’ with Libby (who goes by Max as there are several Libby doll/robots present in their community) finding out exactly what happens to those with her issues and how little she and her friends are valued. There are lessons sneakily wrapped up in this story as well as some awesome girl power and justice parts. As an adult I adored it and think tweens (and above) will be similarly interested, if not more!