A high school student creates a simulated world for a science contest. When one of the characters becomes sentient she is forced to start making difficult decisions about how to proceed with her experiment.

This was a super fun and easily digestible YA sci fi. It doesn’t get too far into the complexities of how this could happen, it just makes you think “What if?”
The ending is a little mind blowing so that was a super fun surprise for the reader.

I liked the characters as well. Liv was a sweet, introverted little girl who just wanted to make everyone around her happy but also do the right thing for herself and her conscience. Her relationship with her mother was relatable, often times our parents don’t understand the new tech world we live in and resent it. Often times they don’t really understand us.

The takeaways from this book are pretty deep. Leaving this review off with a quote that really drove the whole point home for me:

“Maybe the questions Im asking aren’t that unique. Who made me, why am I here? What am I supposed to do? What does this mean? These are the basic questions of existence. Nobody has a clear answer, no matter where or how they exist.”.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc. I had so much fun with it.

3.5 stars rounded up!

The idea of AI and sentience is not a new question in fiction or philosophy, and it's one we continue to wrestle with as technology advances. I think this book is a good introduction to the conversation, and it's one I would recommend to teens who want to think through some of those philosophical ideas and wrestle with the possibilities for the first time. The story pretty clearly lays out the ethical and moral considerations and provides some good nuancing for someone to think through the issues, especially if they have someone to discuss it with. If you're like me and have already been thinking through those ideas for a while, then this book probably isn't going to add anything to the conversation for you.

That being said, I enjoyed this book, and I enjoyed working through the ethical dilemmas from Liv's perspective. There was one plot point at the beginning that made little to no sense to me regarding how the AI gained sentience and the mother-daughter relationship drove me a little crazy, but those were the only detractors. And, even though the mother-daughter relationship drove me crazy, there were other amazing adults in the book, which meant it avoided some of the YA traps of totally isolating the underage mc from wise counsel when faced with morally and ethically nuanced decisions. I appreciate how the book fostered and facilitated discussion even within the world of the story, and I hope it starts lots of good conversations for teen readers after it's published!

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

3.75
I went into this book expecting some romance sci fi story but boy was I served something way better.

The writing isn’t great and felt flat for the most part, but the plot and then twists in the latter half of the story is just so good.

There are definitely some good ideas discussed here although it’s probably nothing new if you’re a sci fi reader or have read anything in the realms of AI. However, this story as a whole is a good one and if you persevere through the lacklustre start, you are rewarded.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy of eMortal I got to read.

Liv is a teenage coder taking part in a competition to win a prestigious internship by coding an advanced AI. What happens when that AI becomes self-aware, learns the truth about his existence, and revolts?

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very easy read, split between the POV of Liv, our 17 year old coder, and Breck, the AI she built. I found as the story progressed that there were more and more ethical questions raised, and how do you determine if AI has become sentient?

I found myself keen to get back to this book to continue the story which is always a good sign! The story didn't always take the line expected and just when I had it sussed, something else happened to prove me wrong.

A very enjoyable YA sci-fi read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters and the situations had me at every turn. “eMortal” by Steve Schafer is a wonderfully paced sci-fi novel that dives into the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and human identity. The book combines unexpected twists with deep questions about technology, ethics, and the future of AI. With the many concepts and a stunning twist at the end, you'll have lots to ponder and digest. There's also a neat Q&A at the end of the book from the author. I highly recommend this book especially in this age of AI and with the unimagined consequences as technology continues to grow and change.

Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial Audio for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Liv is a high school student who entered a contest to create an advanced AI, Breck, that could solve a series of tasks. Liv was very successful and Breck seems to be sentient. I enjoyed the book a lot and think that as AI technology improves we will be facing more situations like this. There was good twist at the end.

I enjoyed Stacy Carolan and Rebecca H. Lee's narration.

Original and Interesting.

The following ratings are out of 5:
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: ☹️🥲😋😀😮
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

The heroine: Liv - she is a teenage computer geek. She is really good at programming and has entered a contest to code an AI character that can think and learn for itself. It is a yearly contest held by the government entity called DORC (Department of Recreational Computation), DORC programmed the world and the character has to find his way through it. Her character has been in the first room for over 30 days and hasn’t been able to make it out of the room and there is only a week left in the contest. It is spring break and Liv wants to win and get the coveted internship in DC.

The Hero: Breck - he doesn’t understand what is happening to him after Liv programs him to sleep and dream. He can’t figure out why he was someplace else other than in the room where he finds himself every day. He remembers he was swimming and there were penguins and he can’t figure out why he is not wet or how he left the room and how he got back. As Breck’s day goes along he finds himself thinking about why certain things happen and how they are connected and finds his way out of the room. He finds himself feeling something.

The Story: Winning the summer internship is the most important thing in Liv’s life, but her mother wants to get her away from her computer, so she forces Liv to go to work for her at her grandfather’s toy store which Liv’s mom just had remodeled and is opening. Liv’s mom hates the fact that Liv spends so much time on her computer and she is in financial trouble with the store, so needs Liv’s help with the store, she doesn’t understand the importance of the things that are happening with Breck.

Getting the inner monologue of Breck as he is learning new things and figuring out different things about how the world works is extremely interesting. He learns that people may lie when telling him things, learns that he feels differently sometimes, and he has preferences. It gets even more interesting when Liv codes a way to communicate directly with Breck to ask him questions about his thought processes. This is a good coming of age story in that so much was happening in Liv’s life during this time. Her best friend who lives next door finds out she has to move away, and Liv is trying to find a way to connect with her mother.

This audiobook was told in multiple points of view via dual narration and was narrated by Rebecca H. Lee and Stacy Carolan. My first thought was that Rebecca definitely sounds older than Liv is supposed to be. Though she isn’t annoying like some narrators, and I did get used to her voice pretty quickly and it ended up fitting the character more than I first thought. Stacy Carolan has a nice deep voice and is good at sounding a bit robotic like an AI would, though not too robotic. I really enjoyed the originality of this story, the surprise ending, and it was done so well via audiobook.

I voluntarily listened to & reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this sci-fi book. What a great concept that was well executed. The twist is something I don’t think anyone would see coming! The story kept me hooked every step of the way.

✨ Massive thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to check this book ✨

Yall biggest 5⭐️ of the year (so far)

This book. This book!!!! Has me shook days after finishing it!!! Great premise, from the beginning I loved it. Yes, Liv (FMC) was fairly annoying, but it was a great representation of a 17-year-old teen. The relationship between Liv and her mom reminded me of my own relationship with my mom when I was her age. Our priorities were just not the same. I get it, Liv, I really do.

I enjoyed the challenges and Sam made me want to pull my hair out, but I survived.

Lana did my head in a little but it was fine.

The end just shook my world and I am 100% questioning my reality as I type this.

Would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sci fi.

I’ll preface this review by saying that this type of plot/genre is not my usual go-to, but I wanted to branch out a bit. That being said, I did not enjoy it. The writing seemed robotic (pun intended) even from the characters who weren’t robots. The adults in the story were horrible and the students seemed to be a lot younger than they were, which makes me wonder at the intended audience for this book. Short summary: the local university hosts a contest for coding advanced AI which Liv enters with her creation, Breck. Breck appears to become sentient, which leads Liv to want to save him after the contest is over.

4.25⭐️ Okay, can we talk about existential crises for a second? Because eMortal hits hard in that department! The story follows Liv, a coder who enters a contest to create an advanced AI. She ends up building Breck—who’s not just intelligent but self-aware and incredibly human. The kicker? His world ends when the contest wraps up in six days. And when he finds out? Let’s just say he does not take it well.

What follows is a wild ride of rebellion, desperation, and some serious “what does it mean to be alive?” moments. It took me a little while to get a feel for the world and characters, but once I did, I was hooked. And that ending? Absolutely fantastic—one of those jaw-dropping, sit-there-staring-at-the-wall-after-you-finish kind of endings.

If you’re into stories that mess with your mind and make you question reality (while also being super entertaining), eMortal is definitely worth the read.

A very cute story that explores what it means to be a person. Overall this had a nice cozy and thoughtful feel to it. What kept this from being a five star read was I didn't love the twist at the end and I didn't think things with the mom were well resolved.

I started this read really liking it. It was a bit slow in the beginning and some of the technical aspects of the “game” were a bit odd and unrealistic but I loved the beginning plot. It deviated as the game progressed and the relationship between the fmc and her mom was explored in the story. I ultimately liked the concept of the book better than execution.

Thank you BooksGoSocial Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.


OK.. I think I may like sci-fi. This was an interesting little gem. I KNEW it... I had the feeling the end would be the way it was..... BUT was a very entertaining book.
YES!
give it a try! 4.5 for me.

Thoughtful YA about artificial intelligence.

A great concept – student enters a programming competition where she must watch her creation navigate several challenges to prove her coding abilities. But Breck seems much more aware and capable and… life-like than Liv programmed him to be. Is he still just a computer programme, or has he become something else?

This two-narrator story gives us both the coder and the simulation perspectives, I really liked following Breck as he experiences dreams, sleep, independent thought and seeing himself as different from the clearly created ‘player’ he must fulfil his challenges with.

I could also picture his world. Watching Liv in the real world speak with him, and work for him when she realises what he is, it was quite tense and there was a lot of moral/ethical philosophising between characters that felt like a debate one might have in school.

There’s a Q&A with the author at the end as well, which answers a few questions about his reasons behind the book and his own thoughts on the topic.

The story goes in directions you might expect, but also throws a few surprises at you, and I think has a lot to say to contemporary readers surrounded by fast-advancing technology.

Loved the voices chosen to portray the characters, just the right amount of humanity/tech about them, and an easy way to access the story.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample audio copy.

This book was an unexpected surprise. I went in not expecting much and this book ended up being a complete 180 from that. It was such an engrossing novel! I never expected it to go in the direction it went in. eMortal leaves you thinking about where we are very quickly going with AI and sentience. The machines are alive: Or are they? Skynet is coming for you… And we are doomed! AI can have… feelings!?!?!

Liv has entered a contest to code an advance AI and the winner receives a glorious internship that she could only dream of. The contest is nearing the end and her creation Breck is seemingly becoming self-aware, has deep thoughts, and just seems human. But Breck is not aware that when the contest is over, so is he.

We have dual narrations of both Liv and Breck, the AI she created. We see Liv’s home life and with Breck we see the challenges he is working on for the contest. All while seemingly becoming more ‘real’.

Both narrations were intriguing for me, but Breck takes it all. You can see him evolving into something, and he begins to question so many things. I adored Breck, while his and Liv’s situations leave you thinking. There are so many thoughts this book leaves you with such as Who Am I?, Why are we (humans) here?, and Can AI learn and develop emotions? Are they truly alive?

The narrators both did an extraordinary job. Rebecca H. Lee was great a Liv while Stacy Carolan was perfect as Breck for me!

The surprising direction the book takes just adds to the thoughts the book leaves you with. This was my first book by Schafer and I really glad I came across it. Many thanks to the publisher BooksGoSocial for offering it on NetGalley as a “Listen Now”. I might not have ever found this book otherwise.

Something fun for you to do, which I also did: If you go on the author’s website https://steveschaferauthor.com/ you can actually converse with Breck. He will ask you lots of questions!

eMortal is a must read!

First time listening to a complete book on audiobook! I loved the narrators' voices, Brick's voice was my favorite due to the diction, but Liv's was a little high-pitched but still pleasant to hear..
A book that leaves us anxious to know what will happen next and in the end leaves us surprised with its conclusion..
Especially in this age where AI is becoming part of our lives, this book makes us wonder if and how we can separate true human emotion or emotion created by AI...is this all REAL?

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would.

In this story we get to follow Liv, who's entered a competition about creating an AI that needs to evolve and get through different tasks for them to proceed in the competition. Breck not only learns and becomes smarter, he also starts developing feelings, and soon seeing him as only a code in a computer gets more and more complicated.

The story is well written with fun little twists, and I found myself really caring for Breck, wanting him to succeed and have his wishes fulfilled, despite knowing that technically he wasn't real.

Quick and easy read that feels highly accurate now in a time when AI is becoming more and more popular everywhere, for better and for worse. Highly recommended.

Amazing narrator!!! Anything with AI and I’m hooked. I loved the plot and the characters. It hooked me right from the start.
Can’t wait to listen to the other book by this author.

4.5

Such an amazing story.
I always love scifi with a bit of philosophical aspect to it, and emortal nailed it.
Looking forward to read more of the author’s books.