Picture drawn by Maggie Stiefvater, 2009. Header made by S.F. Robertson, 2010.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Girl Parts by John M Cusick


Girl Parts by John M Cusick
"David and Charlie are opposites. David has a million friends, online and off. Charlie is a soulful outsider, off the grid completely. But neither feels close to anybody. When David’s parents present him with a hot Companion bot designed to encourage healthy bonds and treat his “dissociative disorder,” he can’t get enough of luscious redheaded Rose — and he can’t get it soon. Companions come with strict intimacy protocols, and whenever he tries anything, David gets an electric shock.

Parted from the boy she was built to love, Rose turns to Charlie, who finds he can open up, knowing Rose isn’t real. With Charlie’s help, the ideal “companion” is about to become her own best friend."-summary from Amazon

I really enjoyed this book, though it's one of those that I was hoping no one would ask me about or see the cover and of course it's the one I brought to ALA to read. Cover aside, it had a fantastic premise and was really original. I loved how Cusick digged in deep and made his characters three-dimensional, including even the Companion. There's a lot of introspective and quiet moments that you might not expect to be in this novel, so that was a nice aspect.

There is also lots of humor sprinkled throughout, though it's not as hilarious as the back cover summary suggests. I also thought it was kind of funny how the way for these boys to become more social and away from the machines that they're obsessed with (though I'm sure there's a few boys who have them who are more like Charlie, who doesn't do much on the computer) is through a machine and not, yknow, getting involved in extracurriculars.

Also in the book is a bit of a mystery, though it doesn't come into play until the latter half of the novel. There's something going on though with Sakora Solutions (the company that makes the Companions) and I'm excited to see what it is. The ending had me going "This can't be all. There must be more. There isn't?! NOOOOO!!" and then people looked at me funny but whatever. However, there is a sequel coming, so at least there's that to look forward to. I can't wait to see where the story goes.

FTC: Received ARC through Around the World tours. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

11 comments:

  1. I didn't like this one as much. I was expecting more humor too. I'll definitely be picking up the sequel though.

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  2. I really want to read it. I think it is a cool idea ( from what I have read). I think it would be fun to do a review of for my blog.
    you did a great review

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  3. I'm glad you enjoyed this, and that it's a bit deeper than it appears. Girl Parts is in my TBR Pile, so I'm excited to read it now!

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  4. When I first read the back I immediately thought of "Chobits". I tried reading Girl Parts, but just the style of writing and the confusion in the beginning made me lose interest quickly. Hopefully I'll pick it up again later.

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  5. The story of this book really intrigues me, it sounds like an interesting concept!

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  6. My friend gave me a copy of Girl Parts, but I haven't read it yet. Thanks for the review, I'm looking forward to reading it. Have a great week!

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  7. Great review, I'm a little further down on the tour list but can't wait to get this one and start reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it, can't wait!

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  8. Yan- Being that I loved Chobits, you'd think I would've made that connection, but I did not, lol. Thanks for pointing that out.


    And thanks everyone for commenting! I didn't think there'd be this many so early in the day!

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  9. The guys learning to express themselves better through the doll reminds me of Monica, an S2B2 story.

    http://s2b2.livejournal.com/110704.html

    (Warning for being from S2B2.)

    But this one sounds interesting to me - but I can see what you mean about wanting to hide the cover and title!

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  10. this looks good - in my head i keep thinking about the buffybot whenever i see the cover

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  11. Sounds like an anime I heard of once mixed with another anime called rozen maiden

    sadly I can't find a link to it

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