The Wild Robot and The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown (Hachette Book Group)
I think that someone made me aware of the first book in this
pair at some point last year so I was aware of the book but when Kentishbookboy
said that the 2nd book was on his Christmas list I decided it was
time to have a proper look at them.
I’m so pleased that I did – these are just wonderfully
gentle books that have some huge messages to share with readers, but these are
woven into the plot so naturally that it isn’t until you close the book you
realise just how profound the books are.
In book one there is a shipwreck and a robot, called Roz,
somehow survives and washes up on a remote island where she boots up in to
life. She is a complete innocent at first and slowly starts to work out how to
survive, despite the harsh conditions and unfriendly animals already living on
the island.
There is lots of peril, lots of learning and also lots of
happy events as Roz finds her place on the island. The final adventure is
incredibly gripping but as this sets up book 2 I’m not going to talk about it
and give away the details.
In a gentle and natural way the book is about loneliness,
prejudice, fear, finding a home, being different, and how your family doesn’t
have to be traditional. The sequel includes these themes too, along with the
dangers of unrestricted use of AI, grief, and depression. But again you don’t
realise this until after you’ve shut the book and start thinking about it.
I like that the idea that Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics
are obeyed in this story even as we suspend belief in that Roz doesn’t need to
top up her charge at any point…
I adored these two books, and the short chapters made them
ideal for reading whilst in the queue for rides at Disneyland Paris – huge
thanks to Norfolk Libraries ebook offer which meant I could download the 2nd
book in France as soon as I’d finished the first one!
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