Book #81 of 2026: Unboxing Libby | 1 DNF: This Used To Be About Dungeons

[thistlechaser]

Unboxing Libby by Steph Cherrywell.

Quick synopsis: What seems like a story about human-sized robot/AI dolls to keep kids company turns into something much darker and more serious (though young readers could easily miss that).

Brief opinion: Based on the cover and title, I avoided this book for so long. "Why did I get a copy of it? Why is it on my Kindle? This doesn't seem like something I'd read!" I was so wrong. Well written, surprisingly dark and serious, to me I see it more as a story about slavery and personhood than about dolls for kids.

Plot: Set in the far future, humans are just starting to get Mars ready for masses of humans to arrive. Many communities (towns) are being built, tons of buildings. But how do they test it all to make sure it's working and ready for humans? Use some unsold "dolls" to live in the towns a while and make sure nothing goes wrong. (One of the characters said something like "better they die than a human does.")

These dolls come in a handful of models. Libby dolls are stereotypical girls (very social, happy, outgoing, love pink, and their clothing is just a little too tight). Wendys are smart (to understate it, they're genius). Robins are sporty. Noras are into all kinds of art. And there are a couple other types. So each community will end up with a bunch of Libbys, Wendys, etc and so they give themselves and each other nicknames -- you can't call five girls all Libby without there being confusion.

At what point does a robot become a person? As the story goes on, the dolls (and action figures -- there are boy robots as well) become more and more like people. They're still restricted by some rules of their programming, but they're no longer just a Libby or a Roxanne or a Nora. Plus of course they look just like humans do.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the plot tackles the issue of them becoming people, of wanting to live instead of just being destroyed when they no longer have a use to the humans.

Editing: Perfect. I didn't spot one error. (Though I got lost in the story, that always risks me missing an issue.)

What I Liked/What I Didn’t Like: It's not often I think about a book once I finish it (I'm too eager to jump into the next one). This one has really stuck with me. The girls (robots) were such realistic characters, and so what happens to robots on Earth (and now Mars) is all the more disturbing. How could people "kill" them so easily? How could they not be seen as people?

And related to that: How could you buy people? And just destroy them when the child gets too old for them? It's so convenient to see them as not-people.

I'm not sure what the author intended the message to be, but it struck me as a story about slavery. The author is nonbinary, so I'm betting it's also about that, about being seen as a person even when you're different.

Even after I finished the book, I'm still surprised that I liked it so much. I'm going to look at the author's other books and see if there's another I'd like to try.

Rating: 1-Hated / 2-Disliked / 3-Okay / 4-Liked / 5-Loved: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- Loved. Five stars, no notes. Loved this book.


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DNF #30: This Used To Be About Dungeons by Alexander Wales. I almost always go into a book completely blind. My Kindle usually has about 400 unread books on it, so by the time I get to one I've usually completely forgotten what it's about. In the case of this book, I spoiled that by reading reviews.

One reviewer said the author is rational, so this story is like Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (a series I loved enough that I've read it a few times now). It is nothing like it.

Another reviewer said every character is neurodivergent, which I then kept looking for instead of just going with the story.

Anyway. This is yet another Cozy book that hasn't worked for me. I think the genre just isn't for me. The story didn't hook me and I hated the main character (and didn't like any minor ones), so DNF at 16%.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I think the Unboxing Libby one sounds interesting! Commenting here to see if it works - Jeane from Dogear Diary

[thistlechaser]

Seeing it just fine here! Anonymous works.