Saturday, February 19, 2011

How To Say Goodbye In Robot by Natalie Standiford

How To Say Goodbye In Robot by Natalie Standiford
2009, Scholastic Press


Summary

New to town, Bea is expecting her new best friend to be one of the girls she meets on the first day. But instead, the alphabet conspires to seat her next to Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, a quiet loner who hasn't made a new friend since third grade. Something about him, though, gets to Bea, and soon they form an unexpected friendship. It's not romance, exactly - but it's definitely love. Still, Bea can't quite dispel Jonah's gloom and doom - and as she finds out his family history, she understands why. Can Bea help Jonah? Or is he destined to vanish? (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

This is one of the strangest books I've ever read. The characters are all damaged in some way. Pages are taken up by a "transcript" of a very weird radio show. The plot is less important than the characters themselves. Despite the oddness of the book or perhaps because of it, How to Say Goodbye in Robot was fascinating.

Bea moves to Baltimore from Ithaca when her professor father accepts a new job. She is a nice girl but very detached. I imagine she's rarely had or felt the need for a lot of friends. She is like her father in many ways. They both watch her mother descend further into mental illness from the background, seemingly without emotion or reaction. They're bothered by her depression and weird/embarrassing actions but they don't do anything about it. I thought that was very odd.

On the first day of school, Bea is polite to Jonah a.k.a. Ghost Boy, the school outcast. He brushes her off but then sends her a cryptic note to listen to a radio show that evening. The radio show is really cool - I wish I knew of a real one like it - a regular group of misfits call in and just talk, about Elvis, time travel, flying carpets, singing, everything. It's like a group of friends chatting every evening. Bea and Jonah bond over this show and become fast friends. I did think that the quickness of their friendship was unrealistic. I never understood why Jonah reached out to Bea when he never reached out to anyone else. And their friendship just seemed too strong too fast.

The book meanders along with various plot points that I won't give away but it's really about these two characters, with side appearances from their classmates and rather disturbed parents. The detached Bea is clearly very attached to Jonah, but still keeps her emotions hidden away. Jonah is a very complicated character. He was damaged forever after a car accident took the lives of his mother and twin brother, leaving him only with a jerk father. Jonah is depressed and angry at the world. He really cares for Bea but often masks that with mean sarcasm. Bea either finds this amusing or ignores it. I liked Jonah because I felt sorry for him, but sometimes he came close to cruelty.

The book is the same from the beginning to the end - depressing, bittersweet, and thoughtful. It's one of those book that grows on you with time. When I finished this months ago, I rated it a 3.5. Good but not great. But I can't get the book out of my head. It stuck with me as something special, going from good to nearly great. A very strange book, but an excellent one.

Rating: 4 / 5

10 comments:

  1. I just won this book and I can't wait to read it. I like to read different books, and it's always great when you can get a book out of your head.

    Thanks for the review!

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  2. I remember enjoying this one too even with the formating.
    Thanks for review!
    Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog

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  3. I really liked this book, because it was so odd! Thanks for the great review!
    If you want to win the book, I'm doing a contest at:
    http://thebucketlist-gn.blogspot.com/2011/02/100-followers-giveaway.html
    Happy reading!

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  4. I had heard of this book, but had never read a review until now. It sounds quirky good.

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  5. New follower here!
    Thank you for reviewing this! I've heard of it, but never thought to pick it up until I stopped by here. Now if only I could get to the bottom of my tbr shelf...

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  6. I enjoyed this title and it is definitely quirky. My favorite parts were listening to the radio show, something which I do when I can't fall asleep either. It's definitely bittersweet and I hope both Jonah (poor guy!) and Bea find some happiness.

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  7. Great review. I think it sounds like a pretty interesting read.

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  8. Sounds so weird! But, it also sounds like something I would like! I tend to like books like this. And you know, I also love it when books stick with you for so long, you bump up your rating. You should try Crazy, by Han Nolan and On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. I think you'd like those.

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  9. Strange. I can't seem to decide whether or not I want to read this book. It does seem very odd. I know what you mean about a book that stays with you. Sometimes I don't love those books, but there's something about them that won't let me go.

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  10. I just had the same experience with a book. I finished and was almost angry with it but now a few weeks have passed and I like it now.
    I keep hearing great reviews about this book. I liked your review, it explained it a little better than most that I've read.

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