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How To Say Goodbye In Robot: Summary and book reviews of How To Say Goodbye In Robot by Natalie Standiford, plus links to an excerpt from How To Say Goodbye In Robot and a biography of Natalie Standiford.
How To Say Goodbye In Robot
by
Natalie Standiford
Hardcover: Oct 2009,
288 pages.
New to town, Beatrice 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?
Book Reviews
BookBrowse - Tamara Smith
Natalie Standiford skillfully reveals rich emotional landscapes as she takes the reader through the complicated, painful and gorgeous lives of her characters as they confront their losses and navigate the gaps left in their wake. Full Review (members only, 739 words).
Publishers Weekly
Bea's darkly comic sensibility carries the story...There's no happy ending, but that, too, will give this first novel resonance with anybody on the fringe. Ages 13–up.
Booklist
Credit is due to Standiford for the delicate portrayal of Jonah’s home life, which could have veered into soap-opera territory... The heart of this novel is
neither cold and metallic nor full of romance and delusion. Instead, it’s very human.
Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review.A decidedly purposeful not-love story, this has all the makings of a cult hit with a flavor similar to Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999). Ages 12+.
School Library Journal
Starred Review. Teens will identify with the intense emotions of Beatrice and Jonas, the reasons they are drawn to each other, and the ups and downs of their relationship. An outstanding choice for a book discussion group.
Libba Bray, author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine
Sweet, sad, wonderfully quirky, and delightfully original, Natalie Standiford’s beautifully honest book made me laugh in surprise, nod in understanding, and wish that I were part robot so that my heart would stop breaking.
You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family.
The Postmistress is an unforgettable tale of the secrets we must bear, or bury. It is about what happens to love during wartime, when those we cherish leave. And how every story-of love or war-is about looking left when we should have been looking right.
Masterfully blending true events with fiction, this blockbuster historical thriller delivers a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. The Swan Thieves is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.
Lisa See has written a great book! This story is satisfying on many levels, some scenes horrifying, but seemingly truthful, and her handling of the ...
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I was sorry to see that there were so few reviews. I started reading COAL and could not stop. The only thing I am going to say is that I wish ...
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The tragedy, the sorrow, the loss, is almost too much for me to recommend this; on the other hand Mistry made me believe I knew these characters. I ...
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UK Orange Award longlist announced(Mar 17 2010) Hilary Mantel, Sarah Waters and Barbara Kingsolver have made the longlist for the 2010 Orange Prize, a 20-strong list described by chair Daisy Goodwin as...
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National Book Critics Circle Awards announced(Mar 11 2010) Each March, the NBCC present awards for the finest books and reviews published in English (in the USA) the previous year in six categories: Fiction,...
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How To Say Goodbye In Robot
(members only, 739 words).
Publishers Weekly
Libba Bray, author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine
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