Title: The Second Life of Snap

Series: Standalone

Author: Erin Entrada Kelly

Genre: Children’s Literature, Dystopian

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review:

Twelve-year-old Zuzu Santos doesn’t want a robot. She and her best friends, otherwise known as “the Valleycats,” would rather explore Bright Valley on their own. But then Zuzu meets Snap, a know-it-all guardian robot with a limited battery life and an abundance of hope.
Bright Valley Subsidized Camp #5 is not a perfect place to live. It’s dusty, there are no trees to provide respite from the beating sun, the trailers are falling apart, and the water supply is heavily rationed. But to twelve-year-old Zuzu Santos and her three best friends, Bright Valley is home.
When Zuzu’s dad loses his job at Lockwood, the corporation that controls everything from rations to education, he isn’t given money or food or water as severance, but a dated, first-generation robot. They do not provide a working charging station. Zuzu names the robot Snap, and he soon becomes part of the Bright Valley family. But Snap’s battery is dwindling every day, and though Snap is prepared for his inevitable reset, Zuzu isn’t. She would do whatever it takes to keep Snap alive. The problem is, Snap would do the same for Zuzu and her friends, no matter the cost. – summary from Goodreads

The Second Life of Snap was an interesting robot dystopian perfect for younger readers!

This book was very short and didn’t take me that long to read, so this review is going to be very short.

It being so short was both a positive and a negative. For younger readers this is the perfect length, especially if they can’t sit still for very long. It is also nice if you’re looking for something quick and easy. However, I feel like it could have been a little longer and expanded on the world and characters a little more. As it is, I felt like the ending was very abrupt.

I enjoyed this book and the story. It ended very suddenly, though and I feel like I didn’t get a good look at the world or situation. The idea was better than the execution in my eyes. The story was so intriguing, but it fell short in character development and, in my opinion, telling a full story. I would almost say disjointed.

Again, I enjoyed this book for the most part, but it needs a little something more for me to really have loved it! I will be reading this author’s other works because I did enjoy her writing style.

Quotes:

“‘If you have a choice between forgetting and remembering, I think you should choose remembering. If you remember someone, they will always exist.’”