After the apocalypse, the world is being looked after by robots until the Earth has regenerated itself enough for humans to return. Echo is a synth (part human, part robot) alone in New York who has taken over the highest, most expensive penthouse in the city - well, why not? There's nobody else around to use it! Whilst the cleaning bots go about their job, Echo has spent the past three years since he woke-up enjoying himself. But then one day, he notices an object falling from the sky into the centre of the city. He races from his apartment to investigate to discover a human girl who was one of the incredibly lucky (and obviously rich) people to have had a ticket to be cryogenically frozen in a pod as the world ended. It quickly becomes apparent that her space-pod has ejected and landed her in the middle of New York. Echo is there when she emerges from the pod and introduces herself as Pandora. With the help of Gort, a HUMANKIND bot, Pandora and Echo discover where they think the other pods are and Pandora is determined to get there to find her father. And so begins a journey across a post-apocalyptic America in search of life.
Told as a dual narrative (the heart above the character at the beginning of the chapter will tell you whose point of view you are reading), this is a novel that combines sci-fi, romance and nostalgia in a heart-warming and funny YA novel. Echo is something of an enigma as he is both human and robot (although it's often hard to remember he's part robot. It's been three years since he woke and 97 years since the end of the world and, until Pandora's arrival, his E-Mote chip hasn't been upgrading so he has been living a fairly simple life and seems happy to spend his time watching classic TV (think Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Forest Gump) whilst eating tinned food and strawberry laces. Once Pandora arrives, however, this changes and the update on his E-Mote chip kicks in, he finds himself very much more of a normal teenager with emotions that he hasn't felt before.
Pandora is a battling so many emotions when she wakes up, after all she's been in an unconscious state for 100 years and the world has entirely changed since she last saw it. Her anxiety is ever-present but Echo gives her strength and the relationship that builds between them is an enjoyable one to read, especially with some of the phrases that Echo uses from the TV he has watched - Pandora's baffled state was funny to read but the phrases definitely took me back!
The journey upon which they embark is far from easy and the world building is wonderful to read. With WALL-E vibes mingling with romance, this is a book that will make you chuckle, keep you enthralled and warm your heart. Perfect for those who are just branching in the YA genre, My Love Life and the Apocalypse is a book to make you think and to make you smile.
No comments:
Post a Comment