But Julian isn’t the father Taliah always hoped for, and revelations about her mother’s past are seriously shaking her foundation. With her best friend Harlow by her side, Taliah embarks on a three-day journey to find out everything about her ‘father’ and her family. Taliah, torn between betraying her mother’s trust and meeting the family she has never known, goes.
Julian asks if Taliah if she will drop everything and go with him to his hometown of Oak Falls, Indiana, to meet his father – her grandfather – who is nearing the end of his life. This makes sense – kinda – because Julian Oliver is Taliah’s father, even though her mother would never admit it to her. But one day, while her mother is out of the country, the famed rock star from Staring Into the Abyss shows up on her doorstep. (Oct.Despite sending him letters ever since she was thirteen, Taliah Abdallat never thought she’d ever really meet Julian Oliver. Occasional b&w artwork by Rockefeller ( Poesy the Monster Slayer) emphasizes the robots’ mission Sophie’s family speaks Arabic and has light brown skin. Res’s initially musing narration accelerates on Mars’s unfamiliar terrain, punctuated by funny banter as Res lives up to his name while showing that feelings are as valuable as logic. Sophie’s letters reveal her envy of how Res’s project monopolizes her mother, but also her eventual realization of Res’s importance and the connection she feels to him. Paired with a drone, Fly, on the journey to Mars, Res encounters imperious satellite Guardian, treacherous dust storms, and the worrisome thought of never returning to Earth. In the lab, Res’s fascination with humans results in the robot internalizing non-programmed concepts, including preferences, desire, gladness, jealousy, and trust.
The narration alternates between Res’s account of gearing up for and executing a high-stakes Mars mission, and letters written to him by Sophie as she ages from sixth grader to adult. Rendered with philosophical internality, this touching, fact-filled novel by Warga ( The Shape of Thunder) centers the maturation of gutsy Mars rover Resilience, “built to be an unbiased observer,” alongside that of Sophie, child to one of Res’s NASA scientist creators.
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