The Trouble with Robots

Told in alternating points of view, Mohrweis’s emotionally charged debut follows two white eighth graders learning to collaborate around a robotics tournament. After “everything that happened,” often furious Allie Wells is kicked out of elective after elective for lashing out. But she receives one last chance before being transferred to a school for “trouble kids”: though she’s not great with math or science, art-loving Allie is placed in a sparsely attended robotics class. Robotics is deeply important to Evelyn Cole, but in the wake of her best friend moving away and one of her moms losing her job, Evelyn, who is autistic, is seen as micromanaging her robotics crew, which cost the team a recent competition. After tension between the girls turns into an altercation, they slowly bond before learning to work with others—with the future of the school’s robotics elective on the line. Detailed descriptions of the duo’s specialties juxtaposes STEAM elements—art versus robotics, the abstract versus the technical—in a teamwork-oriented plot that delves into self-discovery. Secondary characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 8–12. Agent: Emily Forney, BookEnds Literary. (Sept.)