The Second Life of Snap

A dictatorial regime’s robot creation provides unexpected comfort to down-and-out tweens in this affirming contemplation of mortality and the necessity of community from Kelly (The Last Resort). Twelve-year-old Zuzu lives in Barren, Tex., a dusty wasteland governed by a technological mega-conglomerate called the Lockwood Corporation. When Zuzu’s father is laid off from Lockwood, he receives a robot (sans charger) as severance; to Zuzu’s dismay, it’s revealed to be programmed as a Lockwood-sponsored chaperone. Meeting up with her friends at a local salvage yard, Zuzu and her technophile bestie Elias reprogram the robot, awakening within it a new sensibility: rather than admonishing the group for breaking Lockwood rules, it bends the truth on their behalf and displays unexpected curiosity in and compassion for its human charges. The group dubs it Snap, who becomes a friend, but its battery is slowly dying, and the kids have been unable to salvage a new charger. Succinct and immersive prose renders a futuristic tale that touches on timely subjects such as climate change, technological classism, and the increasing integration of AI into everyday life, populated by racially diverse characters whose ingenuity and capacity for optimism model replicable behaviors for children navigating similar ordeals. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sara Crowe, Sara Crowe Literary. (May)