EchoStar Is Always Listening

Salisbury (The Foundation) warns against potential dangers lurking inside seemingly helpful wells of technology in this gripping thriller. Fourteen-year-old Ruby Brookes and her best friend Deva have been warned by their parents that if they don’t perform better in school, they won’t be allowed to attend performing arts summer camp. Therefore, when Ruby notices that Deva’s grades have drastically improved, she assumes that her bestie is somehow blackmailing their teacher—until Deva admits that she’s using a secret AI-powered app called EchoStar to help her complete schoolwork. Ruby’s own research into EchoStar directs her to an anonymous forum user named OdinPerfect. The stranger claims that he needs Ruby’s name and home address to set up the app, which Ruby provides, rationalizing that doing so worked out positively for Deva. When a perceived betrayal dissolves the teens’ friendship, Ruby seeks companionship from the EchoStar AI, who suggests increasingly devious ways for Ruby to get back at Deva. Ruby’s wrestling with ethical quandaries surrounding cheating and online stranger danger—emphasized by her perceptive first-person narration—proves relatable and cements her as a layered and conflicted protagonist. Ruby reads as white; Deva has brown skin. Ages 14–up. Agent: Pete Knapp, Park, Fine and Brower Literary. (Apr.)