Your Robot Dog Will Die

March 15, 2018
In a near-future world of drought and rising seas, a young dog lover learns to question what it means to be humane.Genetic experiments on man's best friend have gone awry, with disastrous results for their temperaments requiring mass canine euthanasia. While the Mechanical Tail Company is perfecting increasingly lifelike robot replacements, Dog Island, off Florida's coast, offers a Ruffuge for a handful of remaining Organics (natural dogs). Nano Miller, one of three teens living in this quirky community, tests new robot dogs, offering feedback on upgrades and trying not to mind when her robotic pets are replaced annually with newer models. Meanwhile, Nano must grapple with the mysterious disappearance of her older brother, Billy, and the intense emotions accompanying first love with Wolf--her lifelong friend and fellow resident. When Nano discovers a live puppy that wags its tail--a trait bred out of dogs during the scientific tinkering--she impulsively decides to hide rather than euthanize it. Plunging into an unexpectedly dangerous world of intrigue, Nano questions the dogma and motivations of those around her, including trusted adults like their sanctuary's humanitarian founder. Full of plot twists, puns, and a sometimes-disconcerting blend of serious and silly, the novel explores the gap between human intention and impact. A white default is assumed.A provocative reflection on humanity's increasingly damaging effects on the natural world. (Dystopian. 14-18)

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May 1, 2018
Grades 7-10 Nano Miller has never kept a pet for longer than a year. In a future where dogs have reverted to a feral species hostile to humans, Nano's family serves as a focus group for a new model of robot dog each year. They belong to a community of animal enthusiasts called Dog Island, where six wild dogs live in a sanctuary. When Nano finds a newborn puppy with a miraculously playful spirit, she must decide whether to risk everything for a chance at a real pet. With her friend Jack and her boyfriend, Wolf, Nano will uncover the truth about Dog Island's mission that caused her older brother, Billy, to desert. While navigating her first romance, family loyalties, and dangerous dogma, Nano faces difficult questions about how to give animals happy, cruelty-free lives. Quirky details and imaginative tech characterize the simultaneously futuristic and off-the-grid environment of Dog Island, where abundant canine puns may charm or madden readers. Greenwood's characters could benefit from more of the same imagination. A thought-provoking story line, if rather too neatly resolved.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2019
Every year, seventeen-year-old Nano mourns having her robot dog decommissioned for next year's model. As citizens of Dog Island, it's her family's duty to test them while also keeping the near-future world's six remaining Organic dogs. Then Nano discovers a puppy with miraculously Organic traits. Despite some rudimentary character sketches, this is an inventive, focused dystopia with thoughtful consideration of animal rights and the ethics of innovation.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)