Robots

Automatic Noodle / Annalee Newitz

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Automatic Noodle
By: Annalee Newitz
Genre: Science Fiction, Novella
Number of Pages: 163
Published: August 5, 2025
Publisher: Tordotcom
Dates Read: September 5, 2025 - September 7, 2025
Format: Hardcover

While San Francisco rebuilds from war, a group of abandoned food service bots take over their own delivery app account and rebrand as the best hand-pulled noodle shop in the neighborhood. There’s just one little snag – someone-or something- is negative-review bombing their restaurant’s page and plummeting their ratings! Can the bots figure out who’s doing it and put a stop to the review bombing before it’s too late for the restaurant?

One of my supervisors sent me the link to this when it was first announced and I immediately put it on my TBR. Why?

  1. Look at this cover and tell me you’re not intrigued!
  2. Robots who start a noodle shop?!
  3. It’s a novella (and novella just hit different)

So, after reading it, what are my thoughts?

Did I know there was such a thing as a cozy sci-fi? Sure – but I hadn’t read one yet! Also add in some found family and challenge the norms and you’ve got yourself this novella!

It was an amazing read filled with an alternative America, commentary on identity, fear, and challenging biases. Though it was about robots, they were definitely stand-ins for how we as people can treat others based on gender, sexuality, and immigration status.

Overall, a wonderful novel, perfect for those who love sci-fi and want a cozy little read about a hand-pulled noodle shop run by robots.

Now excuse me while I go find a hand-pulled noodle shop to go try!

*Thank you Tordotcom and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Wild Robot on the Island / Peter Brown

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The Wild Robot on the Island
By: Peter Brown
Genre: Children’s
Number of Pages: 48 
Published: June 24, 2025
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: July 30, 2025
Format: Library Book / Hardcover

When Roz washes up on an island, she accepts that this is where she is supposed to be and learns from the animals around her. Before long, the island begins to feel like home – especially when Roz becomes a mother to an orphaned gosling she calls Brightbill.

This is a simplified version of The Wild Robot that Peter Brown wrote because he “wanted to depict Roz’s life on the island with large, detailed, colorful illustrations.”, as per his note in the back of the book.

I’m here to tell you that if you adored Roz in The Wild Robot you will fall in love with her again in this version as well because of the illustrations. The original book has black and white illustrations scattered throughout the chapters, but this is a big, bold, and beautiful children’s picture book version!

The Wild Robot Protects (The Wild Robot #3) / Peter Brown

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The Wild Robot Protects (The Wild Robot #3)
By: Peter Brown
Genre: Middle Grade, Science Fiction
Number of Pages: 304
Published: May 6, 2025 (1st Published September 26, 2023)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: June 17, 2025 - June 23, 2025
Format: Paperback

Roz has fought hard to get back to her island with her friends and her son Brightbill, all seems to be going well until one day an injured seal washes ashore and warns of a dangerous, dust poison tide that’s in the water and heading the island’s way. Once the poison tide is at the island’s edge, the animals are forced inland and resources begin running scarce.

Roz helps the island as much as she can but understands the toll everyone is under. When Roz discovers she’s waterproof, she sets out across the ocean to find out what’s causing the poison tide.

During her underwater journey, Roz meets amazing creatures and sees fantastical geological formations. Friends she makes along the way direct her to the north, to find the giant Ancient Shark. When she finally meets the Ancient Shark, they explain where the poison tide is coming from and that they want to prepare an attack with an army of sea creatures. Roz however, hopes for a peaceful interaction. Can the wild robot save the ocean and her island?

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first or second of the series, mainly because it focused on taking care of the environment, especially with the choices that we make and the consequences that could happen. It kind of made humans to be the bad guys – even if we did clean up after basically getting caught.

Readers who fell in love with Roz the first two books will also enjoy this book, especially because Roz is learning and experiencing something new, but just note it focuses heavily on the message of environment protection, especially within the oceans.

The Wild Robot Escapes / Peter Brown

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The Wild Robot Escapes
By: Peter Brown
Genre: Middle Grade, Science Fiction
Number of Pages: 288
Published: April 7, 2020 (1st Published March 13, 2018)
Publisher:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: October 19, 2024 - October 21, 2024
Format: Paperback

Roz gets taken to the robot repair factory for repairs and then shipped out to help at a Hilltop Farm for the Shreef family. She makes friends with the cows on the farm, as well as the two children, who are always asking for more stories about the robot on the island. Roz misses her friends and adopted goose son, Brightbill, back on the island and is always planning the perfect time for her escape. But she can’t do it alone.

I feel like I loved this second book in the series just a little more than I did the first. I think because I was so invested in Roz and Brightbill reuniting. I sat up so late one night reading this and gasping and chuckling so hard that I would worry about waking my partner up. When I finally persuaded myself to stop for the night, the chapter I started with first thing the next morning ended in a cliffhanger and I would have stayed up even later to read more if I had continued.

Throughout the novel, I loved that everyone had heard stories, or rumors, about a robot mother and her duck son and how excited they were to finally meet Roz. Because of this, Roz had so many allies everywhere she went and it made her escape more realistic in a way (even with talking animals).

The illustrations were a wonderful addition to this, just like in the first. I especially liked to read about Peter Brown’s writing and illustrating process that he talks about in the end. It  kind of made the illustrations even more fun.

Overall, this book has great lessons and opportunities to open doors for discussion about kindness, helping one another, love, the meaning of home, and what it means to be human. The writing in this is still simplified, just like the first one (childlike, but with older themes), but I believe both children and adults will love it – just like I did.

The Wild Robot / Peter Brown

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The Wild Robot
By: Peter Brown
Genre: Middle Grade, Science Fiction
Number of Pages: 320
Published: April 7, 2020 (1st Published April 5, 2016)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: October 15, 2024 - October 17, 2024
Format: Paperback

When ROZZUM unit 7134 (but you may call her Roz) first opens her eyes she discovers she’s on a remote island and the only robot – she knows she must survive. At first, Roz is disliked by the wildlife because they all think she is a monster and will eat them. But she learns the animal language and doesn’t eat in general, so the animals begin to relax around her. After an accident kills all but one small gosling egg, Roz makes it her mission to raise and protect the duck.

As Roz slowly befriends the animals of the island, the island starts to feel like home. Until one day, when Roz’s mysterious past comes back to get her.

So, has anyone else in the year 2024 picked up this book because of the movie? Usually I read the book before the movie, but I did this one backwards. That being said, the book and the movie are pretty different from one another – same plot, tad bit different storyline.

This is both a simple and a bit of a complex read. The language is definitely aimed at children, but there were also a lot of descriptions of animal violence and death. The writing is written in a way that presents the bit of the morbid side as being the facts of life (if that makes sense). Children understand the world a lot more than adults sometimes give them credit for and this book doesn’t treat children like they’re too young to understand mother nature. That being said, the language is almost simplified in a way that could present as being childish, but the storyline itself is probably better for an older reader – hence it being (younger) middle grade.

The chapters are short and the simple illustrations really add to the read – rather it’s with cuteness overload, or a funny moment also in drawing.

Overall, this is a fun, beautiful book about learning to care for one another, despite differences, and a big shout out to mothers and caregivers everywhere.