review: Girl Parts by John M. Cusick

pub date: 2010
pgs: 218
publisher: Candlewick Press
content: swearing including 2 f-bombs, sex, underage drinking, drugs

David and Charlie live across a lake from each other. David is wealthy and popular, Charlie is not. Both are lonely. At the suggestion of the school councilor David is given Rose, a female robot who is designed to help him with his “dissociative disorder.” He wants a more physical relationship than Rose is capable of giving and when David leaves her behind, Charlie’s the one who saves her.

To like a book, I need to love at least one character. I didn't even like the two main characters in Girl Parts. I thought David was scum. Charlie was sweet, but that was about all I can say for him. I did actually like Rebecca, but she just wasn't enough to pull me into the book.

I had issues with this book. I guess I should've known by the title that this wasn't an innocent story. But I'm naive like that, or maybe a better word would be stupid. The plot was about connecting with people face-to-face, especially in a world that is connected so much online. But what that translated to was a lot of teenage boys wanting to mess around with a girl, even if that girl is a robot. It seemed to me that this story was all about sex. Okay, so that maybe isn't fair. David does get to know Rose (so he can get some action from her)before he dumps her (because she can't give him sex), but afterward he does miss her. So maybe he learns it's not all about sex? I can't really tell.

And I also felt like there were a lot of things left unanswered about Sakora and the school councilor. David and Charlie's stories have a completion, but the bigger picture didn't and that bugged me.