Eager

Eager (YA) by Helen Fox.


I got this sci-fi book at a school book fair. I was intrigued by what seemed to be a story about robotics and ethics. The stuff of Asimov and Bradbury (but more Asimov). I was so intrigued that I bought it, put it on my shelf, and promptly found many other books to occupy me. Last week, however, I had the kids voting for the Nutmeg Awards (Connecticut's YA and Children's Book awards, which are chosen by the kids themselves). Eager was one of the nominations. I was shamed by the fact that I had only read two of the many choices, and yet I owned most of them! And so I set to work...

Eager is set in a world about 100 years into the future. Robots help run everything - from construction to egg scrambling. Life Corp is the primary robotics corporations, and they have just begun distributing their latest product, the BDC4. These robots are efficient and exceptionally life-like. They are only for the most wealthy and privileged - the technocrats.

Young Fleur Bell and her family have an old antiquated robot named Grumps. Grumps' timing mechanism is off - causing all sorts of mishaps like tomato soup for breakfast. The Bells know they need a new robot, but they are reluctant to part with Grumps or deal with the high cost. Fleur's best friend has her own BDC4. While the Bell children dream of the newest and latest, Mr. Bell acquires an experimental prototype named EGR3. EGR3 is able to learn from his own experiences. The children, especially Fleur, are not so eager to accept EGR3 but as EGR3 becomes more life-like they come to rely upon him - especially when the BDC4s of the world begin malfunctioning!

This was a fun read. I enjoyed the descriptions of life in the future, but I felt that the conflict of the plot was rather subdued. The terrifying takeover of a group of BDSC4s wasn't depicted as being really that terrifying. It feels as though the author had a great time writing until right before the start of the climax (which I will state is the moment in which Marcia announces that the BDC4s have taken over her neighborhood), and then just got tired. The details after this point seem muted and more like a summary.

Grade: C+