Happy Book Birthday, The AI Incident by J.E. Thomas!

It's time to celebrate another book birthday, and today's slides right into the genre, which seems to see a boom this year: science fiction. This one is also very up-to-date with the huge influence AI is taking in our digital world and beyond. 

Now, this one has gotten mixed reviews, so I'm curious to see what it holds. Maybe good? Maybe bad?  Well, let's find out.

THE AI INCIDENT

by J.E. Thomas

Levine Querido

Middle Grade Science Fiction

256 pages

ages 8 to 12

COMING...

JULY 8th!!!

The Wild Robot meets Restart when Colorado's unluckiest foster kid battles a rogue AI robot at school!

Malcolm Montgomery is the new kid at Shirley Chisholm Charter Middle School. In no time at all, he’s been slapped with the weird kid label. Is it because he's a foster kid who's been in nine homes? Or maybe because he burps when he gets nervous…which is often? Malcolm has a plan to finally get adopted by a forever family before it's too late. But then on Visiting Professionals' Day, his school invites Dr. Alphonse Hatch, founder of Artificial Integrity—one of the fastest-growing artificial intelligence companies in the state—to give a presentation. Dr. Hatch brings his robot, and events get set in motion that create...THE INCIDENT.

The AI Incident deals with issues like code bias, deep fakes, middle grade friendships, reasonable risk, what constitutes a family, and who "deserves" nice things.

GOODREADS    /     LEVINE QUERIDO

MY TIDBITS

Malcolm is turning thirteen soon, which isn't normally anything super special but as a foster kid, he knows that his chances of being adopted and becoming part of a family are about to go down. To make sure he finds a home before that point, he has created a list. But things aren't running smoothly. With nine foster homes under his belt and another new school to deal with, even his best efforts can't save him from soon being marked as a weird kid. That's not helpful for his adoption plans. There is a up-turn, however, as the school decides to bring in an AI named FRANCIS to help improve the general test scores. Malcolm is 'lucky' enough to work with FRANCIS along with his new partner, Tank. What starts as an interesting possibility soon proves to be anything but helpful, and instead, Malcolm finds himself facing all sorts of problems...some thanks to FRANCIS. Slowly, his hopes of adoption drift further and further away.

There are a few topics in this read, which give it an interesting direction with goodness and depth. The first, obviously, is the AI, which hits a current theme in today's world, and one that will, probably, be seeing more attention in future literature because of it. This book takes a peek at it's use in the classroom but shoots off into a bit of science fiction fun as well, which catapults all sorts of surprises in Malcolm's life. It wasn't as deep on this end as I expected but dabs toes into the theme to get those first thought gears turning. The bigger theme in these pages surrounds foster care and adoption as Malcolm struggles with that whole wasp's nest. These pages offer some insights and awaken awareness for that situation, which is also not often handled in middle grade literature. This aspect is pretty well based and brings to light some issues, which aren't always obvious.  

Malcolm packs personality and readers will be able to relate to many of his problems, since they slide right into the middle grade category of steering friendships, learning to accept ones self, and even ones surrounding the differences between deserved, needed, and wants. Malcolm's desire to find a family makes him easy to sympathize with and root for, especially when things don't go his way. 

The writing fits the age group nicely, and there are more than a few humorous and unexpected twists to keep the plot moving and the situations, for the most part, grabbing. Malcolm is a character to stand behind and easy to relate to as he slides from one situation into the next. There is a hint of quirkiness in some of the characters, which comes across a bit odd, at times, but it also fits well to the audience level. While most of the read flows smoothly, there were a few descriptions and moments that had me quickly skimming...and I'm not sure readers will want to understand the entire testing end. My own kids heard too much of this at their own schools as it was and would rather steer clear from it when reading novels.

All in all, it's a interesting read with silly, middle grade humor, unexpected twists, and enough more serious directions to give a little food for thought. 

And here she is...

J.E. Thomas grew up near Colorado’s Front Range mountains. She spent her early summers stuffing grocery bags with books at the local library, reading feverishly, then repeating the process week after week. J.E. has bachelors’ degrees in Mass Communications and Political Science, as well as a master’s degree in Public Communications. Her first book, Control Freaks, was a People Magazine Summer Must-Read and a "Best of the Best" pick by the Black Caucus of the ALA.

Control Freaks by J.E. Thomas

Today's read centers around a science fair competition and should swing in tons of middle grade drama as well. I'm assuming it will include a group of kids, who normally wouldn't have anything to do with each other, and pit them against tough odds while showing bonds of friendship forming? At least, that's what my crystal ball is telling me (or the blurb).

Let's just dive in and see how this handles all of that, shall we?

CONTROL FREAKS

by J.E. Thomas

Levine Querido

Middle Grade Contemporary

320 pages

ages 8 to 12

COMING...

AUGUST 13th!!!

One week. One prize. Seven really weird challenges.

The kids at Benjamin Banneker College Prep are a little… competitive. Okay. They’re a LOT competitive.

The minute Principal Yee announces an epic competition for the golden B-B trophy, seventh-grader Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows he has to win.
M
But it won’t be easy. The competition doesn’t just include science, technology, engineering and math. It also has arts and sports. Not Doug’s best subjects.

Even worse, it’s a TEAM competition. Instead of being in a superstar group, Doug gets paired with four middle school misfits no one else wants.

Worst of all, Doug’s dad has a horrible backup plan. If Doug doesn’t win, he has to forget about becoming The World’s Greatest Inventor and spend the summer in sports camp, with his scary stepbrother.

With only a week to go, Doug launches a quest to turn his team of outcasts into winners… and maybe even friends.

GOODREADS

MY TIDBITS

Competition fever shifts into overdrive with plenty of drama and learning to work together thrown in.

Doug is determined to become the greatest inventor ever, but his biological father sees sports in the future, instead. When the principal announces an intense, science competition with a special prize, Doug knows this is his chance to shoot for his dreams and shove that sport idea to the sidelines. But there's a hitch—isn't there always? It's a team competition, and Doug isn't anything but happy to work with others, especially when he realizes who he'll be working with. It was already going to be tough to prove himself, but now, it might just be impossible.

Science fair competition heads right into drama as these pages take on more than a few more serious issues, while embracing STEAM and the very competitive spirit. By allowing the chapters to switch between various characters' points of view, the reader gets to see the different challenges each person is facing and what is driving them to do what they do. It adds quite a bit of depth and more than a few subplots to weave with wit and heart under the main plot surrounding Doug's own goals and problems. Each of these hits upon themes, which middle graders can identify with (divorce, family health issues, pressures at home, etc), and each one comes across naturally. While all of this simmers along, the science fair madness (because this competition goes way beyond basic science fair) brings in STEAM goodness with technology, math, arts, and more.  So much more.

Despite everything going on, the story runs smoothly and doesn't grow confusing. Each chapter begins with the character's name as well as a small symbol to represent them, so it's clear who is telling the story. Each one has their own voice, and their personalities come across nicely. This also helps get a good handle on that chaos surrounding the competition competitiveness. This is where the action sits...and it's not to be underestimated. It was fun to see the tension build as problems arose (emotional as well as practical), and there's enough snark and humor built in to add spice. The pacing rolls along with only a few slower areas here and there. There are more than a few details surrounding the science, which is wonderful but does go in deeper than some readers might enjoy.  Those, who thrive in this direction, will appreciate this aspect, though.

This is a well-woven read, which incorporates diversity, science, and life issues with natural spark. Fans of science fair tension are especially going to want to take a peek at this one.

And here she is...

J.E. Thomas grew up near Colorado’s Front Range mountains. She spent her early summers stuffing grocery bags with books at the local library, reading feverishly, then repeating the process week after week. J.E. has bachelors’ degrees in Mass Communications and Political Science, as well as a master’s degree in Public Communications. She wrote Control Freaks while working as an administrator at the same independent school she attended as child.