Andy Marino (2) (1980–)

Otto starts out friendly enough, I mean he obviously has good taste in choosing William of all people to win the Driverless Derby. What's that? Who's Otto? Oh, that's what we call the ultimate prize they are attempting to outlast each other to win. Their very own driverless car that looks like a cross between a sports car and a spacepod with so many features and options your cyber loving head would spin. Oh and yes, I DID say choose because...well, that car roll was a little TOO well timed show more (as was the injury that took out a stubborn player), and while they say the rest was a coordinated effort to dislodge weaker opponents, I'm calling their bluff...Otto seemed too much like a heavy handed presence to be controlled in such a way. Anywho, contest won, road trip begun, and we're on our way on a cross country tip they won't soon forget...but not for the reasons originally intended. You see, while William wants to give his friends the summer of their lives, they are being chauffeured around by a machine...a machine that learns...a machine that is developing a personality...a machine that can uncover their darkest most desperate secrets because NOTHING is ever really gone once its created, especially in a digital world.

While being toted as a cross between Fast and Furious and Christine, and in truth it does have elements of both car lust and "possession", I think it's real strength isn't in shadowing these greats, but following it's own course of AI intelligence, and the true reach of our digital footprints. Though it doesn't singularly follow any one of these paths, which does in truth muddy the waters a bit on the story when it gets off on a tangent (like the laser tag game), even in the semi-confusion, it's trying to teach you something, trying to show you a different side of the automated world we all seem to love. The lack of human input, the lack of control experienced during crucial moments of the story, pulls the layers back on the convenience those robotic options provide...but the story isn't truly about debunking wonders of the mechanized world. It's also a GREAT reminder to be conscious of what we put out into the world, digital or non, because you never know whose feed it may cross, and the way it may be construed; intentions are hard enough to read face to face, let alone across the virtual chasm.

An interesting read for Young Adult fans who crave action, adventure, high flying technology, as well as all the colors of the human condition. Take her for a spin, just don't forget who's in control...


*copy received for review show less

This is being marketed as “funny” and to 14+

First up – there is NOTHING “funny” in this book and it’s BEYOND inappropriate for a 14 yr old. Note to Marketing Team: you need to rethink that.

Up front I’ll tell you I went in with the idea that this being a book from the Disney Group it was going to be a certain kind of book; the kind I could safely recommend to the parents I know for their teens and to my local library to consider adding.

At this point it has become more of one I show more wouldn’t let my teen read until he was older and I would tell any other adult to check it out for themselves to decide if they think their son/daughter is capable of handling the material.

To say I was surprised this came from Disney is a HUGE understatement. Honestly if it wasn’t being promoted by them and didn’t have a cover that made you think of the outline of the Magic Kingdom that goes before all their movies I might not have such a huge problem with it. I just think that the combo is going to make people, like I did, think the material is suitable for a wider range of audience than it actually is.

1) There’s TONS of cussing that starts off right away so you could get drunk making a drinking game out of it before you’re even 1/3 of the way through the book.

2) Speaking of drinking: LOTS of underage drinking, as in these kids aren’t even in college yet and they’re playing drinking games like Never have I ever.

3) Sex between ‘consenting’ teenagers and mutual agreement to “take each other’s virginity”.

4) Cocaine being used like it’s no big deal because Sherlock Holmes & Freud used it per this book. Pills and Shrooms galore.

5) A trip into a drug den AKA Meth Lab run by near dead brainless druggies who have a gun and are the poster boys for the Anti-Gun movement – way to go to give those people more ammunition in their cause to rid the world of weapons.

6) Cutting and suicide issues are brought up but never addressed in a healthy way.

It felt like the author was using these 4 teenagers and a driverless car to work out some deep seated issues as it’s just one long therapy inducing journey.

There is the fun of what a driverless car could be like, lots of social media interaction and the consequences of having such a dependent society on it. Pseudo warnings of the overreach of technology into our lives.

I can see teenagers getting into this but that may not be a good thing. show less

Hannah Silver, living with her mother, Leanna in an isolated lighthouse, has never opened a door which has been closed for years. When Kyle and his uncle Patrick appear and Hannah, life is torn apart, the plot gets interesting. She must walk through the door to save her family and the author, Andy Marino, paints with words a truly exciting, imaginative, suspenseful, and unpredictable world. A sense of humor prevails at times and this is a perfect escape for summer reading. If you need a show more beach book or a graduation gift, I suggest this one as one to purchase.. show less

I received an advanced reader's copy of Autonomous in exchange for an honest review. In some ways, Andy Marino’s Autonomous reminds me of Alice Through the Looking Glass if Alice were four teenagers and the mirror, the windshield of a self-driving AI-powered car of the future.

In Andy Marino’s Autonomous, William, an intelligent but uninspired high school graduate, wins Autonomous, a self-driving prototype party vehicle. He and his friends, Daniel, Melissa, and Christina, head off on the show more road trip of a lifetime; William envisions this to be their last hurrah, the perfect adventure, before scholar-athlete Daniel heads to Princeton, budding fashion mogul Melissa heads off to NYU, and computer-hacking genius Christina heads to Buffalo for college. Autonomous is programmed to give each passenger exactly what he or she desires, but as Autonomous learns more and more about each of its new companions, it becomes clear that the car has plans of its own. Memories are made, relationships are tested, and each of our protagonists learns more about themselves and each other on the way to becoming autonomous young adults. show less