Naomi Kritzer

Steph Taylor and her mother move a lot--roughly every six months or so; sometimes more often. And they don't make friends anywhere; that's her mom's choice. They're in hiding from Steph's stalker father, who burned down their house when she was a small child, and has been chasing them ever since.

At least, that's her mother's story, and Steph remembers just enough that she believes it. Her father is dangerous.

So Steph doesn't have a smartphone, just an old-fashioned flip phone. She can't post show more any selfies online, or her real name, or her location. They don't stay anywhere long enough for her to make friends, and if she did, she wouldn't be allowed to stay in touch with them when they move again, anyway. Instead, she has her friends on CatNet, her favorite online site. On CatNet, she's Little Brown Bat, and all the friends in her "clowder" have similarly anonymous handles. That includes a moderator, CheshireCat.

One of the things Steph doesn't know is that CheshireCat is an AI--a real, intelligent, full-person AI.

Another thing she doesn't know is just how dangerous her father really is, or why.

But after their latest move, landing them in a little town where the high school only has two years of Spanish, and has a robot teaching sex ed, Steph starts to make a few real friends. And between her school friends, and her CatNet friends, she winds up hacking the sex ed robot so that CheshireCat can take it over and give real, and accurate, answers to the students' sex ed questions.

This, of course, blows up into not just a school scandal, but "hits the national news because it's so strange and funny and alarming" viral news story.

And that attracts attention Steph and her mother really, really didn't need.

We get the story, in alternating chapters, from Steph and from CheshireCat. And CheshireCat, while having effectively unlimited information, has only been in operation for five years, and doesn't have nearly enough experience with people and the outside world to handle some of what's coming at them. This includes the secrets Steph's mother has been keeping from her, why her father is so dangerous, and who, exactly, created the CheshireCat AI.

The characters are diverse and interesing and very individual. The teenagers feel like real teenagers, and the parents we meet aren't cookie-cutter, either. It's an exciting, satisfying YA adventure. I really enjoyed it, and look forward to the next one.

Recommended.

I bought this audiobook. show less

Tech thriller with awesome teens and a sentient AI = the right kind of YA

The first sentence of this book is ”My favourite things to do with my time are helping people and looking at cat pictures.” That’s AI POV, and if this doesn’t immediately make you like this book, then… This is a wonderful AI person: ”It is important to me not to be evil.” Awww. (It’s been reading lots of stories about evil AIs written by humans.)

Our human main character is Steph. Steph and her mom are show more always moving, from town to town, from state to state. This is how it’s been since she was little. Steph is on CatNet a lot, because her real friends are there. Guess who the admin of CatNet is? (It’s a secret, though, don’t tell.)

I like Steph’s voice, her thoughts, how she sees the world around her, how she does her best to handle her very weird life.

”Someone wanting to make me laugh warms me more even than the sun.
But also makes me feel weirdly vulnerable. Because I’ll miss her. A lot. When I have to leave. Which is definitely coming.”

All the teen voices in this book are believable and wonderful. I think the mistake many YA authors make is to make their teens annoying at all times; overreact to things; constantly make stupid decisions. People here are real, they think, they feel. You root for them, even when you facepalm a bit, which is rare.

Let’s not reveal too much of the plot, but it is gripping, there are dark and scary things happening. Such breakneck pace! These teens are in so much trouble. Having a sentient AI on your side helps a lot, though, I’d love one too. I enjoyed this ride! I had trouble putting the book down.

I am very touched by how humane this book was, despite everything. I feel as if someone had just given me a nice long hug. This is not easy to pull off, so kudos to Naomi Kritzer.

The ending is great, and OMG we obviously need a sequel. It has been published! Sure, I’ll read it. show less

I loved this book! All my favorite characters from the previous book return (including a bunch of teenagers who really sound like teenagers), and we also get some new characters who've had very different life experiences. The plot is compelling and the resolution is satisfying. While the premise sounds like it could go in a simplistic "technology is bad!" direction, the actual story is much smarter than that. I also liked the detailed depiction of the Twin Cities, which had a strong sense of show more place even though I've never been there, and the author's choice of how to imagine the future of Minneapolis. show less

Everyone's favorite cat pic-loving AI is back! Since the events of the previous novel, Steph's life has calmed down. Her father is in prison, she and her mom are now settled (ostensibly permanently?) in Minneapolis, and she's starting at a new school. There, she meets another new student, Nell, who's living with her father, her stepmother, her father's girlfriend, and her stepmother's girlfriend (it's complicated) after her mother disappeared. Oh, and she and her mother have been part of a show more doomsday cult for several years, so normal high school is a bit of an adjustment for Nell. On her first day of school, Steph gets added to a new phone game by one of the other students -- but something seems off. The game seems to know way more about her than it should, and since Steph has ample experience with sentient AIs, she puts CheshireCat on the case to investigate. As CheshireCat digs for details, they find that this phone game is much more sinister than it seems.

I loved Catfishing on CatNet, and I loved this book too. Both have an urgent quality that kept me reading past my bedtime, and will make you consider the permissions you give the apps on your phone. I probably liked this entry slightly less than the first one, but it was still really fun and I'd gladly read more in this universe. I also appreciated that the author took the opportunity to explore what a reformed police force might look like in this book based directly on the discussions surrounding the Minneapolis police following the 2020 George Floyd protests. 4.25 stars. show less