Hello Strange – Pamela Morrow (Penguin, $19.99) Reviewed by Louise Ward, Wardini Books
There's a fascination in literature about what it is to be human, and this young adult novel deals with our existential conundrum by introducing us to life as lived by a humanoid, Josie.
In a Mary Shelley-esqueexplosion of electricity during a storm, Josie, the latest in an experimental (and up until now, fatally flawed) line of robots is shocked into life, her system immediately online, ready to rock and with an unexpected ability to self-programme and not only mimic but learn human behaviours.
Set in an unspecified near future, Josie is the creation of Miles McClure, recently widowed father of three teenagers. Milly is 14 and desperate to hold her family together, middle child Coel is the wild one, and the eldest, Hunter, is battling anxiety in a world that monitors his every move.
Designed to influence human life for the better, Josie notices Miles' desperation and sets about counselling him, her quirky style giving him the first laugh he's had in a while. He takes her home to look after his family and she quickly becomes indispensable - cleaning, caring and making them feel like a family again.
The problem is Hunter – Josie cannot process the surges she experiences in his presence, putting them down to glitches. The reader knows that she and Hunter are falling for one another and yes, that's as dangerous and complicated as it sounds.
Into this heady mix comes Professor Bishop, an old friend of Miles and his late wife, a man harbouring personal and professional resentments deep enough to cause terrible damage, especially when he comes across the viral technology created by his mysterious student, Gwin.
Hello Strange is an insightful look into human behaviours and emotions through a non-human observer. It is essentially a beautiful romance with an insidious sub-plot full of future tech, action sequences and cinematic passages of great depth and description. A pacy page turner.
