Klara and the Sun is the Futuristic Version of Purple Hibiscus - Kyle

    Experiencing the world through the eyes and mind of a observative and clever artificial friend(AF) named Klara, our journey begins in an AF shop. AFs are human-like robots that act as companions for children. Klara is given a shift at the display window of the shop, and discovers the wonders and interactions of the outside world. After a long wait, Klara is singled out by Josie, a joyous little girl. After a short chat and a promise to return and purchase Klara, Josie disappears into a taxi. Klara grows worried after Josie doesn't return, but after three weeks Josie returns with her exhausted looking mother and takes Klara home with her. Klara loves Josie and her new home, but Josie is constantly fighting her sickness, her mother is always working, and something seems off in their household.

    

    Experiencing the story through Klara feels like a mix of a third and first person perspective. The main conflict of the story is Josie's conflict. Klara is involved in the conflict to some extent, but Klara watches the story unfold around her while she gets involved in her own antics driven by her own perception of reality. Klara is a robot. She is highly intelligent and decent at imitating human thought and behavior, but she has times when her robotness shows. Based off what she's observed, and the fact that the sun fuels her energy, Klara becomes convinced that the sun is the key to curing Josie's illness.

     Much like Purple Hibiscus, the reader's perspective is that of someone watching the perspective unfold, also like Purple Hibiscus, this novel doesn't spell things out for the reader. You have to pay attention to the environment and interactions of the characters to find out what is truly going on in this futuristic world.

    This story poses many moral dilemmas for the reader. What it means to be a good parent, can robots eventually copy every bit of what make human beings special, are scientific advancements really beneficial to individual members of our race. Like Purple Hibiscus, which created many in-class discussions, this book needs attention and thought to truly appreciate. 

    Overall, I think this is a great, relatively serious novel that requires deep thought, but I wouldn't exactly call it a fun. If I were to review it objectively and analytically I would rate it 9/10, but in terms of the enjoyment I had reading it I would give it a 7.5/10. Don't get me wrong, this book is still very enjoyable, and has some extremely engaging moments, however, its high highs are also coupled with low lows that force me to bring the rating down.