REPORT CARD for How To Say Goodbye In Robot by Natalie Standiford
bff charm: Yay! Mostly.
swoonworthy scale: 3
talky talk: Whedonesque
bonus factors: Midnight Radio, mysterious loner boy
relationship status: Sweethearts
the deal:
Bea has just moved to Baltimore from Ithaca. It’s the latest in a long line of moves, since her dad, a college professor, keeps hopping from campus to campus. (This reminds me of my own father, whose dad was an economics professor. They moved around a lot – my dad always told me it was because my grandfather hated to publish and therefore never got tenure; my grandpa told me it was just because he enjoyed skipping out on the rent.)
While attending her first day at her new school, fate and the alphabet conspire to sit Bea next to Jonah, known to everyone as Ghost Boy. Jonah doesn’t talk much to most of the kids in school, but he starts paying attention to Bea. Soon, they’re doing everything together – listening to talk shows on the radio, going on adventures, and trying to solve the mystery of Jonah’s family. Nothing can break their bond . . . except maybe Jonah himself.
bff charm: yay! mostly!
Can I be BFF with Bea AND Jonah? Cause I want to do everything with them. I want to fly on the magic carpet over Baltimore! And drink in dingy little bars that have crack addicts in the corner! And dress up in costumes and stage photos of old movies!
But if I WERE BFF with Bea, I’d sit her down and Get Real with her (and this is where the “mostly” part comes in). Bea! Pay more attention to your mother. She’s cracking up! Stop being so self-absorbed sometimes! And don’t let your dad be so mean to her, either.
swoonworthy scale: 3
Bea and Jonah aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. They don’t exchange smoochies under the bleachers at school, and they don’t go on dates, exactly. But they’re in love, and their bond runs deep. And that’s great, but it doesn’t lend itself to any romantic palpatations. Sadly.
talky talk: Whedonesque
You know how, on Buffy, everyone talked really funny and, even though you never hear people say “major whiggins” in real life, the characters on the show always sounded really authentic, cause they were speaking your life story? (well, metaphorically, anyway, I haven’t dated any actual vampires. yet.)
How to Say Goodbye in Robot is a lot like Buffy. I don’t always believe the words the characters use, but I always believe what they’re saying.
bonus factor: Midnight Radio
Jonah turns Bea on to a late night talk radio show, which they listen to almost every night. The host and callers of the show are characters in their own right, and I cared about them just as much as I did Bea and Jonah. I want a local late-night call-in talk show on the radio!! Only instead of late-night, I actually want it to be at 3 pm. Because I’m an old lady who is usually asleep by 9 pm.
bonus factor: mysterious loner dude
Jonah’s totally a mysterious loner dude! Only, instead of looking/acting like Jordan Catalano, he looks and acts more like Brian Krackow. Hey, maybe he’ll proof-read my love letters!
Casting Call:
emma roberts as bea
Emma Roberts is super pretty, but I think she also isn’t afraid to be a little weird and kooky sometimes. And since one of Bea’s favorite pasttimes is to dress up in costumes and recreate scenes from old movies, being a little kooky is a good thing for the actress to bring.
anton yelchin as jonah
If Anton Yelchin bleached his hair blonde, he’d be perfect for Jonah!
What’s really funny is that I had these two in my head while reading the book, only to learn when I was googling images of them that they’re both in the movie version of Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. Ha!
relationship status: Sweethearts
I don’t mean that this book and I are sweethearts (although we certainly can be). I mean that I feel about this book how I feel about Sweethearts. And in a lot of ways, they’re very similar books – two friends who are so in love that their relationship defies words like “boyfriend” or “girlfriend.” A whole mess of family issues. And a heartbreaker of an ending that leaves me crying like a banshee while clutching the book in question and wailing, “come home, cameron quick/ghost boy!!”
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Oh man, I don’t know about heartbreaker endings, but I love the idea of best friends deeply in love and having adventures together, AND midnight radio!!!!!! With actually cool djs, not ones that make you want to claw out your own ear drums? Dear lord, I so must read this book!
I already have this on my “tbr” list but now I really want to read it. Thanks for the fun review.
aww, this book sounds great! i’m in the mood for a good, solid heartbreaker ending, too.
i, too, had this book on my to-read list, and now i MUST OBTAIN IT IMMEDIATELY.
you really got me with the buffy speak comparison. cos, yeah, double true on the unbelievable words being believable, and also don’t you wish we talked like that in real life? i mean, i try, but it always comes out sounding really… dorky. maybe because i actually am a dork rather than a cute actor *playing* a dork.
on the other hand, i don’t know if i can handle another sweethearts ending. because i loved cameron so much and then he left and SOB. SOB SOB SOB.
Erin, it’s funny, but when you described Bea and Jonah’s relationship, I thought, “That sounds like Sweethearts!” And sho nuff.
I looooove Anton Yelchin. He was a highlight in both Terminator and Star Trek this year. I think he’s going to be a really huge actor. Mark my words!
I really want the radio show to be real, y’all. I mean, granted I’m from Houston, so the competition is Dean and Rog, who make me want to vomit, but the little community around the radio show is so great.
Anton Yelchin is fab. Hey, Anton! I’m in Russia! Where are you?
oh you guys. i just finished this book and my heart is aching with bittersweetness. and even though this is erin’s review, i’m hijacking it in order to file it under “required reading” because SO. AMAZING. GAH.
i completely agree with the “sweethearts” comparison, but there’s also a charming whimsicality to this book that intensifies the ethereal nature of the bea and jonah’s relationship.
in an attempt to savor this book for as long as possible, i went to natalie standiford’s website and found this magical treasure trove:
http://www.nataliestandiford.com/disc.htm
gah i so want to take pictures like bea and her mom. esp. that one of liz taylor. but even more, i wanna fly on that magic carpet into kreplax’s future and find jonah.
Eee, awesome, Posh!
Natalie Standiford, if you follow the link that Posh left you, welcome! And thank you for writing this book!
I thik this book is wonderful, its so romantic, i simply love it!
Welcome, ALY! I completely agree with you!
I just finished Robot, and while I thought it was beautifully written, I just never found myself believing it. I’m not sure what it was, but Bea and Jonah never fully materialized in my mind. The ghost and robot aspect keeps the reader at arm’s length, and I also never really believed the radio show listeners…I don’t know. I was very impressed by the writing, but I just found the characters and much of what they say and do (particularly Jonah’s big ending–like seriously, there were no pictures of him on the internet anywhere?) pretty unlikely. Still a lovely read, however!