The Second Life of Snap

Zuzu Santos lives in Subsidized Camp Five in a trailer. Her father works at Lockwood Associates in security, but has just lost his job. As severance, he is given a Secure Network Android Processor robot, known as Snap. He thinks that the robot will be a good way to keep track of Zuzu while he's looking for a job, but Zuzu doesn't trust anything that comes from "bounties" who live in protected areas, have technology, and are generally better off than those living in the Barrens are. Zuzu is used to hanging out with the other children in her small neighborhood that they call Bright Valley. Elias, Laiken, and Ant (the "Valleycats") all go to school with her, and like their teacher, Ms. Dagney, who isn't as fond of Lockwood Associates as she should be. Zuzu warms to Snap when he does household chores for her, and when Elias syncs his tablet with the robot, Snap seems to change some of the robot's functions. Snap now makes choices, and can lie. He is helpful to the children, detecting an old bike chain in a nearby lake that is useful to Elias, who is trying to build a bike. There is a farmer's market that the children go to, but it is a dangerous place. Elias takes a water filter that he has made and tries to sell it, but Grady, a child from the Driftwood community, steals the battery from it and breaks it. Dr. Li, who works with Ms. Dagney, still buys it from the children, and even buys fruit from Mabel for them. When Laiken's mother is ailing, the children borrow bikes from Nora and Costello from Sandtown and travel to Driftwood to try to get the battery back from Grady. Driftwood is even more fun down than Bright Valley, and Big Jim says the kids can have the battery only if he keeps a bike. Since Snap has been collateral for the bike, Zuzu has to trade information to Nora and Costello in order to keep Snap, who has become her friend. All through the story, we have known that Snap's charger is broken, and once his battery wears down, he will revert to factory settings. After a storm tears through Bright Valley, everyone survives, but the last scene shows that Zuzu was not able to keep Snap, although he does get a new battery and owner.

What worked:
The author creates a dynamic relationship between Zuzu and Snap. Zuzu hates robots, especially when her teacher tells the class they’ll eventually take over the world. Her father brings one home after losing his job and says it will become Zuzu’s guardian. That means it will go everywhere she goes and tell her father when she wants to go to the salvage yard, or the Sal. It cannot lie. However, something happens to it, and it protects Zuzu by not telling the truth. Zuzu starts calling it Snap, and she becomes more protective of the robot. Zuzu and her three friends call themselves Valley Cats, and they enjoy visiting the Sal. Snap comes along to help collect and carry trashed items, and he wants to learn more about being human. He competes in a storytelling game and asks about the taste of pears. Snap is naïve about life, but his blunt statements and questions help Zuzu navigate her issues.

The author makes a clear distinction between the society’s haves and have-nots. The wealthy citizens reside in Bountiful, where they are shielded from harsh weather elements and enjoy a life of leisure. The have-nots live in Barren where the dusties’ flimsy, tin homes do little to keep out the Texas heat and dust. The whole story is set in Barren, so the only information about Bountiful is learned from the characters. Drones monitor citizens’ behaviors and zoom in to notify them when they’ve violated a rule or law. The one Barren doctor is punished for visiting patients in their homes. Speaking against the government is prohibited, with Dusty settlements widely separated and no way to communicate. Society is organized to keep the Dusties oppressed and suppressed. However, Zuzu hears rumors about something coming soon that will change everything.

What didn’t work as well:

The “climax” and resolution are not satisfying. The plot is building toward a major event to change society, but it never happens. It skips that part and ends six months later.

The final verdict:

The dynamic relationship between Zuzu and Snap is heartwarming, and readers will feel a sense of sadness as Snap’s battery runs down. However, the end of the book will have many readers feeling cheated, since the result is anticlimactic. Readers are left to fill in the blanks themselves.