BOOK TITLE: This Is Me
AUTHOR: C.E. Wilson
YEAR: 2016
GENRE: Fiction
SUBGENRE: Sci-Fi Romance
GRADE: Mixed
With all of the technological advances in this world, the
Asist robot is second to none when it comes to companionship and servitude.
Private school substitute teacher Chloe received one named Rogan for her
graduation present. The two are inseparable best friends and sometimes lovers,
which angers many of Chloe’s friends to the point of bigotry against these
robots. Chloe’s human boyfriend Niven is especially enraged and makes any
attempt he can to drive a wedge between her and the “fake” Rogan. Sooner or
later, Chloe will have to make a decision between her perfect robot and the
“real” Niven.
The major themes in this book are humankind’s relationship
with technology and ignorant bigotry against anything they don’t understand.
These themes are so perfectly interwoven that the novel could spark a debate in
today’s real world, especially with such a divided racial structure as we have
now. Asists are considered second class citizens because of their technological
makeup, but others, like Chloe, argue that they have feelings too. Over a
hundred years ago, white slave owners saw black people as less than dirt while
abolitionists argued that the slaves were just as real as any other human
being. There are also themes of ageism when it comes to young people being so
obsessed with technology that they’ll limit human contact on purpose. There are
all sorts of civil rights issues being dealt with in this novel. Maybe Chloe
should have double majored in music AND political science.
But never forget that this is a romance novel above all
else. In the case of Chloe, one of her main love interests is Niven Adams, a
rival substitute teacher who wants the same job she’s applying for. If Ms.
Wilson wanted to create a hate-worthy villain, she did an A+ job of it with
Niven. He’s bigoted against Asists, he’s arrogant, he’s obnoxious, his friends
are even more annoying, but his only redeeming quality seems to be that he’s a
good singer. Ted Nugent is probably a good singer too, but that doesn’t mean I
want to hang around him 24/7, especially after Mr. Nugent told Barack Obama to
“suck on [his] machinegun”. With all of these things working against Niven, it
makes me wonder why Chloe would ever be attracted to him in the first place. I
cringe every time she pushes Rogan away in favor of Niven. Rogan may be a
robot, but at least he’s sweeter than a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, which is
more than I’ll ever say about Niven. This is comparable to the movie Clerks
where Dante chooses the smoking hot cheater Caitlin over the loyal and
low-maintenance Veronica.
The final thing I want to touch on is the argument structure
between these characters. It seems to me that every time two characters want to
go back and forth with each other, they’re hesitant to get to the point and
they kill time with negative answers. Rogan is especially guilty of doing this
when he argues with Chloe. He’s overly apologetic and always at war with
himself, which I guess is appropriate for a robot whose sole purpose is to make
Chloe happy, but after a while, it wears on the reader. While Rogan is the
worst offender when it comes to filler dialogue, he’s hardly the only one who
does this. Niven, Monica, and Fitz also tiptoe around their respective
subjects.
The senseless arguments and Niven’s disgusting behavior both
make me want to give this book a mixed grade. But C.E. Wilson shouldn’t feel
too badly about it, because for every fault, there is a redeeming quality that
will convince you to buy this book. The romance is hot, Chloe is likeable, the
interactions between Fitz and his mini-Asist Bree are cute and cuddly, and of
course, my favorite part of the book has to be the civics debate going on as it
relates to racism and technophobia. Ms. Wilson has every right in the world to
be proud of her work. If she spends more time crafting her dialogue and sorting
out her characters’ priorities, then she can do great things in her next few
novels. A mixed grade is nothing to sneeze at.
