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Book Cover |
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Excerpt |
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Breakfasts in the Bell Household
Gavin had a
sneaking feeling his father was changing the subject. They examined the
dining table. "Bowls and side plates," mused Mr. Bell. "Well, that
doesn't look too ominous."
The door slid open and Mrs. Bell and Fleur entered. They too stared at
the table.
"Cereal and toast. That's OK," said Fleur with relief.
His mum kissed Gavin. "Morning," she murmured. "Did you sleep well?"
He wondered whether to tell her about the house screeching in his ear
and decided not to. It would be just like her to go back to alarm
clocks, or to volunteer to wake him herself. At least with the house he
could tell it to let him snooze for ten minutes.
They joined Mr. Bell at the table.
"Dad's going to build a new factory for LifeCorp," Gavin told his
sister.
"Really?" said Fleur. "Whereabouts?"
"Don't get excited," their father said. "It's on the edge of the city. I
was hoping it might be somewhere exotic like Italy or Tanzania so I'd be
allowed to travel."
The door opened and the butler rolled into the room, to an accompaniment
of squeaks and whirrs.
"Good evening," he said in a gravelly voice.
Fleur and Gavin exchanged looks of alarm.
"Actually, Grumps . . . ," began Mr. Bell.
A ring indicated that the food lift had arrived. Mr. Bell left his
sentence unfinished. The butler creaked his way toward the lift and took
out a large tureen.
"Soup is served," he announced, setting down the tureen in the center of
the table.
"Soup!" echoed Fleur. "For breakf--?"
"Shhh," said her mum. "You'll hurt his feelings. Thank you, Grumps."
"Tomato soup," intoned the butler. He lifted the lid. Steam wafted up
and the unmistakable smell of cooked tomatoes filled the room.
The family stared in silence at the tureen. Grumps waited patiently, the
lid in his hand.
"Perhaps a ladle?" said Mrs. Bell at last. "And some cereal and a yogurt
for Charlotte."
"I forgot. I am most sorry." The butler replaced the lid and trundled
out of the door. They heard him squeaking down the hallway.
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Synopsis |
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In the late 21st century,
robots have taken over a lot of the menial jobs and take care of humans.
There is very little gasoline to be had, so most people do not get to
travel. While other struggle to get by, Technocrats live a life of
luxury as they are paid highly to invent new technology. Gavin Bell
lives with his mum, dad, and two sisters. They have one robot butler
named Grumps whose internal clock has gone out so he doesn't know what
time of day it is.
Realizing that they need a new robot, Gavin's father
obtains a prototype robot names EGR3. Renamed "Eager", this small robot
is not like the other robots manufactured by LifeCorp because the
professor who made him gave Eager free will. LifeCorp has just released
the BDC4 robots to a few locations. What they didn't tell anybody was
that they did something to these robots to make them seem more
human-like.
Unfortunately, the BDC4s start to turn on the humans that
own them and some have secretly been recalled by LifeCorp. When Gavin
realizes what is going on, he sends Eager in to infiltrate their ranks
and find out what the BDC4s are up to. Unfortunately for Eager, he is
easy to pick out and is soon discovered. What will happen to Eager when
the BDC4 get a hold of him? Why are the BDC4s acting so strange? Are
they a threat to the safety of humans?
Eager is a
science fiction story written by Helen Fox. This book revolves around a
small, very human-like robot and his human master, Gavin Bell, and their
struggle to understand what is happening with the BDC4 robots. This book
is intended for young readers age 9 to 12.
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Review |
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I love a good science
fiction story. Right from the start, I knew I would enjoy Eager,
which was written by Helen Fox.
Eager is the coolest little robot
because he is just like a newborn. The world is a wondrous place to him
and he looks at everything with amazement. Is he big and shiny like the
BDC4s? No. Does he compliment his master's every move? No. Is he loyal.
Yes. Is he different? Yes. Is he totally cool? Oh, yes. I love Eager:
the robot and the book.
Helen Fox does a fantastic job of keeping the
reader in the dark as to what is going on with the BDC4s. Are they
really evil? Are they going to wipe out humans? Or is there just
something wrong with their programming? As we become more and more
technology dependent, I can easily see something like this happening in
our future.
The world in which Eager takes place is both good and
bad for humans. I like the idea of having robots as servants, but hate
the idea of not being able to travel. Still, this book is fun and very
enjoyable. Kids will fall in love with the small robot and want one for
themselves . . . I know I do.
So, if you are looking for a great science
fiction book for young readers, Eager is the one for you.
I rated this book an 8½ out of
10. |
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