The Wild Robot by
Peter Brown
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
This middle grade novel about a robot that gets stranded on a wilderness island is so sweet. I know, I know. You're all thinking, really? A feral wilderness robot is sweet? Yep. It sure is.
There are no people in this novel. Roz, the bot, has to learn how to adapt, survive, and communicate with the animals of the island, after she's shipwrecked, washed ashore, and accidentally activated by an otter. She is involved in an accident that causes the deaths of a family of geese, minus one small gosling, which she then adopts and raises.
This is a charming, adorable story about how great a place can be when there's someone there, even just a robot, who simply wants to do what is right and make life better for everyone, no matter what creature or species you may be. There's something to be learned here about the strength of society, and what makes for stronger communities. It's touching to watch her learn and grow, and to see how the other animals change and adapt with her. She has a positive influence on the whole island.
The only bad thing about the audiobook is the terrible symphonic additions at the start and end of the book. The music is cued up so loud that I can barely separate out the words and focus on the story, which is absolutely frustrating. Don't get me wrong. I am not opposed to music or sound effects with audiobooks. I have my undergrad degree in music, so bring on the orchestra.
HOWEVER, additional sounds should never supersede anyone's ability to hear and focus on the actual story, ESPECIALLY DURING THE CRUCIAL START OF A BOOK. This is so common, and it MAKES ME SO ANGRY.
When the noise/music is louder than the story, that's an utter failure on behalf of the individual who was responsible for adding sound effects and music to the book. That's just wrong and bad on every level. Not everyone has perfect hearing, perfect speakers, and/or a perfect listening environment. The people who cue music for audiobooks need to take the book out with a set of crappy headphones and listen to it in a busy location.
Then, and only then, should they make decisions about the volume of the background music and sounds. If they are sitting in a high tech studio, then they're mixing the book for themselves, not for the everyday audiobook user, which is just frustrating.
Luckily, the very loud, brain impairing noise lasts for only about the first 8 minutes at the start, so if you turn the audiobook up to double speed, you can get through the uncomfortable segment in just over 4 minutes. Hang in there. After those 8 minutes, you'll be able to hear and appreciate this adorable story, despite having basically missed the entire start of the book. Regardless, you'll be able to follow along with the story, even if you take very little out of the section cued with music, because while I hate missing the start of a story, I didn't struggle to figure out what was happening in the story once the noise violence ended.
I did almost quit listening, because somewhere around the 3 minute mark, I suspected the loud music may be cued throughout the whole book, and I knew I couldn't handle that. It's not. Hang in there.
Pages: 288
