Review: Cog

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that has made me laugh out loud until I’m crying and cannot talk quite like Cog. This adorable twelve year old robot boy absolutely stole my heart!

Cog, a highly advanced artificial intelligence robot, has been built to foster his “cognitive development”. He has spent his whole life with his beloved creator Gina but when an accident separates them, Cog ends up in a strange lab surrounded by scientists wanting to remove his brain. With the help of some fellow A.I.’s, Cog escapes and begins a perilous journey in search of Gina, safety, and home.

This sweet, little story packs so much emotion, heartfelt characters and very important observations of our current, tech obsessed world. Do artificial intelligences have rights? Should we be more concerned about the data we willing (and unknowingly) are giving away? This little book provides an excellent launch point into some of these important topics with kids as we navigate this technology driven world.

All delivered in a quirky story full of heartwarming characters. How Greg Van Eekhout was able to give each robot it’s own unique voice — from 12 year old boy Cog, to Ava (a girl robot of similar age built for destruction), a robotic dog, and an OCD trash compactor — is simply masterful.

At just under 200 double spaced pages, this story is short and sweet but somehow just the right length. I love when authors aren’t afraid to let the story be short, or page pad. This is simply an absolutely brilliant, laugh-out-loud story, with genuine heart that I tremendously enjoyed. Would make an excellent read aloud and has something in it for kids of multiple ages.

A gem of a book.

5*