Robot Island

In the eight years since his parents died, Willis has lived a Dickensian existence with his cold uncle Tod. The now-12-year-old is responsible for cleaning the used bookshop in which they live, cooks every meal, and is forbidden from spending time with his friends outside of school. When Uncle Tod assigns Willis a new task—reading to wealthy local Mrs. Shorthouse—the youth isn’t expecting to enjoy the experience, yet he comes to relish his time with the kind widow and her caustic teenage great-niece Daphne. One day, Willis stumbles upon an abandoned locale seemingly straight out of the 1950s: a lake island on the outskirts of his small English town houses a prototype community, created by the late Mr. Shorthouse, where all the work is done by robots. Willis’s joy about his discovery is short-lived, however, as Uncle Tod demands that Willis steal rare books from Mrs. Shorthouse for him to sell, prompting Willis—wracked with guilt over his complicity in his uncle’s cruel schemes—to push away friends both new and old. Abrupt perspective shifts and underdeveloped characterizations sometimes disrupt momentum. Still, the novel’s tantalizing premise proves intriguing and will charm readers in search of a cozy and thought-provoking tale. Main characters read as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Amy Tompkins, Transatlantic Literary. (Oct.)