How to Say Goodbye in Robot

By: Natalie Standiford

Narrated by: Kate Rudd

New to town, Bea is expecting her new best friend to be one of the girls she meets on the first day. You know the type: very cheery, very friendly, very average. But instead, the alphabet conspires to seat her next to Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, a quiet observer who hasn’t made a new friend since third grade. He’s not a big fan of people in general... but he’s willing to make an exception for her. Maybe.

Bea and Jonah are not going to have a friendship like other people have a friendship, where it’s all based on gossip and parties and what everybody else thinks. Instead, their friendship comes from truth-bound conversations, shared secrets, daring stunts, and late-night calls to the same old-timer radio show. They help each other and hurt each other, push away and hold close. It’s not romance, exactly – but it’s definitely love. And it means more to them than either one can ever really know....

For anyone who’s ever entered the wonderful, treacherous, consuming, meaningful world of a true friendship, How to Say Goodbye in Robot will strike a deep and lasting chord.

©2010 Natalie Standiford (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

OUTSTANDING

I was completely blown away by how much I loved this book. First of all, it is not a love story. At least, not the kind you are used to seeing. This is about Bea and Jonah, who feel like outsiders and find a friend in each other. They both have somewhat complicated inner lives, but Jonah's life is full of real pain and a bit of mystery, as well. As Bea gets sucked into Jonah's reality, you'll see that he is not the typical "misunderstood YA male protagonist who is really very good and handsome". He is not always nice. He is not always nice to Bea. Bea does not always stand up for herself. It was frustrating to listen to this and painful to hear what they were both going through, but that pain was tempered by writing that was laugh-out-loud funny, as well. I found it to be such a real way to present two close friends and I was completely and utterly sucked into this book. It was also one of those books where I felt myself relating to everyone, even the characters that did terrible or misguided things. I would be remiss if I did not mention the best part about this story: the radio show. Throughout the story, we get to tune in to Nightlights, a local call-in radio show with its own cast of quirky and lonely characters. It was a perfect way for two people that felt the awkwardness of face-to-face interaction, to connect, although it was also one more way for Jonah to keep his distance as a faceless radio caller. I found myself wondering about those characters as much as I thought about Bea and Jonah.

The narrator of this book was Kate Rudd, who is one of my very favorites. She does such a great job of conveying the emotion and the humor in this quirky story. The BEST thing about this audiobook, though, is the radio show. Voice actors perform the various parts, so it's as if you are actually listening to a radio program. It really made this audio something amazing and even if the fabulous Kate Rudd wasn't the narrator, I would recommend it simply because of what they did with the radio show. If this is one of those books you've been meaning to read, as it was for me, I give this audiobook my very highest recommendation.

I liked it except for the ending

the book was a fun ride for me and the performance was simply EXCELLENT, especialy the night talk show I really wish if it was a real show LOL .. I didn't like the ending though .. it was heart breaking for me

Not what I was expecting

The protagonist was hard for me to relate to. Although, I am sure, some girls have a high school experience where they would hate to have the hottest boy in school try and date them I just didn't have that experience. I may have loved to hang out with some of the stranger kids in school some of the reactions from our heroin are reaching.

Don't get me wrong...this was entertaining and very different than the usual YA book.

Great Performance and amazing voices!

Intriguing in a strange, dark, and twisted way.

It took me a couple of chapters to understand the dark humor and imagery. Once I did, I wanted to find out what weird adventure Robot Girl and Ghost Boy would go on next. Strangely addictive and heart wrenching with dark humor thrown in for spice.