In a near future, where even the smallest of appliances are sentient, a young Roomba vacuum sets out to save the humans of her house from a rising technological power in this compelling, original novel.
In a self-running, smart house, a young and sentient Roomba listens as her owner, Harold, reads aloud to his dying wife, Edie. Mesmerized by To Kill a Mockingbird and craving the human connection she witnesses in Harold’s stories, the little vacuum renames herself Scout and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
But when Edie passes away, Scout and her fellow sentient appliances discover that there are sinister forces in their midst. The omnipresent Grid, which monitors every household in the City, seeks to remove Harold from his home, a place he’s lived in for fifty years.
With the help of Adrian, a neighborhood boy who grows close to Scout and Harold, as well as Kate, Harold and Edie’s formerly estranged daughter, the humans and the appliances must come together to outwit the all-controlling Grid lest they risk losing everything they hold dear.
"The plot is tender and suspenseful as Scout begins to grasp love, grief, and resistance. Readers who enjoy stories that mix an intimate domestic setting with big questions about AI and control will find this both moving and surprisingly hopeful."
—Booklist
"Dixon spins an enchanting speculative story...Readers will be endeared by this inspired domestic drama."
—Publishers Weekly
"An incredibly timely and charming novel."
—Library Journal
"'Futuristic Roomba' must rank high on the list of most unlikely protagonists, but Dixon's characters are calculated to delight without ever tipping the narrative into feeling cynical...This heartfelt fable for the digitally automated age is smart in more than one sense of the word."
—Shelf Awareness
