Author: John M. Cusick
Page count: 218
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Summary from Goodreads
David and Charlie are opposites. David has a million friends, online and off. Charlie is a soulful outsider, off the grid completely. But neither feels close to anybody. When David’s parents present him with a hot Companion bot designed to encourage healthy bonds and treat his “dissociative disorder,” he can’t get enough of luscious redheaded Rose — and he can’t get it soon. Companions come with strict intimacy protocols, and whenever he tries anything, David gets an electric shock. Parted from the boy she was built to love, Rose turns to Charlie, who finds he can open up, knowing Rose isn’t real. With Charlie’s help, the ideal “companion” is about to become her own best friend. In a stunning and hilarious debut, John Cusick takes rollicking aim at internet culture and our craving for meaningful connection in an uberconnected world
Review
The reason why I chose the book was mainly because of the cover and the summary. Besides, there was a manga called Zettai Kareshi with similar premise that I've read a few years back so I decided to read it.
Girl Parts is written in multiple point of views which are of David, Charlie and Rose. Unfortunately, when having so many different point of views, there is a lot of things to cover but not enough pages to tell everything. David has this air of neglected son but his character was not fully developed. All I can see that he was a boy lusting after girls. He is considered dissociative by his school counselor when he witnessed a girl committing suicide but he didn't do anything about it. The fact that she is from a neighbouring school didn't help either. When given the chance to have his own Companion, he thought that the idea was ridiculous at first but soon complied. I thought he was sweet when he spend most of his time with her, teaching her different things abut life. It was quite difficult as it's like introducing the world to a baby. I was fooled to the point where I believed that he was easily swayed by a pretty girl. However, his true motives shown when he discovered that he cannot deflower her as she do not own any vagina.
Another point of view is from Charlie, a boy who was raised by a single parent. I find him much more mature than David but him snapping at Rose is a huge no-no for me. He jumps to conclusion much too easily when it comes to Rose. He was also offered by the school counselor to join the Companion program as he seemed to be experiencing a Dissociative Disorder and the Companion could teach him how to be better around people. He declined saying that it is silly. It is true as who can gauge a person's true happiness. He is happiest alone but if that suits him, then it's alright.
Rose, the Companion is just a robot but she is much too human to be considered as one. When she was dumped by David, she tried to commit suicide only to be saved by Charlie. Charlie also tried to help her by sending her to chop shop for her to be free of the memory of David. She was then hunted by her creator but she escaped successfully.
The story is set somewhere in the near future because even if the class is conducted using computers and they have to stay put in class, other things don't really change such as their cars. It just seemed to be a normal high school experience with the addition of robotic prostitutes.
What I don't really enjoy about this book is that there's so much more to tell than Rose's heartbreak. The fact that her flashes of memories serve no purpose as they don't exactly revealed much about her. How special she is? Why was she number one and the only one of her model?
Besides, David was suddenly grieving about his loss (Rose's disappearance) and Charlie's sudden friendship with him was a bit tad confusing. It also subtly shown that they're fighting for her. In the end, nothing was resolved and I felt like I wasted my precious hours for nothing. This book just deal with loneliness that teenagers feel and some teen angst.
Unsurprisingly, the character that I dislike in this book is the school psychologist who is there to replace the old one. His character is dodgy and he seems to be manipulative. He try to appear sympathetic and understanding but he is really picking on the students weaknesses and turn their words against them. I almost screamed in joy when Charlie caught him in the act of dishonesty during a session. Go Charlie!
I do feel this story is a bit rushed and think there ought to be a sequel so this torture can continue. If you have loots of time, you can pick this book up for a quick read but it is not something that I would recommend. Why? I don't like books with unresolved issues and leaving me hanging.
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