TrooFriend

Set in a world not so different from our own, TrooFriend by Kirsty Applebaum introduces the idea of android robots becoming our one true friend. Written from the point of view of Ivy, the AI TrooFriend 560 Mark IV robot that Sarah's mum buys for her, she is introduced as a child's one true friend. She has the ability to play thousands of games, store knowledge, create and even tidy messy bedrooms!

Sarah is reluctant at first to make friends with Ivy, but eventually sees how she can be a friend. We follow the journey of Ivy developing human-like emotions and are led to question whether these are 'real' feelings or not. This story also addresses ways to treat human friendships, with Ivy navigating school and Sarah's human friends.

I enjoyed this engaging story with its moments of anticipation, threat from both the AI robots and the humans, and themes of acceptance, fear, friendship and trust. It shows how people can react differently to the idea of AI and it becoming more human-like, with protesters with opposing views creating some of the threat in the plot. 

Troofriend is a great, relevant story that educates ages 9+ about the rising use of AI in our world and raises moral questions about how far it should develop. The perspective of Ivy brings empathy to the android and is a clever way of demonstrating the idea of AI developing feelings. It is also an easy read with Ivy's speech written in bold.

TrooFriend makes you wonder what might happen if AI robots were to become real and accepted into our homes, an intriguing yet ominous concept.

208 pages / Reviewed by Alice, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+