roster's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
araleith's review
5.0
Robots, learning, ownvoices autistic rep, disability rep, relationships. Such a good, good book.
siclarke's review
5.0
This is hard science fiction – the primary focus is on the real-world science in the story. But it ain't your granddad's hard sci-fi. The secondary focus is much more personal and intimate: what does it mean to belong, to be loved, to be human. And it's this secondary layer that will punch you in the gut (in the best possible way).
Tammy is a roboticist working to build a prototype robot. Over the course of story, which is told in the form of a log of her work, Tammy gradually reveals more of herself to the reader.
What a powerful story – with excellent neurodivergent, disability, and LGBTQIA+ rep. Highly recommended. Mariimo was published three years ago and, to date, is the author's only published story. I hope it doesn't remain so.
Tammy is a roboticist working to build a prototype robot. Over the course of story, which is told in the form of a log of her work, Tammy gradually reveals more of herself to the reader.
What a powerful story – with excellent neurodivergent, disability, and LGBTQIA+ rep. Highly recommended. Mariimo was published three years ago and, to date, is the author's only published story. I hope it doesn't remain so.
smartie_chan's review
4.0
Amazon has been reccomanding this book to me for a while now and I'm actually glad that I didn't buy it sooner. Because if I had, I probably wouldn't have been able to appreciate it as much as I did. This sentence doesn't make sense without context, so I'll provide that real quick: I'm talking about the autism rep. I did know about autism, but I hadn't been educating myself on it quiet as much as I should have.
I'm bringing this up, because I think that especially chapter three is quiet interesting if viewed with an autistic lense. The chapters that follow after chapter three are only getting better. It's kinda from that chapter, around maybe 30% into the book, that the story really starts getting interesting.
I have to admit, that the first too - although they were really interesting and researched greatly - weren't as catching as they could have been. I do appreciate them if you look at the book as a whole, since you can tell how the diary starts to change from being a real documentation for science, to a diary the more the book goes on. Everything said is cool, but I would have prefered it to be shorter. Especially since the book itself isn't that long. The later chapters do make up for it, but I just feel like the book could have easily been a 5 stars if some stuff in the beginning was cut shorter.
Other reviews mentioned it already, but if you're looking for rep this book got you covered. The MC is autistic, has PTSD, is queer, is disabled, maybe ace and maybe agoraphobic(in case you don't know what that is: Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape.) The last one isn't said on page but some scenes were hinting at it.
The thing I love about all the rep is, that it's subtle and obviously there if you know what to look for, but it's never the only or biggest part of the MC.
I don't think I can talk about anything that happens after chapter 3 because I feel like that would be a spoiler. I can hint at it...maybe? It tackles one of the classic questions of robotics: What makes as human? It is also a character study for Mariimo but mostly for the MC herself.
The style is really intersting, and may or may not be your coup of tea. I'd give it a chance because it's definitifly a great book and I'm happy I read it.
I'm bringing this up, because I think that especially chapter three is quiet interesting if viewed with an autistic lense. The chapters that follow after chapter three are only getting better. It's kinda from that chapter, around maybe 30% into the book, that the story really starts getting interesting.
I have to admit, that the first too - although they were really interesting and researched greatly - weren't as catching as they could have been. I do appreciate them if you look at the book as a whole, since you can tell how the diary starts to change from being a real documentation for science, to a diary the more the book goes on. Everything said is cool, but I would have prefered it to be shorter. Especially since the book itself isn't that long. The later chapters do make up for it, but I just feel like the book could have easily been a 5 stars if some stuff in the beginning was cut shorter.
Other reviews mentioned it already, but if you're looking for rep this book got you covered. The MC is autistic, has PTSD, is queer, is disabled, maybe ace and maybe agoraphobic(in case you don't know what that is: Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape.) The last one isn't said on page but some scenes were hinting at it.
The thing I love about all the rep is, that it's subtle and obviously there if you know what to look for, but it's never the only or biggest part of the MC.
I don't think I can talk about anything that happens after chapter 3 because I feel like that would be a spoiler. I can hint at it...maybe? It tackles one of the classic questions of robotics: What makes as human? It is also a character study for Mariimo but mostly for the MC herself.
The style is really intersting, and may or may not be your coup of tea. I'd give it a chance because it's definitifly a great book and I'm happy I read it.
crafalsk264's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book is told in the form of a journal kept by an autistic (undiagnosed) roboticist named Tammy Maheswaran. Tammy is a reclusive, independent, self educated scientist. She has decided to build a robot with a high level artificial intelligence with the ability to learn. The first quarter of the journal entries deal with Tammy’s thought processes and problem solving. We get to know how Tammy relates to her environment and emotions. We follow her decisions on the design, production elements, specifications and programming. This shows us how Tammy deals her own issues of isolation, anxiety, touch and connection. Tammy names her creation “Mariimo” (from marimo, a form of green algae). “To me, marimo represent the beauty hidden in things that most would overlook. It’s my hope that when Mariimo is activated for the first time, her curiosity and unique perspective will allow her to find beauty in things that even I had never considered.”
As Mariimo learns about her environment, masters sitting up, standing, walking. She also imprints on Tammy as the most interesting part of her world. The pace of the book is slow, meditative, thoughtful. The plot premise is intriguing. Character development is unusual in that Tammy is the character and by reading her journal, we learn what she thinks, feels, hopes, and dreams. The ending was satisfying but left the final resolution unknown. Overall a very good read with some discretion regarding sexual content.
quataodo's review
emotional
funny
informative
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
"I can’t stand being touched. It hurts. Like an electric shock, shooting through my nerves. Clenching my muscles. I can’t help but recoil from it. It’s a reflex.
Yet at the same time, I crave touch. I fantasize about it. I see others being touched and I feel this aching need. As if there’s this awful void in my chest, this thirst woven into my skin, and the only thing that could possibly provide relief is an affectionate, intimate touch.
But I can never find relief. Because for me, it hurts.
How am I supposed to reconcile that?"
-
holy shit
Yet at the same time, I crave touch. I fantasize about it. I see others being touched and I feel this aching need. As if there’s this awful void in my chest, this thirst woven into my skin, and the only thing that could possibly provide relief is an affectionate, intimate touch.
But I can never find relief. Because for me, it hurts.
How am I supposed to reconcile that?"
-
holy shit
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Car accident
the main character is an amputee due to a severe car accident in her childhood, and at one point she experiences a panic attack related to thissalixj's review
5.0
There is a tremendous amount of knowledge and feeling packed into this little book. I hope to see more from this author.
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