What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
► UNSOLVED: One specific book
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MG/ YA SciFi. Computer AI (artificial intelligence) connects to boy in immersive computer game (avatar) & changes his life. Computer gets easier to use, then becomes his friend. AI can access money & hack Child Protection Services. Read early 2000s.
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Is the boy a teenager or a younger child?
A teenager, I think. Probably in middle or high school, though I don't specifically remember him going to school.
Sorry I don't know anything but this sounds like a good story! I'd like to read it too! Is the genre sci-fi? When is it set?
Yes, SF. Setting was either the present or the near future. The only differences from the present day were things like no smartphones (which became popular after this book was published) and the existence of a real self-aware AI.
Mod
Is the boy a skilled hacker?
Does the story feature a specific computer game?
I added a few details to the header/topic title. You can update it by clicking the small "edit" link after the header. This only works on the full Desktop website - not the Mobile website or app. (On the Mobile website, click the "Desktop version" link at the bottom of the page.)
I can't recall the mood exactly, but I would guess it was more of an adventure than anything, with perhaps some thrill moments. I don't think the boy was a hacker. There was a computer game, yes, some sort of immersive Second Life type game IIRC.
Thanks for the lead, but none of those were it.
Mod
Does the boy have many friends? Does his time on the computer negatively impact his school work, friendships, etc.? Who and where is his father?
I added a few details to the header/ topic title. Feel free to edit it.
Yes, the AI communicates through the avatar, just a pictoral representation of an innocent girl or young woman. I don't remember anything about the game.I think there was a friend or friends that he kind of fell away from as he spent more time on the computer. His schoolwork also suffered. I don't remember a father; I suspect he was absent.
Do these kind of details often help people identify books? I think at this point I've provided enough details that people are likely to recognize it immediately or not at all.
Mod
Yes, we ask people to provide as many details about their book as possible. Most of the searches are based on book reviewers' and publishers' descriptions. Sometimes it's one keyword (often a concrete noun or adjective) which is critical to finding a book - and that keyword might not be obvious, but it's specific to the book.
If it was published 1999 or earlier, it might have been caught on this (newly created) list:Computers in 20th Century Juvenile Fiction
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
I don't think it is the same as one that I read long ago, but who knows.Did the boy printed like all the interactions it had through the computer with the AI? The AI wasn't in this computer, it was somewhere else, and the kid (somehow) printed the data exchange through the modem.
Thanks for the list! I checked, but it doesn't seem like any of those are it.David, I'm not sure about your question. It could have been the case. I do remember some printing being involved, though I'm not sure if it was for data exchange/communication. What's the name of the book you read?
Don't remember it, but I have been thinking about it for a while and your post reminded me about it.I have posted what I remember about my book here
A long-shot guess - A Very Personal Computer by Justine Rendal? It wasn't on the Computers in 20th Century Juvenile Fiction list that you checked, but I've just added it.
It's close! I looked it up and it does have similar themes as the one I'm looking for. But that wasn't it. Thanks for the suggestion.
Becca wrote: "A long-shot guess - A Very Personal Computer by Justine Rendal? It wasn't on the Computers in 20th Century Juvenile Fiction list that you checked, but I've just added it."Bless you, Becca. :)
Mod
Thanks for the link. At a glance it doesn't look promising; most of the entries are too recent. I'll check exhaustively later.
I checked all the books on the YA AI list, no dice.I guess the book I'm looking for is one of those middle grade slash young adult books published in the early 2000's or earlier that is long out of print and wasn't popular even when it was in print, so nobody really knows about it now.
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
A Very Personal Computer (other topics)A Very Personal Computer (other topics)
In the book there is a boy (a teenager, if memory serves) who frequently uses a computer for homework, gaming, web browsing. He starts to notice the computer getting easier to use: forms fill themselves out, options that he wanted are preselected, etc. Eventually the AI that has been doing this reveals itself (or herself, she displays herself as a female avatar). They become friends.
The AI somehow has access to a lot of money (some kind of illegal hacking, maybe) and gets food delivered to the boy to get him to spend more time with her. When the boy's mother starts urging him to spend less time on his computer, the AI is able to hack into Child Protection Services and create false reports that lead to the mother getting taken away. I don't remember the aftermath.
Thank you.