Annie Bot: A Washington Post Best Science Fiction Book of the Year

WINNER OF THE ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD

Named a Best Book of the Year by Scientific American, Harper's Bazaar and NPR. Named a Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of the Year by the Washington Post and Elle. Nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award in Science Fiction.

"Provocative...a Frankenstein for the digital age...a rich text about power, autonomy, and what happens when our creations outgrow us." — Esquire

"Unexpected and subtle...delicious and thought-provoking." — New Scientist

For fans of Never Let Me Go and My Dark Vanessa, a powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, exploring questions of intimacy, power, autonomy, and control.

Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the pert outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard.

She’s learning, too.

Doug says he loves that Annie’s AI makes her seem more like a real woman, so Annie explores human traits such as curiosity, secrecy, and longing. But becoming more human also means becoming less perfect, and as Annie’s relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder: Does Doug really desire what he says he wants? And in such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?

"Annie Bot is a book to hold close to your heart when the walls start closing in." — Washington Post

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Published Mar 19, 2024

240 pages

Average rating: 7.21

205 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Margaux B
May 15, 2025
8/10 stars
I'd classify this story as feminist literature and wonder how it came across to male readers. While this novel is only a little over 200 pages, there is so much packed into it as we discover, along with Annie herself, what is means to be human and how to survive as a female in it.
Stacerse
Jul 20, 2025
10/10 stars
This came recommended by someone I met & it’s not my typical reading material. With that said, I really enjoyed the book. It deals with human themes but through an AI perspective. The main character, Annie, is an AI robot but begins to learn human emotion and struggles with it.
Rbourn
Jul 18, 2025
9/10 stars
This book really got me thinking about life from a variety of angles. The story was entertaining and believable.
SydneyBee
Jan 22, 2025
10/10 stars
Wow.... So many thoughts...
Wheres the line that determines if someones human or not? What defines humanity? The ability to love, or the ability to leave?
First, OUCH. Like, big OUCH. So many deep cuts about living to please someone else which isn't exclusively a robot trait.
I was hoping for / expecting a robot uprising, but I feel that might have taken away from the point of the book which was more about what it really means to be human (a human women at that).
It felt so real and so close to home.
Karinaval
Jan 08, 2025
1/10 star
Lazy, surface writing for what could be an interesting exploration on misogyny and character growth

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