Item - Your Very Own Robot

I believe I have this one somewhere around the house, but not within easy reach.

Anyway, the story is quite condensed and random. With thieves, a run-in with the law (on your own accord), and even travel to a planet run by robots, there's a lot of odd ground to cover here. It's random alright.

One thing I found disturbing was an ending in which you were disassembled (you are human!) and made into a robot, complete with accompanying illustration. Naturally, the illustration isn't gory, but seeing your head separated from your body with the text reading that you are "made into a robot," along with a long something along the lines of "'BEEP. Whoops!' you say. And no-one ever sees you again." is just incredibly disturbing.

Otherwise, it's R. A. Montgomery randomness, cutified for a younger audience, with the exception of that one messed-up ending.

More reviews by CGally

The only real innovation in this book is the inclusion of a blank line where the reader can insert the name he or she gives the robot. Other than that, it's a typical entry in this series. The silly extent to which the story is condensed does prove unintentionally amusing at points.

More reviews by Demian

Recently, I was gifted a few second-hand Choose Your Own Adventure books in English. This was the one that caught my eye first. It seems to be the 2007 re-issue.

A simple story with little text and lots of pictures. It offers up a lot of choice in 69 pages. Most are cute, like "Do you want to paint your robot? Do you want to take your robot to school?" etc. But the story can go in a lot of different directions, such as an ice cream factory, a pirate ship and outer space.

I read it with my 6 year old and it seems the right level of less text, lots of choices. It inspired her to make her own pick a path style book, but hers is about unicorns, as she found robots too much of a "boy" topic.

One of the cutest things is the "kids comments" on the first page. According to Jake, "I liked this book, but it's not safe to build your own robot." Indeed!

More reviews by Kveto