TRUE LIFE IN UNCANNY VALLEY written by Deb Caletti and read by Brittany Pressley

Deb Caletti’s TRUE LIFE IN UNCANNY VALLEY is read by Brittany Pressley and, at first listening, I wondered about Eleanor Diamond who seemed like an emotionally over-the-top heroine. Eleanor, a teenage senior, is miserable with her mother’s emotional abuse and dreams of finding family with Hugo Harrison, the father who has abandoned her at birth. Driven by her need, Eleanor hides her identity and becomes a loving live-in nanny to her toddler half-brother and a friend to her warm influencer stepmother. The tenderness of friends and first love buoy Eleanor. In contrast, Pressley represents Hugo’s cold ruthlessness, and pleasure in a privileged lifestyle derived from his AI inventiveness. Pressley’s portrayal invites listeners into Eleanor’s conflicted, convincing introspections–the frustration of not knowing her father, guilt at her deception and later wondering what her father’s AI explorations are really about. You can find out more about this book and audio at the purchase link below.