Zed Moonstein Makes a Friend

Gr 4-6–Zed has always had trouble making friends. He doesn’t mind, since he’s been BFF with Rishti since the third grade. But when she starts hanging out with another girl, Caz, in middle school, Zed feels threatened and lonely. Out of desperation, Zed steals a virtual friend app his mom is developing for her tech company, MonoLyth. Zed’s new bond with virtual friend Matt seems fine until it develops dark human qualities, jealously sabotaging Zed and anyone he cares about, especially Rishti. Humor dominates Rubin’s dystopian cautionary tale, softening the novel’s reminders of the dangers of technology overuse, and more specifically, the risks of allowing big companies to dominate our everyday lives. Readers won’t fail to notice similarities between Google/Amazon (though unnamed) and MonoLyth, which took over Zed’s town, from renaming it to MonoTown to replacing schoolteachers with MonoCube-Ed devices. “You and your team gave me wings, and now I’m flyin’,” is AI-generated Matt’s chilling warning in a dramatic confrontation with his creator. Clever, hilarious Zed proves to be a resourceful hero, outwitting Matt—and MonoLyth—in a climax that moves as fast as a TikTok video and leaves room for a sequel. Supporting characters represent diverse families and ethnicities.