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The Second Life of Snap
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Expected 12 May 26Twelve-year-old Zuzu Santos doesn’t want a robot. She and her best friends, otherwise known as “the Valleycats,” would rather explore Bright Valley on their own. But then Zuzu meets Snap, a know-it-all guardian robot with a limited battery life and an abundance of hope. A gripping, stand-alone, thematically rich survival story by two-time Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly, for fans of The Wild Robot and A Rover’s Story.
Bright Valley Subsidized Camp #5 is not a perfect place to live. It’s dusty, there are no trees to provide respite from the beating sun, the trailers are falling apart, and the water supply is heavily rationed. But to twelve-year-old Zuzu Santos and her three best friends, Bright Valley is home.
When Zuzu’s dad loses his job at Lockwood, the corporation that controls everything from rations to education, he isn’t given money or food or water as severance, but a dated, first-generation robot. They do not provide a working charging station. Zuzu names the robot Snap, and he soon becomes part of the Bright Valley family. But Snap’s battery is dwindling every day, and though Snap is prepared for his inevitable reset, Zuzu isn’t. She would do whatever it takes to keep Snap alive. The problem is, Snap would do the same for Zuzu and her friends, no matter the cost.
Bright Valley Subsidized Camp #5 is not a perfect place to live. It’s dusty, there are no trees to provide respite from the beating sun, the trailers are falling apart, and the water supply is heavily rationed. But to twelve-year-old Zuzu Santos and her three best friends, Bright Valley is home.
When Zuzu’s dad loses his job at Lockwood, the corporation that controls everything from rations to education, he isn’t given money or food or water as severance, but a dated, first-generation robot. They do not provide a working charging station. Zuzu names the robot Snap, and he soon becomes part of the Bright Valley family. But Snap’s battery is dwindling every day, and though Snap is prepared for his inevitable reset, Zuzu isn’t. She would do whatever it takes to keep Snap alive. The problem is, Snap would do the same for Zuzu and her friends, no matter the cost.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication May 12, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Zuzu Santos lives in Subsidized Camp Five in a trailer. Her father works at Lockwood Associates in security, but has just lost his job. As severance, he is given a Secure Network Android Processor robot, known as Snap. He thinks that the robot will be a good way to keep track of Zuzu while he's looking for a job, but Zuzu doesn't trust anything that comes from "bounties" who live in protected areas, have technology, and are generally better off than those living in the Barrens are. Zuzu is used to hanging out with the other children in her small neighborhood that they call Bright Valley. Elias, Laiken, and Ant (the "Valleycats") all go to school with her, and like their teacher, Ms. Dagney, who isn't as fond of Lockwood Associates as she should be. Zuzu warms to Snap when he does household chores for her, and when Elias syncs his tablet with the robot, Snap seems to change some of the robot's functions. Snap now makes choices, and can lie. He is helpful to the children, detecting an old bike chain in a nearby lake that is useful to Elias, who is trying to build a bike. There is a farmer's market that the children go to, but it is a dangerous place. Elias takes a water filter that he has made and tries to sell it, but Grady, a child from the Driftwood community, steals the battery from it and breaks it. Dr. Li, who works with Ms. Dagney, still buys it from the children, and even buys fruit from Mabel for them. When Laiken's mother is ailing, the children borrow bikes from Nora and Costello from Sandtown and travel to Driftwood to try to get the battery back from Grady. Driftwood is even more fun down than Bright Valley, and Big Jim says the kids can have the battery only if he keeps a bike. Since Snap has been collateral for the bike, Zuzu has to trade information to Nora and Costello in order to keep Snap, who has become her friend. All through the story, we have known that Snap's charger is broken, and once his battery wears down, he will revert to factory settings. After a storm tears through Bright Valley, everyone survives, but the last scene shows that Zuzu was not able to keep Snap, although he does get a new battery and owner.
Strengths: It is well within the realm of possibility that a technology company could take over the world, and that marginalized communities will suffer the effects of climate change and be housed in undesirable places in mobile homes, so the setting is quite true to life. The children in Bright Valley come from an array of backgrounds; Zuzu is Filipina, Elias is Mexican, Laiken is Black, and Ant is white. It's also likely that well to do communities will use a lot of technology. The salvage yard was interesting; in a dystopia, I imagine that the large landfills will be excavated, because judging from things I see thrown out, there has got to be a lot of very usable items there. Snap is a nice robot, which is a relief, since there are a lot of fictional robots who want to kill people. This is definitely a heart print book that merits a discussion about what it means to be human.
Weaknesses: There are so many dystopian books. The world is horrible right now. It would be nice to see science fiction that depicted the world being a better place because children stepped up and made a difference.
What I really think: Readers who found the dystopian worlds in Cartaya's The Last Beekeeper or Perry's Scavengers intriguing will find Bright Valley interesting, as will those who enjoyed the robots in Rodriguez and Ortega's The Girl and the Robot or Warga's A Rover's Story. I am always confounded by people who become emotionally attached to robots that are not the Jetson's maid, Rosie. To me, it is akin to becoming attached to my microwave or vacuum cleaner, but I know that other people are different.
Zuzu Santos lives in Subsidized Camp Five in a trailer. Her father works at Lockwood Associates in security, but has just lost his job. As severance, he is given a Secure Network Android Processor robot, known as Snap. He thinks that the robot will be a good way to keep track of Zuzu while he's looking for a job, but Zuzu doesn't trust anything that comes from "bounties" who live in protected areas, have technology, and are generally better off than those living in the Barrens are. Zuzu is used to hanging out with the other children in her small neighborhood that they call Bright Valley. Elias, Laiken, and Ant (the "Valleycats") all go to school with her, and like their teacher, Ms. Dagney, who isn't as fond of Lockwood Associates as she should be. Zuzu warms to Snap when he does household chores for her, and when Elias syncs his tablet with the robot, Snap seems to change some of the robot's functions. Snap now makes choices, and can lie. He is helpful to the children, detecting an old bike chain in a nearby lake that is useful to Elias, who is trying to build a bike. There is a farmer's market that the children go to, but it is a dangerous place. Elias takes a water filter that he has made and tries to sell it, but Grady, a child from the Driftwood community, steals the battery from it and breaks it. Dr. Li, who works with Ms. Dagney, still buys it from the children, and even buys fruit from Mabel for them. When Laiken's mother is ailing, the children borrow bikes from Nora and Costello from Sandtown and travel to Driftwood to try to get the battery back from Grady. Driftwood is even more fun down than Bright Valley, and Big Jim says the kids can have the battery only if he keeps a bike. Since Snap has been collateral for the bike, Zuzu has to trade information to Nora and Costello in order to keep Snap, who has become her friend. All through the story, we have known that Snap's charger is broken, and once his battery wears down, he will revert to factory settings. After a storm tears through Bright Valley, everyone survives, but the last scene shows that Zuzu was not able to keep Snap, although he does get a new battery and owner.
Strengths: It is well within the realm of possibility that a technology company could take over the world, and that marginalized communities will suffer the effects of climate change and be housed in undesirable places in mobile homes, so the setting is quite true to life. The children in Bright Valley come from an array of backgrounds; Zuzu is Filipina, Elias is Mexican, Laiken is Black, and Ant is white. It's also likely that well to do communities will use a lot of technology. The salvage yard was interesting; in a dystopia, I imagine that the large landfills will be excavated, because judging from things I see thrown out, there has got to be a lot of very usable items there. Snap is a nice robot, which is a relief, since there are a lot of fictional robots who want to kill people. This is definitely a heart print book that merits a discussion about what it means to be human.
Weaknesses: There are so many dystopian books. The world is horrible right now. It would be nice to see science fiction that depicted the world being a better place because children stepped up and made a difference.
What I really think: Readers who found the dystopian worlds in Cartaya's The Last Beekeeper or Perry's Scavengers intriguing will find Bright Valley interesting, as will those who enjoyed the robots in Rodriguez and Ortega's The Girl and the Robot or Warga's A Rover's Story. I am always confounded by people who become emotionally attached to robots that are not the Jetson's maid, Rosie. To me, it is akin to becoming attached to my microwave or vacuum cleaner, but I know that other people are different.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What a heartfelt and thoughtful book! The Second Life of Snap follows 12-year Zuzu Santos whose father is given a faulty robot when he is let go from his job. The setting of this book is a not-so-distant dystopian America where the protagonist lives in a trailer camp that is vulnerable to adverse weather due to climate change, while wealthier individuals live in gated communities. The robot, after being tinkered with, gains a human-like identity and becomes “Snap.” Rather than speaking about “objective” truth, he seems to have a childlike curiosity as well as favorite colors and stories. While Snap is quickly running out of battery life-- which will restart his memory--he still has a chance to impact the lives of Zuzu and her friends.
For a short book, the world felt very developed and lived-in. I especially liked the details that show a contrast between the poor quality of life of the central characters and the advancement of technology. Zuzu’s community only interacts with the vehicles that transport them out of their homes to work, surveillance drones, and Snap, who is assumed to be useless. It is clear that this tech is not designed to better the lives of people in poor communities, but further marginalizes them by creating deeper gaps.
I also liked Zuzu’s characterization throughout the book. She has strong opinions, but is also curious and willing to reconsider. There are also small moments of empathy that I thought were touching, such as when Zuzu realizes the child who stole from her has even less than the people in her community. Snap, as a character, is a bit more up to interpretation, but I think this could be an interesting discussion point for kids. Snap’s sudden change after being tinkered with also seems to represent a coming to realization about how you would like to live your life. Through her interactions with Snap, Zuzu realizes something empathetic and resilient exists in her as well.
This book is paced well for younger readers, though I do think that the plot could have been more cohesive. Many of the chapters introduce new characters and plotlines, which caused the book to feel disjointed at times. The frequent reminders of Snap's battery life were a nice touch, though.
Thank you to Netgalley & HarperCollins for the ARC!
For a short book, the world felt very developed and lived-in. I especially liked the details that show a contrast between the poor quality of life of the central characters and the advancement of technology. Zuzu’s community only interacts with the vehicles that transport them out of their homes to work, surveillance drones, and Snap, who is assumed to be useless. It is clear that this tech is not designed to better the lives of people in poor communities, but further marginalizes them by creating deeper gaps.
I also liked Zuzu’s characterization throughout the book. She has strong opinions, but is also curious and willing to reconsider. There are also small moments of empathy that I thought were touching, such as when Zuzu realizes the child who stole from her has even less than the people in her community. Snap, as a character, is a bit more up to interpretation, but I think this could be an interesting discussion point for kids. Snap’s sudden change after being tinkered with also seems to represent a coming to realization about how you would like to live your life. Through her interactions with Snap, Zuzu realizes something empathetic and resilient exists in her as well.
This book is paced well for younger readers, though I do think that the plot could have been more cohesive. Many of the chapters introduce new characters and plotlines, which caused the book to feel disjointed at times. The frequent reminders of Snap's battery life were a nice touch, though.
Thank you to Netgalley & HarperCollins for the ARC!
January 30, 2026
I would like to thank HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to preview The Second Life of Snap by Erin Entrada Kelly in exchange for my sincere review. This story felt like a warm hug on a snowy January day. I wish SNAP could be my guardian robot. This story would be perfect for fans of Wall E and The Wild Robot!
This story follows Zuzu and her friends as they experience a hard life on the outskirts of a more developed community. As they navigate their lives, this is a story of survival and friendship. Set in the future, robots are everywhere and are being used to control society.
Skeptical at first, Zuzu discovers a true friend in a robot named SNAP.
I would recommend this story to younger readers (upper elementary to sixth grade). It was a quick read and the characters were relatable. I was so engulfed in the story, however I was hoping for a longer, more developed ending.
Can’t wait to share this story with my students!
This story follows Zuzu and her friends as they experience a hard life on the outskirts of a more developed community. As they navigate their lives, this is a story of survival and friendship. Set in the future, robots are everywhere and are being used to control society.
Skeptical at first, Zuzu discovers a true friend in a robot named SNAP.
I would recommend this story to younger readers (upper elementary to sixth grade). It was a quick read and the characters were relatable. I was so engulfed in the story, however I was hoping for a longer, more developed ending.
Can’t wait to share this story with my students!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Cute story about a group of poor kids living on the fringes of a dystopian society and their new scrap robot. This book incorporates themes of friendship, loyalty, oppression (lightly), and robots in the future. The world-building is pretty good for a short middle-grades book -- nothing really unique, but it paints a vivid picture of a typical nearish-future dystopian society. The characters have good personality, though aside from Zuzu and Snap, most of them sort of all felt similar. The writing style is very simple and in places it's repetitive (multiple times the narrator directly tells us that the salvage yard is called Sal), but I think early middle-grades readers will enjoy the story.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Kelly returns to middle grade fiction with a story about a dystopian world run by a corporation. Everyone is employed by the company and subjected to their whims at deciding which class you belong to. When ZuZu's father brings home a guardian robot, she isn't thrilled, thinking that the robot will tattle when she and her friends go places and do things they aren't supposed to. But things change when one of her friends manages to reprogram the robot-- and then things really change. It's a cute enough story and will be popular with readers of The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. Review from e-galley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a cute story of a humanized robot, which will be perfect for my students who love The Wild Robot and are looking for similar novels. There was a good balance of life lessons mixed with situations I think middle grade readers and adults alike can relate to, and lots of great discussions to be had if read as a class, book club, or family. I found the ending a bit confusing and abrupt but not enough to knock a star or prevent me from recommending the novel for our library.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley
It took me a few days to read this book because I had other obligations, but it was very engrossing. Zuzu is a likable protagonist and the world building was well done. There’s just a hint of Wild Robot but really a unique story about an unexpected friendship.
It took me a few days to read this book because I had other obligations, but it was very engrossing. Zuzu is a likable protagonist and the world building was well done. There’s just a hint of Wild Robot but really a unique story about an unexpected friendship.
December 21, 2025
When the author’s letter at the beginning of the arc makes you cry, you know you’re in for a good one. Somehow heartbreaking and hopeful all at once, The Second Life of Snap is a beautiful story everyone should read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Heartfelt. Deals with current issues. Love the setting. And, if we’re not careful…… (read the book to find out). The aiming came too quickly. There is a nice build up that is unsatisfying.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
As far as she was concerned, there was only one good thing about this particular robot: It did all her chores.
I’m a little mixed on my overall opinion of The Second Life of Snap. There were a lot of great moments, some quotable spots that I really enjoyed. And there's nothing about it that I view as having been terrible.
At the same time, though, the story didn’t really manage the emotional impact that I’d hoped for. In small ways, it felt derivative of stories like “The Iron Giant” and “Big Hero 6,” however, in a way that was still missing the emotional buy-in. The story’s pacing was slow enough that it was rather easy to feel bored, even with the ever impending moment of this robot losing its charge on account of their not having a way to charge him.
Events in the story were truly slow going for quite some time, especially as it related to the main character and her friends. It felt like not a lot happened throughout, even though the robot changed after the children made attempts to change the programming. I found it difficult to connect with the experiences of the characters, partially as a result of the world building feeling somewhat lacking. By the time you’re hitting the climax, it just doesn’t feel like you’re connected enough to be invested in everything that’s happening.
Ultimately, I feel like I wanted to like this story but couldn’t help feeling bored instead and so I can’t imagine middlegrade readers would have an easier time getting invested.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews