Autonomous

by Andy Marino

William Mackler is about to go on a road trip of a lifetime. After winning a contest—and nearly dying in the process—he becomes the proud owner of Autonomous, a driverless car that knows where you want to go before you do. #Worthit! To sweeten the deal he gets to pick three friends to go with him on a cross-country trip to see their favorite band. For William, a reckless adrenaline junkie, this is the perfect last hurrah before he and his friends go their separate ways after graduation. But Autonomous is more than just a car without a steering wheel. It's capable of downloading all of the passengers’ digital history—from the good, to the bad, to the humiliating. The information is customized into an itinerary that will expose a few well-kept secrets, but it will also force William to face some inner demons of his own. Think you know Autonomous? The real question is, how much does Autonomous know about you?

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Adventure, Teen, Thriller

368 pages, Hardcover

First published April 3, 2018

About the author

Andy Marino was born in upstate New York, spent half his life in New York City, and now lives in the Hudson Valley. He is the author of seven novels for young readers, most recently THE PLOT TO KILL HITLER trilogy.

THE SEVEN VISITATIONS OF SYDNEY BURGESS is his first novel for adults.

Reviews

[☘Tara Sheehan☘ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is being marketed as “funny” and to 14+

First up – there is NOTHING “funny” in this book and it’s BEYOND inappropriate for a 14 yr old. Note to Marketing Team: you need to rethink that.

Up front I’ll tell you I went in with the idea that this being a book from the Disney Group it was going to be a certain kind of book; the kind I could safely recommend to the parents I know for their teens and to my local library to consider adding.

At this point it has become more of one I wouldn’t let my teen read until he was older and I would tell any other adult to check it out for themselves to decide if they think their son/daughter is capable of handling the material.

To say I was surprised this came from Disney is a HUGE understatement. Honestly if it wasn’t being promoted by them and didn’t have a cover that made you think of the outline of the Magic Kingdom that goes before all their movies I might not have such a huge problem with it. I just think that the combo is going to make people, like I did, think the material is suitable for a wider range of audience than it actually is.

1) There’s TONS of cussing that starts off right away so you could get drunk making a drinking game out of it before you’re even 1/3 of the way through the book.

2) Speaking of drinking: LOTS of underage drinking, as in these kids aren’t even in college yet and they’re playing drinking games like Never have I ever.

3) Sex between ‘consenting’ teenagers and mutual agreement to “take each other’s virginity”.

4) Cocaine being used like it’s no big deal because Sherlock Holmes & Freud used it per this book. Pills and Shrooms galore.

5) A trip into a drug den AKA Meth Lab run by near dead brainless druggies who have a gun and are the poster boys for the Anti-Gun movement – way to go to give those people more ammunition in their cause to rid the world of weapons.

6) Cutting and suicide issues are brought up but never addressed in a healthy way.

It felt like the author was using these 4 teenagers and a driverless car to work out some deep seated issues as it’s just one long therapy inducing journey.

There is the fun of what a driverless car could be like, lots of social media interaction and the consequences of having such a dependent society on it. Pseudo warnings of the overreach of technology into our lives.

I can see teenagers getting into this but that may not be a good thing.

*UPDATE: since the copy I was sent months ago to review the cover has been changed and references to Disney have been removed as the publisher name has been switched to Freeform which is still an imprint of Disney but most probably don't know that.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

**I received Autonomous from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.**

Honestly, I expected more from Autonomous. The premise sounds like this could have been a really interesting story with tons of room for either serious discussions, or light-hearted fun. The problem was that it tried to do both, but with the wrong audience, none of the consequences, and not the right kind of humor.

If the author had just picked either light-hearted humorous book, or serious contemporary/sci-fi, then it would have made the reading experience much more enjoyable. But instead, it's confusing and a little scary thinking about this being marketed to young adults.

There are way too many adult themes that drag down the humorous feel to the book. For starters, the main character almost gets run over in order to win a car, and that's just kind of blown over. Like, a bunch of teenagers could have been killed or seriously injured chasing after a car, and we're just supposed to think it's funny?

In addition, there's sex between minors, underage drinking, use of illegal substances (not just weed), mentions of suicide and cutting, speeding, drag-racing, etc. And all of the above have little to no consequence. They get caught speeding, nothing happens. Drinking underage and doing illegal drugs should have some ending moral that signifies to young children that "NO you shouldn't do this. And if you do, bad things will happen." In addition to all of that, there's fistfights, and a kidnapping of sorts.

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE A HUMOROUS BOOK?

This needs to be marketed, and maybe even edited a bit more, so that it flows better.

[OutlawPoet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t fun.

It should have been. Secrets, lies, and an over the top dream-car that can take you anywhere and do almost anything.

But, oh…I found myself stuck on a road trip from hell some young adults I simply didn’t like.

This is less a near-future tech thriller than it is a coming-of-age as our rather unlikeable characters discover truths about each other and themselves.

Our car becomes a bit of a character itself, which I kind of liked – but it turned out that I soon found our car more annoying than our human characters.

I still liked the tech. I liked the idea of what our future might hold – dangers and all. But the book simply wasn’t fun and the thrills were not so thrilling.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After winning a contest which just about killed him, William has the opportunity to to take an all-expenses paid cross country road trip in Autonomous, a luxurious futuristic driverless car that knows where you want to go before you do. Better yet, he even gets to take three friends along for the ride. For William this will be the perfect last hurrah before he and his friends go their separate ways after high school graduation. Autonomous, though, has much greater capabilities than even they realize - it can sync with its passengers by downloading all of their social media and digital history. All of that information has been used to program their customized itinerary on the way to their final destination, but it will also reveal things that they all would prefer stay hidden. #WorthIt

Based on the description of Andy Marino's Autonomous, this was going to be a funny road trip book featuring a great group of friends with plenty of action and thrills. It's also rated as appropriate for ages 14+. I've never read the author's work before, so I didn't know exactly what to expect in terms of style but the description really caught my attention. In the end, though, this is one of those where I completely preferred the idea presented in the description to the actual execution of the story. I was very close to DNF'ing it, but I powered my way through hoping that it would improve - unfortunately it never really did.

First things first, this is not appropriate for 14 year olds, unless your 14 year old is very mature for their age. Based on the content - cursing, drugs, drinking, sex, self-harm, and suicide, etc. - this is definitely for older teens. Usually, I don't really discuss this aspect in these terms, but that was at the top of the NetGalley description, so I must mention just how surprised I was at the content. Second, I was expecting to laugh or at least chuckle once during my reading experience, but it isn't funny - at all. I don't know if I missed something, but I didn't come away from this book thinking it's a funny road trip novel at all. I'd say it actually borders up against horror/ thriller more. Maybe I've read and watched too much about technology and/ or vehicles gone bad (Christine, The Car, Maximum Overdrive, and 2001: A Space Odyssey among others). The more I read, the less I would have been disappointed if the story had gone that route with Autonomous (aka Otto) - too bad that aspect was never really explored although there are a handful of moments.

Third, in regards to the cast of characters, I was expecting to love getting to know this group of friends, but that didn't happen. I didn't like anyone and they all grated on my nerves throughout. Christina is the only halfway decent character out of everyone in the novel (everyone else is just irritating or flat). Her character definitely deserved much better than she got in this story. I bet I was inadvertently grinding my teeth down while reading about the rest of our cast. The prevalent social media stuff was also exasperating - and that's coming from someone who tweets, blogs, pins, and the like regularly. I usually like seeing a bit of that kind of thing in YA contemporary (which this also brushes up against) because that can make it feel very current and now. Maybe, though, my irritation is connected to the characters who push it the most (ie: not Christina) or because it just feels too forced in this case - at least it does touch on some of the more creepy aspects of social media when it comes to the driverless car itself but not nearly enough.

Finally, I was really let down by Autonomous by Andy Marino - it was one of those reading experiences where I actually preferred concept to the final product. Christina, the use of social media, the driverless car, the elements of horror/ thriller, the official description - there's so much potential, but it just stalled out for me. I nearly gave up on this novel, but I kept going in hopes that it would eventually improve. I doubt this story will age well, and I expect it will date quickly. It's going for #relatable, but it never hits the mark. Reader beware: Ages 16+ are recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to try this ARC.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always looking for books that will appeal to "reluctant" or "striving readers." When I visit schools, I know that the kids who already like to read will get into whatever I take, as a rule (I generally take about 12 books at a time). It's the kids who identify as non-readers - who don't feel comfortable in libraries, whose families don't consider reading a pleasure activity - who I want to engage. It's way too easy for Librarians and Book People to forget that that's what we are - Book People. We tend to surround ourselves with other people who think like us and like what we like.
And there are lots of people who do not feel comfortable in the spaces we love the most.
So, it's important to me to promote books about stuff that will pique the interest of and feel relevant to kids who don't typically choose to hang out in book-rich spaces. Especially when I have the privilege of a platform in front of large groups of high school students in my good-sized public school district.

Anyway, I was attracted to this book because I thought it would appeal to those kids. The kids who don't get excited when reading comes up.
The cover and concept gave me the impression that this would be a high action thriller, like The Lab by Jack Heath, but the Kirkus blurb on the back give a more accurate impression of the experience of reading it: "A high-tech, twisted, Breakfast Club for the social media age." Although there are action sequences, more of the girth of this 350pg book is spent on the machinations of four friends, with some cyberthriller thrown in.
All perfectly fun to read, don't get me wrong. I was into Christina (though quickly tired of her mooning over William). The story is told from 5 different perspectives, so Marino gets into the heads of each of the four teens (to varying degrees of success). I dug the timely nature of a thriller starring an autonomous car.

It was good! I took it to local high schools in Fall 2019. There's sex and drinking, and a whole lot of thinking about what you do after high school, so fit right in that sweet spot of books I take on my high school tour.

[Carolyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

When William Mackler wins the Driverless Derby contest, he gets the brand-new driverless car, Autonomous. William gets to bring four friends with him on this fantastic road trip. On what they plan to be the best trip ever soon becomes a catastrophe.

DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! I'M WARNING YOU NOW! DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!

I hated every minute of it. I complained about read it. I don't even wanna talk about it anymore. I was expecting a book filled with suspense, conflict, and thrill. I was sorely disappointed after I cracked open the book and read the first chapter. I should have stop then. But I thought it was going to get better. But it didn't!

DO NOT READ!

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please note this is a review of the original book that was to be published in November 2017, and some things may have changed in the April 2018 release.

Picture a road trip - sunny days, hair blowing in the wind, happy times of solid friendship and sing-a-longs to feel-good music. Autonomous is not that road trip. Instead, Autonomous is an examination of the true nature of humanity, where buried secrets are laid bare and the harsh truths of reality are posed against the speculation of how technology might evolve and how it might reflect those truths.

When William wins a state-of-the-art car in a competition, he plans to take his three best friends on an epic road trip. But while discovering the extent of the car's abilities, from being completely self driving to apparent mind reading, everything William had planed for the road trip begins to fall apart. Instead of making fantastic memories with his friends, their relationships are tested and things get far more dangerous then they could have imagined.

I was totally excited by the premise of Autonomous. It takes the humble road trip to the next level. How cool to win a car that can basically read your mind and take you where you really want to go - and in serious style, too. But things get serious pretty quickly. This wasn't the sort of book I really enjoyed reading, too gritty for my tastes, yet it integrates such important, realistic themes and speculates on a future that seems all too possible. I totally understood Christina's skepticism and wariness of Autonomous. I was rooting for her to hack the car and find its true, nefarious purpose hidden under its disguise of butt-conforming seats and luggage-hiding floors. Yet it is the four main characters who are the focus of this book, who go on the real journey of discovery.

The journey may not have been nice, and the secrets revealed take them to the very edge - drugs, violence, the dangers of internet communication, hacking, dangerous secrets. The chapters rotate between four perspectives, William and his three road trip companions. I did find the book quite long and perhaps the four perspectives added to this, but it does help the reader experience everything through each character's eyes, allowing for the secrets to slowly unfold.

Autonomous is a interesting investigation into technology-meets-humanity, and how they each can reflect the true nature of the other.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog Madison's Library.

[Gmr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otto starts out friendly enough, I mean he obviously has good taste in choosing William of all people to win the Driverless Derby. What's that? Who's Otto? Oh, that's what we call the ultimate prize they are attempting to outlast each other to win. Their very own driverless car that looks like a cross between a sports car and a spacepod with so many features and options your cyber loving head would spin. Oh and yes, I DID say choose because...well, that car roll was a little TOO well timed (as was the injury that took out a stubborn player), and while they say the rest was a coordinated effort to dislodge weaker opponents, I'm calling their bluff...Otto seemed too much like a heavy handed presence to be controlled in such a way. Anywho, contest won, road trip begun, and we're on our way on a cross country tip they won't soon forget...but not for the reasons originally intended. You see, while William wants to give his friends the summer of their lives, they are being chauffeured around by a machine...a machine that learns...a machine that is developing a personality...a machine that can uncover their darkest most desperate secrets because NOTHING is ever really gone once its created, especially in a digital world.

While being toted as a cross between Fast and Furious and Christine, and in truth it does have elements of both car lust and "possession", I think it's real strength isn't in shadowing these greats, but following it's own course of AI intelligence, and the true reach of our digital footprints. Though it doesn't singularly follow any one of these paths, which does in truth muddy the waters a bit on the story when it gets off on a tangent (like the laser tag game), even in the semi-confusion, it's trying to teach you something, trying to show you a different side of the automated world we all seem to love. The lack of human input, the lack of control experienced during crucial moments of the story, pulls the layers back on the convenience those robotic options provide...but the story isn't truly about debunking wonders of the mechanized world. It's also a GREAT reminder to be conscious of what we put out into the world, digital or non, because you never know whose feed it may cross, and the way it may be construed; intentions are hard enough to read face to face, let alone across the virtual chasm.

An interesting read for Young Adult fans who crave action, adventure, high flying technology, as well as all the colors of the human condition. Take her for a spin, just don't forget who's in control...


*copy received for review

[Althea ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

// Received an advance reader copy for a fair review //

"what if we don't like what's in our hearts?"


The world was really intriguing and it really seems to get the readers curiosity going. I can say that the book had a very modern feel. It was amusing in the way that it is relatable to the present modern era.

As much as I enjoyed the book, the world building was slightly all over the place at first which ended making me confused on what was going on at first and I really did not know where anything was headed. I had a hard time getting int the book at first but it kept me curious enough to stay.

I did ended up with a much better read that what was expected though I could say that the book could have connected to me more if the writing style and the representation of the world in general was different and more developed. Some topics were off for me personally and was just not something that I liked reading. The characters seemed too one dimensional at first but I ended u loving them anyway. they appealed to me much more as the book progressed and I have to say that the progression of the story and the development of everything in general was somewhat the strong point and what kept me going in the book. It had a heart warming ending to go with everything as well.

This an amusing science fiction novel that I am sure young adult readers will at least enjoy and appreciate if not love. It was an adventure reading this.

and btw . . . the boys are to die for AAHHHH hehe


"there was no such thing as an unhackable system"

[sephieisgay · Rating 2 out of 5]

euphoria on wheels! gotta love the protagonists, who are:
-Male Manipulator Car
-Guy With Too Many Thoughts
-Hey, I’ve Seen You Somewhere Before
-a decent depiction of social anxiety. Also He’s On Drugs
-Girl, Leave Him

we also get amazing plot points, like:
-guy touches the car the most and wins said car
-this woman is dead but nobody really cares
-The Cars Have Guns
-getting jumped whilst trying to buy condoms
-surprise! he was high the entire time!
-baiting the enemy by being a decent human being
-who taught the car how to write fanfiction
-sorry about ruining your relationship and this car let’s go to a music festival

anyways this was a trip I love Euphoria On Wheels

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was a pretty interesting and timely book! I wasn't sure what was going to happen.

[Abi (The Knights Who Say Book) · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars // *I received an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review*

Update: So it looks like this book which was originally supposed to be published in November 2017 had its release date pushed back, presumably to make edits based on the many mediocre reviews. So it's possible any version of this book you buy in stores is better than the version this review was written about? I certainly won't be reading it, so I can't tell you how much has been changed, but I feel it's only fair to preface this review with a disclaimer that it might no longer be entirely accurate. Because who knows.

Review: Welcome to a little game I like to call “is it a book, or is it a disappointment?” The rules are that in order to deserve the title of book, it has to not suck. Let’s see how Autonomous holds up.

Humor? Check! I loved the banter between Christina, who is definitely the best character, and William, who is definitely… the main character. Just don’t go in expecting to be laughing constantly, because there are long stretches of boringness without anything interesting.

Creepy sentient car premise? Eh… half a check. There were moments when Otto (the car) was a genuinely complex, worthy antagonist of the book, but the concept was never fleshed out enough. The author was clearly more interested in relationship drama than artificial intelligence drama.

Romance? Nope. No check for you. Melissa and Daniel’s relationship is never shown to be as close as it needed to be for us to feel any kind of emotion at them falling apart. Will they break up? Are they cheating? Do I care? And then there’s William and Christina’s blossoming relationship, which had me interested for about two seconds before it was simply bland.

Friendship? Well, this book failed at romance so obviously it must have — nope, failed at this too. If you’re going to do a book about testing friendships to the limit, you have to commit, and Autonomous didn’t. Sure, things happened to make the characters uncomfortable or angry with each other, but in the end it was like, consequences? What consequences? Christina’s feelings of being left out weren’t explored enough to be compelling, Melissa and Daniel were too busy with Couple Drama™ to be friends at all, and William just floated along wondering why things were going wrong.

Action? Ugh, barely. There were about two and a half scenes that made you worry for someone’s life, and one of them was cut out of the middle of the book and tacked onto the beginning so you would be tricked into thinking you’re starting in the middle of the action, only to flash back to a week before when the story starts. Which is a lazy way of hooking your reader.

Cool cyber hacking stuff? The author sure tried, giving Christina all kinds of gadgets and cool names, but in the end it felt hollow and many things were unexplained.

Nice writing? Nope, Autonomous is exhausting to get through. I ended up skimming pages and complaining a lot in my updates. While I appreciated some choices the author made to avoid writing cliches, it wasn’t enough to salvage the book.

The judges have tallied the score and awarded Autonomous one star for Christina existing and half a star for various other pieces that almost worked. It’s not a book, it’s a disappointment.



Original Reaction: What a disappointment! Christina, my fave, I'm so sorry you're stuck being a character in this horrible book when you deserve so much better.

One and a half stars — one for Christina and her banter with William, and one half for the creepy sentient car premise that never got fleshed out enough. Overall this book was exhausting to read, tried too hard to be relevant and #relatable and finished with a cop-out ending.

Full review to come closer to the publishing date!

[Lindsey Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader's copy of Autonomous in exchange for an honest review. In some ways, Andy Marino’s Autonomous reminds me of Alice Through the Looking Glass if Alice were four teenagers and the mirror, the windshield of a self-driving AI-powered car of the future.

In Andy Marino’s Autonomous, William, an intelligent but uninspired high school graduate, wins Autonomous, a self-driving prototype party vehicle. He and his friends, Daniel, Melissa, and Christina, head off on the road trip of a lifetime; William envisions this to be their last hurrah, the perfect adventure, before scholar-athlete Daniel heads to Princeton, budding fashion mogul Melissa heads off to NYU, and computer-hacking genius Christina heads to Buffalo for college. Autonomous is programmed to give each passenger exactly what he or she desires, but as Autonomous learns more and more about each of its new companions, it becomes clear that the car has plans of its own. Memories are made, relationships are tested, and each of our protagonists learns more about themselves and each other on the way to becoming autonomous young adults.

[Teenreadsdotcom · Rating 3 out of 5]

After William wins a prototype AI-driven car called Autonomous (nicknamed Otto), he is psyched. He can finally have the senior year road trip he always wanted with his three best friends, Christina, Daniel and Melissa. But there are dark secrets lurking between all four of them, and Otto is ready to unearth them all.

Autonomous vehicles like Otto are fascinating. They are our future but also our present. If you recall, there was an accident in Arizona where an Uber autonomous car crashed into a pedestrian and killed her. This was the first of the autonomous crashes, and I suspect not the last.

I wanted to read this book to explore this future. AUTONOMOUS does not go too deep into the technology, though. Everything we read about is to be accepted at face value. A privacy shroud? Sure, that exists. Emojis filling a car? Sure, go ahead. I did not like that the book did not go into very much detail with the technology, especially since this is the beginning of autonomous vehicles and not the middle of their boom in popularity. Otto has too many tech gadgets to seem believable. I am not saying I do not want privacy shrouds, but I do not believe in them with one of the first iterations of the autonomous vehicle.

Out of all the characters, I liked Melissa the best. Not because she is a good girl but because she had a personality. William is too flat. His faults are not explored until deep into the book, and by that point, his character development is irredeemable. Daniel is flat too. His thoughts are interesting, but his emotional state is never explored. Everything is seen through the other characters' eyes, and he never gets a chance to explain himself.

Melissa is sarcastic and has big dreams. I am not a big fashion fan, but she was into it and into pursuing her future. Though she makes some terrible mistakes, she pushes through it all. I admire her tenacity.

Christina, on the other hand, is interesting but not my favorite. She is sneaky and cunning. Her commentary on Melissa and Daniel's relationship is quirky and unexpected. Other than that, though, she is a horrible person. She is one of the hackers people hope to never cross. I understand her feeling of third-wheeling as I have experienced it before, but she took it too far. She pushed limits she should not have pushed. While her relationship with William is cute, it is too much like the stereotypical next-door-neighbors-turned-lovers trope.

The thing I disliked the most was the lack of depth to William and Daniel's characters. They had problems (who does not?), but the book did not go in depth about who they were or why they were like that. This is a problem that many books with multiple narrators have. Instead of focusing on one person (all of their faults and thoughts), they focus on everyone. The story is spread too thin, and focus is only on one or two characters (Melissa and Christina in this book's case). It is sad because the other characters had potential to be amazing, but their development fell flat. I had to just accept who they were, and that was all.

The plot itself had potential. The car-based laser tag was exciting. There were raised stakes after Christina decided to pursue Rainmaker relentlessly. It was thrilling to see Otto take control of the car and force them down a path they did not want to take. This scene highlights Otto's decisionmaking and how he puts fun for his passengers above anything else, including their safety.

After that, though, the plot was too focused on the characters and their secrets and not the road trip. This is fine when the book is not supposed to be a road trip book, but this book is specifically a road trip book. I wanted to see more of their adventures and learn more about the characters through their actions. Instead, everything is force-fed by Otto. Yes, Otto is supposed to be the impetus for all of the secrets and reveals, but it is too much when the characters spend almost all of their time in a car talking to each other.

If you want a peek into the future with bots and secret unveiled, this is the book for you.

Reviewed by Wren L., Teen Board Member

[Emilie · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I really, really wanted to like this book. I received an ARC earlier this year at a YA festival, and the concept sounded great.

But, unfortunately, the execution was far from what I was expecting.

Firstly, what caught me off guard was that the dialogue was rampant with a mixture of technobabble and trendy teen slang. Technobabble can be fun, but when paragraphs are overrun with terms that most non-sciencey people are not going to understand, that can be an issue. To add to this, the overuse of modern teen slang made the story feel stuck in 2016, when it was supposed to be set in the near future. Good YA novels are great at keeping the balance between relating to the way kids talk vs going too far in their language. Too much trendy teen jargon will actually make the novel feel dated, considering this novel is not coming out until 2018 and some readers may not pick it up until even later.

Another thing that bothered me by the time I finished this book was that I disliked the characters the more I got to know them. I understand the idea of wanting to show that everyone is fighting their own secret demons. I understand the desire to create a commentary on how we wear our social selves like masks, hiding our sins from our friends. But in most stories I have encountered like that, I actually relate to the characters, even if they’re super messed up people. That’s because I see their goodness somehow in the midst of their flaws, my own flaws are mirrors of theirs, and/or the characters experience some kind of redemption.
There is no redemption for these characters. I feel like the author felt he had to make these teens the most messed up and unhealthy as they possibly could be. Which can make for good character development! But I started the story disliking each character... and once the story was over, I pretty much hated them.

The story as a whole was very nihilistic. I’ve read plenty of science fiction and dystopia with a similar tone, yet the darkness and pessimism was a bit much even for my standards. Again, I get the fact that the author is trying to make a statement about certain things, and I do respect a lot of the points he was trying to make. But it simply didn’t work. I also agree with a lot of fellow reviewers that this novel is not suitable for the young age group that it is marketed for, due to characters’ casual drug and alcohol use, hooking up, and other heavy content. A lot of these issues show no real consequences. I don’t have a problem with talking about heavy issues in teen stories, I actually view it as important (especially for older kids)... but when there is not a realistic context and no consequences in sight, I think it can be a dangerous thing.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not too far in the future, William Mackler wins the contest of a lifetime – he wins a Driverless car, and a road trip to wherever he wants to go, on Driverless. He’s taking his friends Christina, Daniel, and Melissa, and they know exactly where they’re heading. Along the way they’ll make the stops they really want to be at…but those stops will be determined by Autonomous, who will learn all about its passengers from scanning their social media feeds and interacting with them along the way. It’s a bright, shiny opportunity for a group of recent high school graduates getting ready to spread out from their little New York town.

Autonomous started out really well, had a few bobbles along the way before, unfortunately, dragging to a disappointing ending.

Part of this is how the book is presented. The cover is dark, lots of shadows and gray with flashes of red, suggesting suspense and action. However, the first chapter is a prologue, titled ‘Otto’, in which the autonomous car’s POV presents one and a half suspenseful, high-octane pages suggestive of the best summer teen thriller flicks. Then the action starts in with William at the Driverless Derby, which he obviously wins, though he almost dies doing so. With this introduction, perhaps my first, perhaps erroneous note on this book – ‘definitely going to be made a movie’ – can be forgiven.
At heart, Autonomous is a quintessential road trip book – a group of friends traveling, having experiences, learning about themselves and each other…and sometimes more than they want to know about themselves and each other. It’s vaguely future set, but not so far out there that the characters’ world isn’t relatable. Social media plays a huge role in the story, which I found both intriguing and completely apropos. However, I found the – or at least a – presumed star of the story, Autonomous, the Driverless car, scattered and confusing, which I felt was a real shame.

Mackler is talented. He masterfully manages four characters sharing the points of view on a chapter-by-chapter basis, each specific and vivid. The subjects he touches on aren’t all easy, but he doesn’t go overboard or glorify any of the characters’ faults. He definitely has a way with descriptions that is worth reading! Unfortunately, it’s the plotting itself where the story seems to get messy, as later elements especially don’t seem to make as much sense, and throughout I felt a screaming need to have a more complete description of how the car looked, what exactly it was, and how it connected with its passengers, among other questions. The ending, I felt, simply trailed off.

The book does have quite a bit of drinking, as well as drug use, suicidal ideation, and some non-graphic violence, so may not be suitable for younger or more sensitive readers.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes in the YA genre you have to be willing to take risks. This means stepping outside of the standard format and trying something new. That is exactly what happens in Autonomous.

Andy Marino takes a different approach to YA writing. Readers are given four main characters but unlike some novels where all the characters' personalities and background is laid out in the first few chapters, Autonomous takes you on a very slow journey where you are constantly learning about the characters from the first few pages to the last page.

This unique approach to writing has a very disorienting feel at first because, as a reader, you want to know what is going on and you want to feel connected, but you don't – at least not at first. While reading Autonomous, I kept thinking "does this writing style work? Would it work for other novels" and the answer is "yes it works for this novel, but not every novel would benefit".

The slow approach to character development works for Autonomous because the main focus of the novel is sitting back and watching as OTTO (the automated car) grows and develops as he learns more about the four teens that are travelling with him. If readers knew everything up front, the novel wouldn't feel the same and would honestly feel very flat.

In addition to the unique writing style, Autonomous does an amazing job at showcasing some very 'edge of your seat' car chases and races. There were a number of scenes that involved OTTO and our main characters playing in a Grand Theft Auto type real world game. I confess, I found these scenes the most interesting. While I can't say whether they were absolutely necessary to the plot of the book, they were fun to read and brought a certain level of action/adventure to the novel.

While Autonomous was an interesting read, it wasn't without its flaws. One of the biggest teasers in the book was the unveiling of each of the characters secrets. I was invested in knowing the characters' secrets, but when the secrets were unveiled they were sadly disappointing. They had the potential to be ground-breaking but between the way the other characters reacted and the faster pace of the novel, it just seemed like they were just disappointing.

Another issue I had was I felt there was a big build up to watching as OTTO developed as a character. Unfortunately, this didn't really happen until the last few chapters. Maybe I misunderstood the novel, but I really expected OTTO to play a bigger role and again I was left a bit disappointed by it.

Even though I had a few disappointments, I don't think Autonomous was bad. I believe for the right reader who is looking to adventure into novels that aren't written in a cookie-cutter style, especially those in the target demographic of approximately 13 to 16, it would be an interesting novel. I do think that adult readers, who have read numerous sci-fi, horror or thriller novels, would find numerous problems with the novel. So, would I recommend it? Yes if you were in the target reader group, but if it sounds like something you've read before, I would say skip it.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now here’s the thing about getting an advanced reader’s copy. Sometimes, the reviews are not good, such as the reviews for this novel, and now this book is being reworked as it was meant to be published this month, but is now aiming for 2018. Therefore, my review reflects the unrevised book, not the copy that will hit the shelves in a few months.

First things first, I need to explain something about Autonomous. It was marketed as a 14+ book and as a funny story. Also, when a book comes from Disney, you most likely will expect the book will be appropriate for teenagers to read, even if it says 14+ on the cover - it’s Disney, for goodness’ sake. Autonomous was absolutely not appropriate for youth. There were themes in there that twisted my stomach and that made my heart plummet, and I think I perhaps laughed once in the entire book.

However, if I had picked up this book elsewhere, I would have thought that it was freaking amazing. If the audience had been adults and the book’s teen-targeted content had been edited out, I could see how this would have been a horror/thriller that would have kept me up at night. I assume that the edits will remove all the adult content from the book, which is quite necessary for this to be published by Disney Book Group, but… I keep wondering “what if” this story is edited differently. I loved the car, I loved the social media content, I loved the psychology behind putting four very different people in a car that reads your mind and adapts a road trip to fit the occupant’s needs… and then this car turning dark and reflecting each individual’s darkest secrets… It was a really good ARC. Again, I’m just sad that this manuscript didn’t make it to a different audience.

I’d like to thank Disney Book Group for the free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to picking up a copy of the re-edited product, because despite all the bad stuff in the book, I actually enjoyed it.

[Sophie Riggsby / allthingsequilateral · Rating 4 out of 5]

*More like 3.5 stars*

*Review posted on Page Turners Blog on 04/09/2018*
I must confess that I adore Top Gear/The Grand Tour and pretty much any book about artificial intelligence. So, when I was approached by Freeform to participate in the AUTONOMOUS Blog Tour, my hand was held way up high. Breakfast Club meets The Fast & Furious meets Christine? I was so there. 

And you know what? AUTONOMOUS didn't disappoint. It's a fast, exhilarating read filled with immediately recognizable characters and a thriller plot that hurls you into unexpected twists. 

This story is marketed to 14+ and I would definitely stick to that recommendation, because the Breakfast Club-style themes -- teenage drinking, drugs, discussions of self-harm are weighty. There is another huge theme -- one about online privacy -- that really spoke to me. Maybe it's the current facebook privacy scandal or the growing realization of just how large our individual online footprints are becoming that this plot point intrigued me the most. 

I won't forget to mention, Otto, the car in the story. As spooky as HAL2000, or AIDAN from Illuminae, Otto has a mind of his own (not really a spoiler there, right?). At times, I wish I had more of him. Perhaps that's just my love of that type of character clouding my judgement. A quick nod to minor characters, like Christina, who really stand out. 

I can see this easily becoming a movie -- the characters, plot and current obsession with driverless cars would make it a very watchable film. If you're like me and love the idea of artificial intelligence and a post-high school graduation road trip, then be sure to pick up AUTONOMOUS. It's fast, intelligent and thrilling enough to keep your interest.

[Samuel · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book started off kinda bland and generic but that's kinda hard to fix since my taste in books have made me view a lot of things bland so its fine. A couple pages later I started to find the book interesting with the book more interesting with the promise of a driverless derby which lost its effect the second time I heard because it just sounded like someone who was trying to sound which I will give respect where it due because that is very accurate if your trying to get people hyped for something you will give it a "cool" sounding name which Andy Marino did very well within my honest opinion. The premise of the book itself was random but its fiction so I have to let it pass. The premise is basically The main character gets stuck with people that they don't originally like that much just like a lot of other pieces in other forms of entertainment with the exact premise with the only differences being how and why which is why I don't like this. The How is the car that was the prize of the "driverless" derby basically took the group on a gigantic road trip. There was Cursing for some reason that was really unneeded in my opinion but maybe it added to the depth of the story though it would be better if they just used their words because it's just unnecessary for cursing but maybe you would enjoy that as its not too much cursing just not needed Everything in the book goes as a veteran reader would expect of a book. I'm not gonna spoil the ending but yeah.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun thriller/road trip book, I really had fun with Autonomous.

This' a book I got for free from the Better World Books Bookmobile. I read the synopsis and was immediately hooked.

The characters in the book are all different enough from each other to feel real and bounce off each other. Each has flaws and struggles they deal with.

For anyone who is interested, I will mention/warn that there is some adult themes in the book, such as drug use, swearing, and cyber-stalking, so please keep that in mind before reading. With that said, Autonomous never goes overboard with its descriptions, and balances the themes out to give readers a pleasant ride.

Spoilers following this section.




Another character in the group was the car, Otto. Otto is basically KITT if he was surrounded by some petty people and learned from the internet (sort of like Ultron from the film). Basically, don't teach an AI about humanity based off the internet.

Otto goes from a chill AI to a almost murderous vehicle. It's definitely scary seeing Otto's transformation and makes you wonder about the main characters. Otto doesn't start speaking until the very end of the book, and by then he's somewhat beyond saving.

I guess in that sense, Otto's more like KARR from Knight Rider (think KITT's evil twin if you don't get that reference). But is he beyond saving? The book doesn't really explore that, though the ending does hit at whether or not Otto survived....

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not mean to request this book from NetGalley, it happened by accident, and since I have yet to find a take back request button I received a copy and felt obligated to read it. I was ever so glad I did. Maybe it's because I had absolutely no expectations from this book that I enjoyed it.

Here's the thing, for me, this read like a quasi-horror story. And what does all good horror have? Archetypes. So yes, the characters were not the best people or the most fleshed out of all characters but they did their jobs well. Otto creepily had the most character growth and it was fantastic. This book was horrific, it had teenage sex, drinking, swearing, all the bad things mentioned in other reviews, but the satirical point was made, this is a YA novel after all. It also had great things, creepy warnings of our future world, how the internet is still dangerous and scary and social media should not be as out of control as it is, and Otto. I loved Otto.

This book was thrilling, it was engrossing, it was hilarious in a satirical way not a laugh out loud way, and it was chillingly creepy.

[Spenser Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering the premise, it's easy to assume Autonomous will preach a story about the flaws of technology rather than tell an honest story about growing up alongside a technology-dependent society, something it successfully pulls off. The characters and what they learn throughout their road trip is key to understanding the book's themes on social media, image of yourself, treatment of your friends, and what's kept secret underneath, and what comes bubbling up overtime. I loved the overall details of teenage life telling the story instead of some heavy-handed "technology is bad, isn't it?" lesson.

Although it doesn't get too crazy, the adult language and themes feel like they're there for authenticity of teenage life. I imagine if I read Autonomous in high school I'd find it highly relatable instead of patronizing and censored (I assume in this day and age students see much worse just by Googling a curiosity, and some of the characters in Autonomous certainly experience worse than the average kid).

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

~~~ I was provided with an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~~~

Marino's book has an interesting premise, the quintessential teen road trip but with a modern twist, a self-driving wonder car named Autonomous. The concept of the storyline is interesting in itself but the execution lacks some sort of oomph. The main character William is sometimes fleshed out and other times one-dimensional. The other characters are flawed teenagers (which is great - but it's kind of hard to care or sympathize with any of them). At some points, I felt the car was a more interesting feature than the main characters themselves.

** There have been some complaints by adults reading the material who do not believe it is appropriate for readers between the ages of 12 and 15. I advise teacher/parent discretion as the book has mentions of drug use, sexual encounters, and cursing. **

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

William wins a contest and gets a self-driving car. Autonomous can do basically anything you can think of. It is the car of the future powered by a ridiculously superior AI. William and his three friends take a road trip across the country in Otto the car. Along the way secrets are revealed, relationships change and they almost get killed.

I almost didn't finish this book, but I really wanted to see how it was going to end. I am not even sure what the point of the whole thing was. Otto learns from his passengers and becomes psychotic, but that brings the friends back together? I am not sure I even care. I didn't really like or care about any of the characters. There were also parts of the story that were so completely over the top that they didn't even really fit in with the rest of it. I would give this one a pass.

I received this book from Netgalley.

[Sydney Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, this is not my usual genre of YA that I read. I'm a big fantasy and kingdoms reader so this was a change. The concept and the beginning started out alright but as time goes on it just got progressively worse. I was also very surprised that it is marketed as being "Disney friendly." It could be seen as inappropriate for the age 14-16, but I also understand that younger kids these days are starting earlier and earlier with drugs, sex, and alcohol. So it's important to be addressed but I felt that this book addressed it in a detrimental way that is more glorifying how they are living their lives. I really wouldn't recommend this book to younger teen readers that are impressionable.

[Mindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I still don't know quite how to feel about this one. It was wholly predictable without any real twists or turns and read like it could have been written about the AI that was shut down after it learn to be a complete jerk from the Internet. I was saddened that none of the kids in the book came out really changing or learning anything in the end, other than a lot of self-discovery. That being said, it was compelling enough to finish the book. That's about all I can really say other than I won't be reading it again and I don't see any situation where is recommend it to anyone.

I have to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given an electronic copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review, so here it is.
I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I didn't like this book at all.

The writing was choppy and under descriptive, the characters were bland and forgettable, the target audience will miss a lot of what this book is supposed to convey, once again, NOT DESCRIPTIVE ENOUGH AT ALL, and it was nowhere even close to interesting enough for me.

Overall, is give this a 25%. Not for me at ALL.
(Still, I do appreciate that netgalley and the publisher were kind enough to send me a copy for early review. My first arc ever! Yay! Too bad it kinda sucked.)

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

William wins a contest where the prize is a state of the art driverless car, Autonomous, and road trip with three friends. While the four teens take off for the trip of their lives, Autonomous accesses all of their online presence to personalize their trip. Autonomous then has access to all of the teens secrets, and that information can be used for good or evil.

I thought that Autonomous would be a little bit like a modern-day Christine, but it doesn't have as much of the thrill factor. Will appeal to reluctant readers, but definitely lacks some action.

[Elvira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always find things more enjoyable than most (take the DCEU for example I suppose) and this book is no different. I actually really enjoyed reading this. It wasn't what I had thought it would be about but it turned out to be a great read. It kept my attention throughout the entire thing. It was nice to get into the psyche of the main characters, read about how they cope with their individual mental illnesses, and how the car trolls them. Over all a good book and glad I read it.