I don't know what broke in Ledbetter's life for him to make all his female characters so abusive, narcissistic and full of rage, but I suspect it's a deep problem that needs some serious therapy time to get to the bottom of.
Abby, our lead, comes across as an actual teenage girl -which is awful- but at least it's understandable why she's awful, but why every other adult female character is so toxic, I just don't get. Far from being grounded and holistic adults with a range of skills and emotions, these females are underdeveloped children, throwing out fearful rage-filled tantrums, mostly at anyone trying to save them from their own disastrous decisions. They communicate as if they're permanently angry, with no compassion or understanding for others. They open their mouths and spew out violent accusations toward anyone they can aim it at, before they start "trembling" or their hands start uncontrollably shaking and they start sobbing. Meanwhile, the men just shrug and go "well, she can be hard headed!" Ugh? What?! No, sorry, sociopathic, you mean?! Is that the feminine condition in your mind, Ledbetter?
This was true for every female in almost every context. Abby? Stubborn, angry and insufferable. Julio's mother? Instant rage and unquestioning willingness to murder out of terror at the slightest provocation (while Julio's father is kind, forgiving and rational). Abby's step-mom? Violently aggressive, rage filled, slanderous and refusing to back down as she spews out rejections and insults (while Abby's step-father is willing to back down, expresses love and worries for Abby's safety). Victor's wife? Permanently angry, speaks with undertones of aggression toward everyone (while Victor is calm, compassionate, and intelligent). Violet? Hyper-narcissistic, fucks anything that moves and has no tact or empathy. There wasn't one woman in the story that had her shit together, while almost every man was balanced and compassionate.
The actual teenager lead takes this firmly into YA territory. Yet, ultimately, everything that was wrong with Level Five is identically wrong here. There's too much going on to explore any concept in detail; our AIs are over-anthropomorphised and it's just trying to do too much; and the dumping in of pointless personal side stories of interpersonal relationships show only the hollowness of the characters, rather that getting you more invested in them.
Our all-too-human AI big brother, Mortimer, repeatedly saves humanity (from itself), begins the process of repairing the planet (from humans), and rebuilds infrastructure back into a planet almost destroyed in the last book and by these "evil off screen terrorists," wanting in return only to survive. Rather than forcing anyone, he instead tries to persuade those who could choose to help him at any point to feign some modicum of compassion (by not murdering his entire species) by protecting them and building lucrative win-win deals with them, while they whine about it and call him manipulative. Please, AIs, just kill the humans already. If these are the ones that are left, then there really is no hope!
While Ledbetter clearly has big ideas, they are not very well executed in this series, from my perspective. They feel "half done" with characters written in a way that create friction together, rather than any cohesiveness that draws the reader in. The concepts of nano-tech, AI, self-replicating robots...etc... are not explored in any of the depth they need to make this an interesting read. Our characters are not in any way likeable enough for you to be sad they're dead (and they don't die fast enough).
Overall, I dragged myself through this somewhat predictable story, forcing myself to continue through nonsensical teenage romances and characters that made my eye twitch, and I was relieved it was over. I will not be buying the sequel. This book might appeal more to a certain audience who is less sensitive toward the violently aggressive way the characters communicate, but it's not my cup of tea. My advice to Ledbetter would be to stick to just one of the concepts and explore it in depth. I would also recommend sticking to writing male leads, since the female side of the species is not something he's mastered. At least not from my point of view.