✹‘Chaos’ introduces new characters and a dark mirror to CheshireCat, the friendly sentient artificial intelligence who loves pictures of cats and helping people make friends on the internet. Naomi Kritzer’s young-adult novel CHAOS ON CATNET (Tor Teen, 292 pp., $18.99) also depicts unusual family configurations with generosity and care. But CheshireCat’s also trying to solve a mystery, having been approached by what seems like another sentient A.I. Its flaws in comparison are minor: a less convincing villain and an abrupt ending that would have benefited from more emotional slack. ✹There she gives birth to twins, names them Howling and Feral, and sets about surviving in the wilderness.

Source: New York Times May 27, 2021 13:52 UTC