Cats vs. Robots: This Is War by Margaret Stohl and Lewis Peterson, illustrated by Kay Peterson

HarperCollins, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-0062665706

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

Cats vs. Robots: This Is War is a rare treat at a time when things have gotten pretty serious and scary, and there is a lot of anger and misunderstanding out there. The technologically oriented Wengrod family gets caught in the middle of an intergalactic race between a robot empire and an empire of cats, to acquire the “Singularity Chip,” , which could lead to immortality. Twins Max and Min are nothing alike: Min loves school, order, and inventing robots, while Max hates school and loves videogames and the neighbors’ cat. Despite knowing his parents and sister hate cats, Max rescues two kittens and brings them home, only to discover that their inventor parents have taken off on a work trip to China, leaving them in the care of their cousin Javi, who is willing to give the kittens, a source of chaos, a tryout. Obi, the elderly neighborhood cat, is an agent of the cat empire, but it’s unclear if he’ll be able to survive long enough to thwart the robots and acquire the chip, so he sends the kittens on a mission, but being kittens they primarily create chaos, and they manage, unknowingly, to damage the robot Min has been building (it’s pretty awesome to see Min at work– there should be more science- and coding-loving girls in fiction). In the meantime, the robot empire has managed to subvert the electronic system that controls the house, which tries to convince the Wengrods’ early robot creations to stop the kittens and find and retrieve the Singularity Chip, invented by Max and Min’s parents and hidden from thieves. In the midst of all this, Max and Min have to make peace with each other, and both robots and cats have to accept that not all of them share all the same traits.

Javi, while not a main character, plays an important role in a couple of ways. First, they are the first nonbinary character I’ve seen in a middle grade book, and Stohl and Peterson take the time to explain it in a way kids should be able to understand (Stohl has a nonbinary child). Second, Javi, knowing what it is to not fit inside a single box, is both understanding and encouraging in trying to make peace between the robots and the cats. Stohl and Petersen do a nice job of making Javi a part of the story without making them the focus.

Stohl’s characterization of both cats and robots made me grin. She takes their most common traits and exaggerates them to the point that I had to laugh, but at the same time shows individuals who display differences. This is a funny book and a fast read with a serious theme and plenty of action and wackiness that is perfect for engaging readers of all kinds, in a time when it seems people can find nothing to bring them together.  Highly recommended.