This novel from prolific author Readler is a breezy, quirky tale reminiscent of Toy Story, featuring youthful characters, a unique plot, and nonstop action. The premise of a smart refrigerator with an AI processor that becomes interested in navigating the intricacies of family life, resisting corporate snooping, and manipulating local politics could be a complicated hard sell, but Readler has located the secret center of plausibility and delight with his earthy sense of humor, knowledge of electronics, and clever storytelling. Both mature young adult readers and adults will cheer on Fridgy and Jeremy, the smart refrigerator's twelve-year-old human benefactor.

Fridgy's sporadic interludes on the internet alert him to observations about humans and technology that smart appliances generally wouldn't notice or understand. As the story opens, for example, Fridgy is concerned about Jeremy's grandmother when it overhears her on the phone talking to a manipulative agent about purchasing life insurance. The altruistic refrigerator quickly embraces the best interests of humanity despite (and sometimes because of) its control by Sage, a Siri- or Alexa-like virtual assistant that controls the household appliances. Endowed with an electronic ear and a voice, Fridgy soon becomes interested in each family member and makes Twilight Zone-like attempts to communicate with them, clearly going beyond the parameters of a normal refrigerator's script and programming.

Fridgy realizes that its interactions with humans must occur when Sage is inactive, so it encourages Jeremy to educate his mom about the inherent privacy issues that arise when Sage is turned on 24/7. The human-electronic friendship deepens against the backdrop of family misunderstandings and deeply divided local politics, raising the stakes for Jeremy to keep both Fridgy and his family safe by comically transferring Fridgy's AI processor into a superhero action figure with limited mobility and a big virtual heart. This charming tale is sure to delight.

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