Loneliness & Company by Charlee Dyroff

LONELINESS & COMPANY by Charlee Dyroff is a debut novel recommended by Booklist for fans of Dave Eggers’ The Circle. Yes, this well-written title deserves attention from mature readers which, frankly, would exclude most high school students. The main character is Lee, a young woman who thought she had her life on track but is instead assigned to a new secret project that deals with an old concept: loneliness. Her dystopian society has refused to name or acknowledge this situation, but recent data is causing the Government to fund research into AI and possible ways of combatting what they fear could become a pandemic of sorts. After some initial disappointment, Lee embraces the project: “Days fly by in a content haze. I love the experience of discovering something new, as if the world is full of Easter eggs if you look close enough.” But she ultimately goes overboard with trying to have experiences and take risks, endangering both the project and herself. LONELINESS & COMPANY is a thought-provoking exploration where Dyroff offers a look at Vicky, AI meant to be capable of friendship, and asks “and then what? A world where people connect with technology instead of each other? We already have that. I'd rather have a world of lonely people than a world of numb ones.” And later: “How could we teach Vicki things we don't understand ourselves?”