Family Ties

By Sarah Richman

When android teens join humans in high school, nothing will ever be the same.

Julie's family is very much anti-android. Her parents don't want androids in her school or even in their town. When Julie gets to know a group of androids at school, she questions whether her family's prejudices were correct. Then she learns her parents have joined an anti-android group and have plans to protest the androids at prom. Julie will have to choose between her family and standing up for what's right.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781541564619

Sarah Richman

Sarah Richman is a writer, author, and poet based in Washington, DC, where she helps run a magic shop and writing center. Her work is published across the United States and Scotland. She likes good tea and bad jokes, and believes that well-told stories can change the world.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Darby Creek

A division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

241 First Avenue North

Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

For reading levels and more information, look up this title at www.lernerbooks.com.

Image credits: Tashal/Shutterstock.com; Alena Hovorkova/Shutterstock.com; STILLFX/Shutterstock.com; Siarhei Tolak/Shutterstock.com; Alexander Lysenko/Shutterstock.com; art of line/Shutterstock.com; andvasiliev/Shutterstock.com; lazy clouds/Shutterstock.com; kutaytanir/Getty Images.

Main body text set in Janson Lt Std 12/17.5. Typeface provided by Adobe Systems.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Richman, Sarah, author.

Title: Family ties / Sarah Richman.

Description: Minneapolis : Darby Creek, [2019] | Series: AI High | Summary: After unexpectedly becoming friends with androids at her high school, Julie stands against her prejudiced parents and others in the community who want to Void the droids. 

Identifiers: LCCN 2018044266 (print) | LCCN 2018050643 (ebook) | ISBN 9781541556959 (eb pdf) | ISBN 9781541556911 (lb : alk. paper)

Subjects: | CYAC: Robots—Fiction. | Prejudices—Fiction. | High schools—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Family life—Fiction.

Classification: LCC PZ7.1.R5333 (ebook) | LCC PZ7.1.R5333 Fam 2020 (print) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018044266

Manufactured in the United States of America

1-46125-43500-2/4/2019

For my dad

Six months ago, the US government officially recognized a group of androids with artificial intelligence as a race of living beings. These androids look exactly like humans—except for their glowing purple eyes. They have even been built to age like real humans. The first generation of adult androids have combined their programming to produce a second generation of androids: teenagers, kids, and even babies. They aren’t entirely machine or entirely human but somewhere in between.

Originally, androids lived in shacks on the outskirts of towns. Recently, the government offered them housing in sectioned-off neighborhoods. Humans are upset about being displaced from their homes, and androids are frustrated that human police officers are patrolling their new neighborhoods. Protests have turned violent. Riots have broken out in the streets.

In an effort to help androids and humans coexist, the government has launched a pilot program for android students in several high schools across the country. One of those high schools is Fitzgerald High School, nicknamed AI High.

Now, about eight hundred teen androids—almost one-fifth of the school population—attend Fitzgerald High. Android students take classes to learn about living in human society. Humans and androids also take classes together in hopes of building understanding and harmony. But many from both sides are reluctant about this new program.

With the teenage androids participating in a school system for the first time in their lives and the tension between the groups simmering, every day brings uncertainty.

1

From the first bite of breakfast, Julie could tell that her mom was upset about her first day back at school after spring break. Professional chefs just don’t overcook eggs like that unless something is wrong.

Very wrong, Julie thought, staring down at her plate.

Maybe we should just be glad that school of yours even gave you a spring break this year, her mom muttered, slapping a sponge onto the pan she was cleaning. "You got a few days away from those things at least."

Her dad snorted from behind his tablet. We’ll take what we can get from AI High, eh?

Julie shrugged, poking at her rubbery eggs with her fork. The new android program had started at Fitzgerald High in the fall, and now, well into the spring semester, her parents still wouldn’t stop complaining about it.

Her mom turned. We could call and say that you’re sick.

No, we already did that too many times last semester, Julie replied. Besides, I’m doing the morning announcements, and I have a math test coming up.

She’s right, Sandy, said her dad, adjusting his glasses. She should go to school. She’ll need that education when those walking computers come for our jobs . . .

Julie nodded, tuning him out. When they weren’t running the family restaurant, her parents were either going on about how they needed to sell Parson’s Pizza to someone else and move out of the school district or running through a million reasons why the whole thing was an outrage. Or both. Julie didn’t even try to listen to them anymore.

He’ll be getting to the part about my human rights, Julie thought, in three . . . two . . .

". . . And you’re a human being, darn it,