Second Life of Snap

Erin Entrada Kelly is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning novels Hello, Universe and The First State of Being, which was also named a finalist for the National Book Award. She received a Newbery Honor for her acclaimed novel We Dream of Space. Erin Entrada Kelly grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and now lives in Delaware. She teaches in the MFA in writing for children and young adults program at Hamline University. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Philippines Free Press Literary Award for Short Fiction and the Pushcart Prize. Before becoming a children’s author, she worked as a journalist and magazine editor and received numerous awards for community service journalism, feature writing, and editing from the Louisiana Press Association and the Associated Press.Erin Entrada Kelly’s debut novel, Blackbird Fly, was a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, an ALSC Notable Book, and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor Book. She is also the author of The Land of Forgotten Girls, winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature; You Go First, an Indie Next Pick; Lalani of the Distant Sea, an Indie Next Pick; Those Kids from Fawn Creek, named to numerous best-of-the-year lists; The Second Life of Snap, which received six starred reviews; and six popular novels for younger readers, Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey, Surely Surely Marisol Rainey, Only Only Marisol Rainey, Your Turn Marisol Rainey, Felix Powell, Boy Dog, and Felix Powell, Boy Squirrel, which she also illustrated. Erin Entrada Kelly’s acclaimed nonfiction debut, At Last She Stood, was the recipient of the Robert F. Sibert Honor. It tells the sweeping story of Filipino World War II guerrilla fighter, Josefina Guerrero.

"Set in a convincing near-future shaped by climate change, two-time Newbery Medalist Kelly’s latest feels both urgent and deeply humane, pairing survival and grit with achingly moving moments of tenderness. A profoundly relevant dystopian tale powered by one resourceful girl and a robot worth rooting for." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"A dictatorial regime’s robot creation provides unexpected comfort to down-and-out tweens in this affirming contemplation of mortality and the necessity of community from Kelly. Succinct and immersive prose renders a futuristic tale that touches on timely subjects such as climate change, technological classism, and the increasing integration of AI into everyday life, populated by racially diverse characters whose ingenuity and capacity for optimism model replicable behaviors for children navigating similar ordeals." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Notwithstanding a hint of light at the very end, readers will be strongly affected by this wrenching story as well as by the harsh future setting." — Booklist (starred review)"Snap is magnificent." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)"Kelly spins a wonderful story with compelling characters and interesting conflicts that will give readers an opportunity to discuss and mull over its themes for a long time. An excellent addition to any upper elementary or middle school library. This is dystopian fiction at its finest." — School Library Journal (starred review)"Dystopian though the setting is, it feels fully accessible whether or not readers are frequent sci-fi consumers, with easily recognizable connections to our world. Likable characters with varying takes on Lockwood give readers a chance to form their own opinions. Zuzu’s awareness of Snap’s dwindling battery life provides both tension and poignancy, and the bittersweet final scene may tug at even a robot’s heartstrings." — Horn Book (starred review)“A gripping, futuristic survival novel. The Second Life of Snap is a great read-alike for Peter Brown's The Wild Robot series or Jasmine Warga's A Rover's Story.” — Shelf Awareness