Maya and the Robot

“My mother has two jobs but somehow manages to have the most enthusiasm and energy of anyone in the world. I knew she had been up before the sun, getting Amir ready for my grandma to pick him up and take him to day care, getting my lunch together, and listening to the radio. Unlike pretty much every other adult I’ve ever met, she didn’t even drink coffee, but she always seemed ready to do backflips in the morning.”

The early chapters of the novel subtly imply that Maya and her family do not have a lot of money. However, it is never emphasized in a way that makes it a defining characteristic in Maya’s home life. It is simply a fact, and they all do their best with the hand they’ve been dealt. Her mother’s tireless work ethic and enthusiasm for life can also be seen in Maya and how she tackles scientific problems later in the novel.

“Maybe we’re both right, and that’s part of what makes us a good match as friends—not being the same, but being two sides of the same coin.”

At the beginning of the novel Maya feels her life is perfectly in balance. She has friends that she knows well, trusts, and who complement her. Moreover, a large part of her identity and sense of self (and self-worth) comes from her relationship with Jada and MJ—as is suggested by the idea of them being two sides of the same coin. When they’re seemingly taken away, she not only loses her best friends, but her sense of self.

“Even though I had said the right answer to the math question, I felt so small in the moment, and embarrassed. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I felt sick to my stomach. And I felt ashamed that I had failed to correct Ms. Rodríguez about my name.”

Names are core components of a person’s identity. Being misnamed, and her inability to correct Ms. Rodriguez’s error, highlights how out of place Maya feels. Without her friends, she is so completely unmoored that she no longer feels like the same person. At the very least, without her friends, she lacks the self-confidence to speak up and announce herself as Maya.

“The perfect friend. Someone who would agree with me most of the time, and other times we could have interesting debates and arguments. Someone who would do the things I liked to do, or teach me how to do new things, and help me be brave enough to try them. Someone who would think I was funny all the time. Someone who would always be by my side, no matter what.”

Part of what makes it so difficult for Maya to find new friends is her preoccupation with the idea that her new friends need to be perfect. This stems from the fact that she feels Jada and MJ are perfect, but this ignores the fact that this friendship developed over time. No relationship is perfect from the outset, and over the course of the novel, Maya comes to realize the many ways that she creates obstacles for herself when it comes to building new friendships.

“Even though I’d had a terrible week, seeing Mr. Mac made me smile. I came up to the counter and, without asking, started helping him place the gum at the front.”

Mr. Mac’s store functions as a hub of the community. He always makes everyone feel welcomed, safe, and understood. The fact that Maya just starts working without asking reveals how familiar and comfortable she feels in this space. This is even more important to her in a moment where the stability and familiarity of school life has been completely upended.

“Auntie Lou encouraged me by taking me to the library and getting me kits and books and videos on my birthday. In so many of them, Stanford was mentioned. Articles about scientists working on this or that extraordinary thing that seemed straight out of a sci-fi movie.”

Overall, the novel places emphasis on the importance of diversity and representation in S.T.E.M. fields. Maya’s interest and abilities in science are consistently supported by her family. They not only encourage her but provide her with opportunities and experiences that allow her to learn and grow. These positive experiences are pivotal in her development and in her belief that she can be a scientist when she is older. Learning that Christopher went to Stanford is important in this regard, as it provides Maya with a role model who has achieved the things she wants to achieve, who comes from her neighborhood, and who looks like her.

“‘You see, Christopher was kind of lonely sometimes as a kid. He had a tough time making friends. So as an adult, he envisioned a robot that could be his buddy. A loyal friend.’ My stomach jumped when Mr. Mac said that. I could definitely relate.”

The novel establishes a lot of parallels between Maya and Christopher. Maya notices them herself, and it is why she so strongly identifies with him. Mr. Mac sees it, too, and it is why he encourages her to fix Ralph in the first place. He wants to help Maya through the tough time she’s having at school. However, it is also about him finally allowing himself to reconnect with the memory and idea of his son through Maya because she has reminded him of all the positive things about Christopher.

“Normally, science is my favorite, but on this day, I could barely pay attention. […] I hadn’t gotten a chance over the weekend to really check him out or flip through Christopher’s notebook. I practically bounced in my seat, I was so eager to get home and look it over.”

Maya’s struggle to pay attention in school demonstrates the tension that many strong students often feel. She likes school (especially science class) and wants to do well, but her interests outside of the classroom are more alluring because they challenge her in a way school simply doesn’t.

“Jada leaned over and joined our conversation. ‘It means Really, Really Brave. It’s something Ms. Montgomery says to us. Like if we’re stuck or don’t want to try something. “You need to be RRB!”’

I didn’t know what to say to that. I definitely wasn’t feeling RRB this year. Or even RB. Not even kind of B. Mostly, I was feeling RRS. Really, Really Shy.”

Their conversation here underscores the contrast between the two teaching styles, and how much of an effect this can have on students. Jada and MJ feel empowered in Ms. Montgomery’s class. They’re encouraged to be brave and take risks because doing so is key to learning. Maya, on the other hand, feels the exact opposite because the environment Ms. Rodriguez creates is one of fear and control. This makes Maya feel even more shy, and this extends out of the classroom.

“These were my two closest friends, and now they had a whole other life without me. A whole language of secret code words, and funny stories about people I had never even met.”

Maya’s interpretation of what is happening is shaped by how emotionally overwhelmed she feels. Because she feels sad, lonely, and distanced from her friends, she makes assumptions about how they must feel. This also means that being with her friends is making her feel worse rather than better because she is focusing on the details that reinforce her negative (and inaccurate) reading of the situation.

“My heart sank. In all of my library books, science projects were so simple. There would be a list of supplies and materials and clear steps marked one, two, three. When I followed the steps, I could make it work. […] I knew that real-life science is about mistakes, about trying things over and over again. And there won’t always be a library book to tell me just what to do. That much was clear from all of Christopher’s “failed attempt” notes. But despite knowing all that, I still felt a pang of disappointment.”

Throughout the novel, Maya demonstrates a desire to be a “real” scientist. Exploring Christopher’s notebook and working on Ralph provides her with an opportunity to do this kind of science, but it proves challenging at first because unlike the science she does at school, there are no guidelines and predetermined outcomes. However, despite her initial disappointment, she proves more than up to the task, and the open-endedness of “real” science ends up being the perfect playground for Maya’s curiosity and perseverance to flourish.

“I got an electronics kit for Christmas last year, and the basic pieces seemed mostly the same. I saw wires, resistors, LEDs, and…what was that last thing called? I went to my bookshelf and threw aside a bunch of old papers and Eyewitness books until I found it. Electronics for Kids. I had gotten this book used at a library sale, so it was covered in heavy plastic. I flipped through to the last page, where there was a photo glossary. Resistors. Those were the things that had tiny stripes and limit how much electricity can flow through a circuit.”

Another important aspect of the novel is that it teaches basic science through Maya and provides a model for how young readers can use the resources around them to solve problems. She also exemplifies scientific curiosity and illustrates The Joys of Scientific Discovery and problem solving. 

“Okay, so he knew what a high five was. Had Christopher programmed that into his vocabulary or did he learn it from me?”

One of Maya’s key characteristics is that she’s very observational and inquisitive. She almost always asks questions and thinks critically when presented with new information. She is always pushing to deepen her understanding of how things work. Learning that Ralph can give high fives is a great example of this because it immediately sparks further lines of inquiry.

“I MADE A BASKET.

I guess I had that one coming to me.”

A lot of the humor in the novel stems from the fact that Ralph often misunderstands the commands he is given because he takes things literally. However, these examples also serve as a good illustration of the limitations in how machines “think.” Despite all the amazing things Ralph can do, he doesn’t always have the full context to understand things or the ability to extrapolate.

“He’ll distract you. He’ll distract the other kids. Someone might try to steal him. Someone might break him. Your teachers will be weirded out. And perhaps most importantly, you are supposed to be at school to do your own work. It’s not fair to have a robot sidekick.”

While the novel never explicitly digs into some of the ethical and broader societal questions that arise from the existence of robots and artificial intelligence, it does occasionally gesture at them. Here, Maya’s mom highlights one of the biggest concerns about the emergence of AI and its relationship to education: while it might be convenient and easier to have a “robot sidekick” help with schoolwork, this could have very real consequences down the line if it means important knowledge and skills aren’t actually being learned.

“I pulled out a library book from my book bag—one about the different layers of the Earth and the magma beneath the surface, with lots of pictures of volcanoes erupting. Off in the distance, I heard giggling. I looked up to see Zoe Winters and some of her friends leaning against the school building, looking right at me. Zoe was saying something and the others were laughing.”

Maya’s choice in reading material, a book about magma beneath the Earth’s surface, symbolizes the way she is feeling in this moment. On the surface, she is trying to keep it together and hide her feelings, but on the inside, her emotions are reaching a boiling point and on the verge of erupting.

“I pretended I was an invisible girl. During independent reading time, I read Freaky Friday, about a kid who switches bodies with her mom one day. I thought about how it would feel to change my identity and become someone else. Someone as popular as Zoe, or as brilliant as Christopher or Dr. Yazzie, or as helpful as Mr. Mac. Just to try on someone else’s life for a day and not be Maya anymore.”

Because of all the difficult changes she is facing, Maya feels isolated and very insecure. This makes it very difficult for her to realize that she already has a lot of the positive attributes she sees in all the people around her.

“A very talented young scientist. A very talented young scientist. A very—me? Me, Maya? The invisible girl? I wanted to hug my computer. I went over and hugged Ralph instead.”

The validation from a real scientist (Dr. Yazzie) is especially important to her at this moment because of how low she is feeling. Because her self-esteem and self-worth have been impacted by all the change around her, having some external encouragement from a person she looks up to helps her start to see herself more accurately. It also reiterates the importance of diversity and representation in S.T.E.M. fields.

“Ralph and I stood together, with Mom next to Ralph and Daddy next to me. Mom had come straight from work. As I looked around, I saw other people from the neighborhood: Mrs. Crespo, holding Cholula in her arms; Andre the bus driver, wearing his uniform. Miss Gina was rolling her father toward us in his wheelchair. Mr. Muhammad was there, and Zaid and Aisha. Aisha was holding a tiny bouquet of flowers. Lots of faces that I recognized, and lots that I did not.”

Up until this point, Mr. Mac’s store has been the hub of the community. He is kind, welcoming, and always does everything he can to help anyone that comes into his store. When it comes time for his son’s memorial, everyone that has been mentioned in the story previously shows up, which speaks to the depth of the bonds he has created with the community.

“I inhaled slowly. I had heard gunshots before, sometimes late at night. My mom always told me when I heard them to count to ten slowly, to think of a happy memory, and to say a prayer for the safety of whoever might be in danger.”

The way Maya has talked about the neighborhood has never implied danger like this—partly because of how tight knit the community is but also because of her positive outlook and how caring her family is. It also illustrates how the novel deftly manages to portray Maya’s life as it is (including the poverty, the exposure to violence, etc.) without making those things the defining characteristics of her life and personality.

“Ralph looked at me. Then he extended his arms outward toward Mr. Mac.

THANK YOU. CHRISTOPHER TOLD ME ABOUT HUGS.

The two of them embraced as the sun went down.”

During his speech at Christopher’s memorial, Mr. Mac talks about reconnecting with the memory of his son. The hug from Ralph—a robot designed and programmed by Christopher—is the physical embodiment of that reconnection, and a symbol of how Christopher’s spirit is still having a positive impact on the world.

“I was torn. I didn’t really want to leave Ralph, but Zoe was being so weirdly nice to me. If I went along with it, maybe the niceness would continue and she wouldn’t be such a jerk to me after today.”

Because the novel opens in the middle of the food fight and then jumps back in time, this scene builds tension through dramatic irony. Readers know that Zoe is not being genuine and is likely going to sabotage Ralph.

“‘Yeah,’ said MJ. ‘We thought you were busy because it seemed like you didn’t want to talk or hang anymore. We been out of the loop.’

‘We’re always gonna be friends,’ said Jada. ‘Three Jedi Knights, no matter what. High school, college, doesn’t matter. And if we pick up some new musketeers along the way, it sure can’t hurt. Right, Ralphie boy?’”

One of the central lessons of the novel that making and maintaining friendships is hard, and the revelation that Jada and MJ thought Maya was too busy for them illustrates why: on the one hand, it is impossible to know what other people are thinking and feeling inside, and on the other, strong emotions like loneliness, sadness, and anxiety can drastically shape how people interpret themselves and everyone around them. Maya thought that her friends were pulling away from her because of the changes in school, and this made her behave in a way that actually caused the distance she was worried about. This cycle is only broken when they finally share their feelings and clear the air.