"I realized, after you asked me if I thought you were pretty, that I needed to work with a different algorithm. Previously, I had only contemplated the concept of beauty in regards to works of art. But the definition of beauty in a human being is different than the definition of beauty in an object. This is a philosophical question, of course, and philosophy is difficult for me. It's too abstract. I sill have problems with abstraction." He paused. His eyes shook. "I considered facial shape and the writings of Vitruvius. I also took into account my own experiences with you. I find it...pleasant to be around you."

He looked at her then. Cat's skin warmed.

"So my answer to your question," he said, "is yes. I do think you are pretty."

Cat's heart stopped beating, and then started again, fluttery and strange.

The Mad Scientist's Daughter is a perfect book to read this summer, due to its multi-genre attributes. It is part science fiction, part dystopia, part coming-of-age story, and part romance. When Cat was just a little girl, her brilliant father brought home an android named Finn to be her tutor. He looks and feels and moves like a person...but yet isn't a person. As time passes and Cat grows up, her relationship with Finn deepens and blossoms and because something much more powerful than simple friendship. But just how much can Finn feel? How much of him is him or an act of his programming?

I have sort of a soft spot for books that feature human girls falling in love with androids or robots. There is something just so alien and spellbinding thinking about that sort of love, that sort of relationship. But this book is so much more than just THAT story. This book absolutely blew my mind and heart apart with it's deep and poignant beauty. It raises as many questions as it answered. In what sort of parameters can love be defined? What is the basis for human consciousness? When does a machine stop being a machine and start being...something else? I loved every single page of this book from beginning to end. The characters were all insightfully crafted, and the writing style was just a perfect blend of beautiful description and raw emotion. There is ugliness in this book. But there is also beauty too. And the romance between Finn and Cat was literally one of the most amazing things I have ever read about in my life.

He had no heartbeat but she could hear something spinning inside of him. She was entranced by it. Like white noise, like the recorded sound of stars.