The Girl and the Robot

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

An out-of-this-world story about friendship, empowerment, and . . . running from federal agents?

E.T. meets cult classic The Iron Giant in this middle grade light sci-fi from Emmy Award-winner Oz Rodriguez and New York Times best-selling author Claribel A. Ortega, perfect for fans of Witchlings.

With a little heart, you can fix anything.

Mimi Perez fixes things. Phones, tablets, speakers, printers. She gets it from her dad—helping him at the family e-repair shop was always one of Mimi’s favorite things to do. But ever since Papi was deported, there’s a lot more than electronics that need fixing in Mimi’s world. Things too big for any twelve-year-old to handle on her own.

Mimi hustles around her Brooklyn neighborhood trying to earn enough money to finally fix her family. There’s no time for school or friends, but Mimi knows it will all be worth it the day Papi comes home. Then her ex-friends approach her with a proposition: enter a robotics competition with them, and they could win $50,000. It could be her chance.

Not part of the plan? A mysterious robot crashing to earth. From space.

The robot is scared, alone, and broken, and federal agents are after her. Mimi does what any street-smart electronics repair person would do: she takes the robot home, fixes her up, and in the process, makes herself a friend.

Suddenly, Mimi is anything but alone. She’s part of a robotics team. She’s sheltering a robot. She’s dodging federal agents. And keeping all of it a secret from her mom.

Join a girl and a robot on their life-changing sci-fi adventure in this coming-of-age story that celebrates kids in STEM, first-gen communities, and the power of friendship.

Story Locale:Brooklyn, NY

About the Author

Emmy-winning director Oz Rodriguez has written and directed video shorts since he got his start at Funny or Die. As a creative force in the sketch comedy world, Oz worked his way up to segment director and producer at Saturday Night Live and has been with the show for nearly a decade. He also wrote and directed the Netflix original film Vampires vs. the Bronx. This is his debut novel.

New York Times best-selling and award-winning author Claribel A. Ortega is a former reporter who writes middle-grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. When she's not busy turning her obsession with eighties pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she’s co-hosting her podcast Bad Author Book Club. Claribel is a Marvel contributor and has been featured on Buzzfeed, Bustle, Good Morning America and Deadline. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok @Claribel_Ortega, on Twitch as Radbunnie and on her website at claribelortega.com.

Author Residence: Los Angeles; New York