Beatrice Szabo has lived her life moving from one location to the next. Her father, a successful biology professor, has been following his career from college campus to campus with the hopes of moving up in prestige. He has dragged his family along for the ride.

It is Bea's senior year, and they are now settling into Baltimore so he will be able to work at John Hopkins University. Because of all the moving, she has taught herself not to get to close to friends because she is only going to lead to heartbreak when she has to move on again. It is because of this detachment that her mother calls her the robot, implying she has no heart.

In her new school, Bea spurns attempts by Anne, a popular girl who sits next to her every morning in assembly and who thinks Bea can fit right in. The bubbly nature of the girls just puts her off because she is much more into the quiet in serene. She sees a kindred spirit in the form a Jonah Tate, who sits on her other side in assembly.

Jonah, referred to as Ghostboy by many, is the school outsider. He has few friends, and no one really seems to know why other than that he changed when they were all in the third grade. Little did they know that is when he lost his twin brother Matthew and his mother in a car accident.

Now, Jonah generally keeps to himself. Beatrice sets her mind on becoming friends, and through persistence the two start to become closer. Part of it is due to a shared interest in the Night Life, a quirky nighttime radio program in which listeners can call in to talk for five minutes. All of the people start to get to know each other by their on-air personalities even though few have met in person. Jonah' toggle is Ghostboy, and Beatrice goes by Robot Girl.

As they become tighter, it is quickly becoming clear that her family is growing apart. Her mother seems to be unhinging, gaining an obsession with chickens and a constant need to cry. As time goes by, it is clear that the marriage is in danger.

Jonah's family is also not as straight forward as it would assume. While his dad is a successful attorney, the two have never been able to get close. Things get even worse as Jonah, with Beatrice's help, learns about a family secret that will redefine everything in his life.

I have to admit that I had a real hard time with this one. While they are definitely facing hard times, Jonah and Bea are aggravating because they always seem to do everything they can to make things more difficult for themselves. In theory, they should be quite likable because who doesn't like the underdog. Instead, they (particularly Jonah) become defined by their brooding nature. The kids at school stay away because he has pushed them away. The fact that the popular kids are so willing to fight to bring Beatrice into their group indicates they are welcoming to people who are different.

The "robot" motif was stretched to the limit for me, too. I just wanted to tell the author to just let it go. It wasn't needed, and it seemed like she was looking for ways to squeeze usage of it in so she could keep the nifty title.

The cover is quite misleading in nature. While the phone makes perfect sense upon reading the book, the bright and airy colors indicate that this is going to be a funny book. It simply isn't. I think the callers on the radio show are meant to be funny, but they just highlight the sad nature of a number of very lonely (and likely mentally ill) people. To me, that is simply not funny.

In the end, this is a tearjerker. The problem is that as I worked my way to the end, I didn't have any tears ... not even a tingle behind the eyelids. I am easily moved by stories from novels, and this one just didn't do it for me.