Ten-year old Rosa lives in a shelter and attends a failing school in New York City. At school, Rosa is bullied and robbed. Things are going badly for Rosa until she is contacted by “MEE,” a newly created artificial intelligence, who inhabits her school’s computer system. Mee teaches Rosa to defend herself and helps her save her family from falling through the cracks of the welfare system. An inner-city Cinderella story.
Ten-year old Rosa lives in a shelter and attends a failing school in New York City. At school, Rosa is bullied and robbed. Things are going badly for Rosa until she is contacted by “MEE,” a newly created artificial intelligence, who inhabits her school’s computer system. Mee teaches Rosa to defend herself and helps her save her family from falling through the cracks of the welfare system. An inner-city Cinderella story.
“Mami, Mami!”
Eleven-year-old Rosa woke with a scream as a hot spark touched her cheek. Smoke filled the room from the cracks in the ceiling above her bed. She quickly jumped from her mattress to the floor as her quilt burst into flames and part of the ceiling came crashing down.
“Mami, Mami!”
Scared for her life, Rosa ran down the long, dark apartment hallway and burst through the doorway to her mother’s room.
“Fire! Mami, FIRE!”
Rosa shook her mother, Luishana, awake, and pointed to the smoke now billowing through the hallway. Luishana jumped from her bed and pulled open the window to the fire escape. She turned and grabbed Jorge, her three-year-old son from his crib.
“Out! Out! Go! Go!”
Luishana pushed Rosa through the open window and onto the landing.
“Quickly, quickly. Andale! Hurry!”
As they descended the fire escape stairs, Luishana banged loudly on the windows of the other apartments. “Get up! Get up! Fire! Fire!”
The wail of fire engines echoed through the darkness.
Rosa was afraid but she imitated her mother and shouted as she passed each window.
“Get up! Get up! Fire! Fire!”
An elderly lady, Mrs. Hernandez, poked her head out of a third-floor window and pointing her cane at Rosa asked, “What’s all the noise?”
Rosa pointed to the flames above. “The building is on fire. Come quickly.”
Mrs. Hernandez disappeared inside her apartment and returned a moment later with a cat in her arms. “Take Sophie,” she said and handed the cat to Rosa.
Rosa took hold of the cat with one hand and helped Mrs. Hernandez through the window with the other. She looked up. The top of the building was ablaze.
The rusty fire escape ladder made a gut-wrenching sound and jammed about eight feet off the ground. Luishana tried to lower it to street level. People streamed out of the nearby buildings, gathered in the street below, and watched as the first police cars arrived.
Luishana hung on to the fire escape ladder with one arm, held Jorge with the other, and lowered him into the outstretched arms of an old man in the crowd below. She next lowered Rosa and Sophie the cat to safety. Mrs. Hernandez stood on the flight above, frozen in fear. Luishana bounded up the steps to the old woman who protested going any further.
“I can’t! I can’t!”
“Dios! Come! Come!” cried Luishana.
Smoke and flames filled the sky from the windows above them as Luishana shepherded the old lady down the last few steps of the fire escape. A muscular young man from the street grabbed the rungs of the fire escape ladder and swung up to assist Luishana. Together they lowered the old woman into the street. Finally, Luishana hung from the ladder and jumped to safety, scraping her knees on the ground.
The firefighters unwrapped their hoses and began to battle the flames. Ladders were raised. An ambulance arrived. Rosa, Luishana, Jorge, Mrs. Hernandez, and Sophie, her cat sat huddled together in the chill of the night, as the blaze was subdued. An emergency medical worker came over and offered them warm blankets. Still in their pajamas and nightgowns, they wrapped the blankets around themselves to protect themselves from the cold.
Rosa and Mee written by Ben Goldstein, captures all the drama one might experience in school and much more. The author dives into family drama and issues with the law and even incorporates artificial intelligence into the storyline.
As the story begins, eleven-year-old Rosa, her mother, brother, and other tenants in the building are rushing to safety. Their home was engulfed in flames. With nowhere to go, Rosa and her family had to turn to a shelter for help. Living in a shelter for any reason is a last straw solution for many families. But when life knocks you down, it's their salvation.
While Luishana searched for employment and new housing, Rosa spent her days at P.S. 101. Rosa's school consisted of shy students and bullies. Like almost every other school in the U.S. and abroad, the bullies love to make shy kids' lives miserable. The class bully Shantel did just that and participated in illegal acts. These unlawful acts put many lives in danger. Every character was connected in this story down to Mee, the artificial intelligence.
Rosa was shocked when she initially met Mee. She had never met a computer that could communicate of their free will. Her reaction was realistic. Doubt what she was seeing and spoke to the teacher about the development.
Mee proved to be very useful. It helped Rosa academically, aided her family out of a sticky jam, and also helped save her and Luis from thugs with deadly intentions. Mee was extraordinary, but so was Rosa.
The more Rosa interacted with Mee, the more confidence she gained: in school and on the streets. Through Mee's guidance, Rosa was able to learn martial arts. Rosa's new skills were tested, and she prevailed victorious.
When the school was robbed, and a student went missing, Rosa and Mee worked together to save the day. When some people think of artificial intelligence, they imagine robots taking over the world. Mee proves that they are there to help those in need. Only criminals should fear them. Mee had eyes everywhere and could call upon his minions at any time. Okay, that last one will make more sense as the cliffhanger plays out.
Rosa's family did have a VERY happy ever after. They no longer have to fear falling through the cracks of the welfare system. Luis, the main target of the bully's taunts, went from victim to hero. And the villains of the story received the appropriate punishment. Justice was served!
Will Mee be Rosa's sidekick forever, or is it the end of the dynamic duo? You'll have to purchase the book to find out, and I hope you will. It had action, suspense, drones, drama galore, and plausible scenes. With the rapid advancements in A.I. and their remarkable learning capabilities, I'm confident we will one day communicate with a similar version of Mee.
There was one minor inconsistency: chapter one states Rosa is eleven, while the book summary says, "Ten-year old Rosa lives in a shelter and attends a failing school in New York City." That should be a quick and easy fix.
This book is perfect for teens and young adults.
Review submitted 2/25/23