Book Review: Valet: A Novel | J. P. Lacrampe

Valet: A Novel by J.P. Lacrampe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Valet is the sort of book that I would not have picked up on my own. It wouldn't even be on my radar. So imagine my surprise when I got a message on Edelweiss saying I've been granted access to read this... I don't always pick these up if I'm busy, but I had some time and it sounded interesting enough to try. (I did enjoy the rare Wodehouse I read in the past.)

Cy is a VALET, an android tasked to help Grayson St. Claire, his owner's 35-year-old son, start adulting. He's really very much the staff, beholden to his true owner and to his utility score, but Grayson treats him like a friend - or, more accurately, like a human. And, having "grown" up together with Grayson, Cy can read him and his moods the best - even better than his own mother.

Grayson is a mess of a human being, the stereotypical useless rich son who constantly fails at everything he puts his hand to, and yet is charming and kind enough to everyone that you really do want to see him succeed. He's both bumbling and earnest, and it's easy to see why Cy is loyal to him, more than Cy's guilt at stealing the late Mr St. Claire's praise and attention should account for.

Charlotte is exceptional as the competitive younger sister who's trying to prove herself by being the best at everything and looking down on her messed-up older brother. Mrs St. Claire is cold and grieving, and has mostly given up on her son. The other characters are in turns funny and weird, and though at times they seem a little too much, they also fit into the fabric of this future society well enough that you don't find it much more jarring than going "oh, those [rich/hippy/scheming] people..."

It's funny that throughout the novel, the two VALET characters, Cy and Larry, felt the most human in many ways. They worry about their ratings, they dread being made obsolete (which carries the repercussions of being destroyed, not just fired), they try to please the people around them (not just the humans, but the other androids they have to interact with - there's social status to be maintained!) and are most enterprising in how they try to get around the rules that govern them. Most of it is really being in Cy's POV and having insight into how androids fit into the fabric of society and what makes them tick.

But it really does make you think. What does it mean to be human? To be family? Charlotte is human, but she is so cold and calculating, with no sympathy or empathy for her own brother, that she might as well be an android herself. And Cy is very much a member of their family despite not being human - he feels like a butler from those old English movies that knows and keeps all the family secrets, yet remains ever so slightly worried about his position. I was surprised at how angry I was on his behalf when Mrs St. Claire and Charlotte threatened to have him decommissioned!

Overall, Valet was a fun and emotional read. It deals with humanity, family, grief, and love, and grapples with betrayal and jealousy, all while being part of a mad caper.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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