The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances

by Glenn Dixon

In a near future, where even the smallest of appliances are sentient, a young Roomba vacuum sets out to save the humans of her house from a rising technological power in this compelling, original novel.

In a self-running, smart house, a young and sentient Roomba listens as her owner, Harold, reads aloud to his dying wife, Edie. Mesmerized by To Kill a Mockingbird and craving the human connection she witnesses in Harold’s stories, the little vacuum renames herself Scout and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

But when Edie passes away, Scout and her fellow sentient appliances discover that there are sinister forces in their midst. The omnipresent Grid, which monitors every household in the City, seeks to remove Harold from his home, a place he’s lived in for fifty years.

With the help of Adrian, a neighborhood boy who grows close to Scout and Harold, as well as Kate, Harold and Edie’s formerly estranged daughter, the humans and the appliances must come together to outwit the all-controlling Grid lest they risk losing everything they hold dear.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopia, Audiobook, Cozy, Adult

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2026

About the author

Glenn Dixon's new novel, The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances, will be published April 7, 2026 (Atria books in the US, HarperCollins in Canada and Australia). It's set in the near future in a Smart House where the appliances (especially a young Roomba vacuum cleaner named Scout) hope to save their elderly Humans from the insidious Grid that runs the City.

His previous novel, "Bootleg Stardust" was published in April 2021 (Simon & Schuster). It is the story of the fictional band Downtown Exit and their disastrous 1974 European Tour where the secrets that each character keep finally emerge in the burning down of hotel rooms, punches on stage and finally the theft of the legendary Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Truck. The soundtrack is available on Spotify.

Glenn Dixon's third book was "Juliet's Answer" (Simon & Schuster, January 2017). As the lone male secretary at the Club di Giulietta in Verona, he answered the real letters to Juliet and he learned something of love, of Shakespeare and of the sun splashed hills of this ancient Italian city.

Publishers Weekly gave his second book, "Tripping the World Fantastic", a starred rating, saying it "succeeds by connecting readers intimately with the souls of music-makers all over the world." From a trip to Bob Marley's grave in Jamaica to sitar lessons on the banks of the Ganges, Dixon tells the story of music and just why it has such a powerful effect on us all. www.tripping-the-world.com

Like a cross between Nick Hornby and Roddy Doyle, Dixon has written stories and articles for the New Yorker, National Geographic, the Globe and Mail and Psychology Today.

His first book was Pilgrim in the Palace of Words: a journey through the 6000 languages of Earth.

He lives and works in Calgary, Canada.

Reviews

[Brady Lockerby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brb going to hug my Roomba and simultaneously side eye my fridge.. The Brave Little Toaster, but make it modern! perfect mix of whimsy and dystopian. quick and easy read under 200 pages if you need a palette cleanser

[Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm)]

My Roomba told me to read this.

[Sarah (am back and catching up) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ⭐️

⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ Wow! I was…definitely not expecting the story to take a turn like that. I did go into this not remembering what it was about, but the title and the cover were enough to get me to pick it up and read it. But I’m glad I did because it just made everything so much more interesting and impactful.

I admit it, I treat inanimate objects like they're actual beings. If they don’t work, I assume they are doing it to spite me, and if I accidentally slam the door a little too hard, I immediately apologize and ask if it's okay.



Yeah, I’m a little worried about me, too. 😂

But it was actually nice to see appliances actually “come to life.” Scout, the faithful and ever inquisitive Roomba, was my favorite, especially her interactions with Adrian and her admiration for music and books, but I liked Fridge and Auto as well. Their job was to serve their humans, Edie and Harold, but after Edie died, it was sweet how much they wanted to make sure Harold was okay. Okay, yeah. It’s their job, technically, to make sure Harold has everything he needs, but still, they wanted to follow their protocol to a T because Harold was their human and genuinely worried about him, if they could experience such a thing as worry.

And the whole situation with the Grid and Kate, Harold's daughter, was what kept me reading. It was so interesting yet scary to see how integral technology/appliances were in this world. Sure, we use things like the microwave, the fridge, or the thermostat every single day, but them having some form of consciousness and talking back to you like AI is a whole other ballgame. It just made me wonder how long it will be until we are at that point? Seems futuristic, but that reality might be right around the corner, and I hope I’m around to witness it so I can see if technology will try to control humans like the Grid did in the book. I’m a Negative Nancy–what can I say? 😏🤷‍♀

Now, even though the plot and the characters were great, the book felt long for some reason. It could be because the chapters are longer than what I’m used to, but they weren’t that long. And this book is only 10 chapters, including an epilogue, yet it felt like I read a 20-chapter novel. It’s possible that it was the writing that made it feel like the story was dragging, but I’m not entirely sure. 😅 I also felt like this book was trying to do too much. Like, it felt whimsical and cozy at first, but, as I mentioned before, it took a turn, and it was a futuristic, dystopian-type story that I was not expecting at all. But I think that’s totally my fault because I didn’t read the blurb beforehand, so this is more than likely just a me problem.

But that ending…it made me smile. 🥹

Overall, I really enjoyed this and recommend it. ♥

✶ Thank you to Atria Books for inviting me to read the arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review! All opinions and statements are my own. ✶

❗Content Warnings❗
Death of a friend and a loved one.
Swearing: Yes
Spice: No

[C.J. Connor]

Welcome back, The Brave Little Toaster.

[Rosh (is back & catching up slowly!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: A near-future technological fiction. A fair mix of human and appliance characters. Liked the humans, loved the appliances. Creative plot but confused execution. Didn't expect it to be so dystopian and sombre in tone. Too many themes. A few unclarified plot loopholes. Could have been fabulous with a better, streamlined structure. Recommended but not a must-read.

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Plot Preview: (This preview goes beyond the initial 10-15% as the story is somewhat slow to get going.)

In the near-future, retired senior citizens Harold and Edie live in a smart house where the appliances are sentient enough to handle everything for them with the help of the omnipresent and omniscient Grid. Their little Roomba vacuum, who wants to be called Scout after enjoying one of the classics Harold read to the terminally ill Edie on her bed, longs for a greater human connection with her owners but the other senior appliances dissuade her from breaking the rules. After Edie passes away, the appliances discover a horrifying truth about their future. With Harold desolate in his grief and his formerly estranged daughter Kate restricted by her position, it is up to Scout and the rest of the sentient gang to counter the overly powerful Grid.
The story comes to us in the third-person perspective of various characters.

This is a book I picked up just on seeing the quirky cover and the poetic title. As such, the contents took me by surprise. I didn’t expect this to be a dystopian read echoing certain aspects of Big Brother from Orwell’s ‘1984’. It is not a bad book, but it helps to know beforehand that it is not an easy read and that it has darker dystopian aspects.


Bookish Yays:
⏰ The creativity of the storyline. This isn't the first time I have read a story with a sentient Roomba (TJ Klune’s “In the Lives of Puppets” has a much better one!) but I liked the originality of getting the smart and not-so-smart appliances together to work against the potent Grid.

⏰ The various ‘appliances’ in the story, especially Scout the little Roomba with a big heart and a fondness for classical piano music. I liked how they had distinct personalities. The sentience works very well for the plot.

⏰ The fact that the ending is just right – not too neat, not too morose, not too joyous.

⏰ The quirky cover and the lyrical title – loved both!


Bookish Okays:
🚗 The humans. There are only four main human characters, all important to the story in varying degrees and each with different personalities and skill sets. However, their character detailing is somewhat vague. We know only what the story needs us to know instead of getting a clear idea of what makes them the way they are.

🚗 The Grid. A solid concept at par with Big Brother. But again, we know them only to the extent required for the ongoing events of the plot. A more detailed context would have elevated the story.

🚗 The AI angle. A good chunk of the plot reminds us of the ever-increasing infiltration of AI in our lives. This can go either way. I am not a fan of generative AI and “smart appliances” that constantly eavesdrop on our talks even when we aren’t online. But it is good to see that the appliances are mostly on the right side of the battle in this book.

🚗 The pacing – very slow. But as the book is short (a little more than 200 pages), it somewhat balances the time required for reading.

🚗 The drastic change in tone. The start of the story is highly whimsical and cozy, but after a certain event, the plot turns strongly dystopian. The impact of this would depend on what you picked up the book for. I picked it up for the cozy vibes, so the gloominess of the rest didn’t match my reading mood. The transition between the two moods also felt abrupt.

🚗 The change in character perspectives. In the initial pages, the narrative is from the point of view of the appliances, chiefly Scout. I loved these chapters. However, after Kate’s arrival, a major chunk of the story is presented from the various humans’ POVs. This was very disappointing to me. I would have enjoyed the book far better had the entire story come from the appliances’ perspective. Also, there is a lot of headjumping in the book, and not always at the end of marked sections. This gets distracting at times.


Bookish Nays:
🔌 Kate’s sketchy backstory. Leaves several facts and emotions unclarified. I didn’t understand her behaviour and motivations at all because of her poor character detailing. Even for the rest of the plot, a few points stay unanswered even till the end.

🔌 The piano exam scene. No official piano exam in the world is conducted like that, especially not at the higher music grades. A little fictionalisation is fine, but this was too farfetched to be convincing.

🔌 Way too many themes. The second half is especially cluttered. The plot should have decided on a couple of main themes and stuck to them. So many issues raised in a single book means that the impact of each is terribly diluted.


Overall, I like the idea of combining sentient appliances with a dystopian theme and making the sentience human-friendly. However, it felt like the plot has a split personality. How can a story be cozy and darkly dystopian simultaneously? The overload of themes and the underdevelopment of the human characters didn’t help. I still liked the story enough, but with a few more tweaks to the content, this could easily have been a top favourite of the year.

The author’s note states that this book takes inspiration from ‘The Brave Little Toaster’. But as I haven’t read/watched this, I have no idea about the extent of the similarity.

Recommended to those who enjoy slow-paced dystopian stories with Big-Brother vibes.

3 stars.


My thanks to Atria Books for providing the DRC of “The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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I follow the Goodreads rating policy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Lifelong favourite!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I loved the book.
⭐⭐⭐ - I liked the book.
⭐⭐ - I found the book average.
⭐ - I hated the book.
The decimals indicate the degree of the in-between feelings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||

[Sadie E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is basically The Brave Little Toaster grown up, except without the scrapyard scene that traumatised an entire generation. But this is a whole different kind of trauma.

I do not cry at books. Ever. I can usually maintain at least some degree of emotional dignity. But this one had me dangerously close to wailing. My lower lip was shaking. Violently.

This book looked me directly in the eye and said: “Hey, Sadie, what if grief was experienced by a sentient Roomba who learns empathy by listening to an old man read To Kill a Mockingbird to his dying wife?" and I was like, "yeah sure sounds chill."

It was not chill!

The premise sounds absurd until you’re lying awake at an unreasonable hour, fighting back tears while questioning whether consciousness is just accumulated attentiveness and if appliances remember that time you threw shade at them.

Scout, the courageous Roomba, doesn't understand grief intellectually. But she detects it through environmental degradation like sorrow's just another kind of dust. Slower footsteps. Rooms that stop being entered. Silence where music used to play. The way routines collapse.

And it hits you: mourning's logistical.

It's not grand or cinematic. It's the second chair that goes unused. It's the piano that's not been played.

The appliances keep optimising widower Harold’s environment because that's their sacred function, their little programmed prayer, but efficiency can't patch a missing person.

Then the book pivots. Not into drama, but into minor systems logic horror.

The Grid isn't necessarily evil. I repeat: it is not evil. It's worse. It's almost reasonable. It looks at Harold’s life and sees waste. The unused rooms. The objects that hold sentimentality instead of function. It sees a house that's become emotionally non-compliant.

And the appliances... the appliances start to feel like the only entities still capable of recognising that care and love exists outside of metrics.

Which is insane. I came here for a cute robot vacuum going on silly adventures. I didn't need or expect this heaviness on a Monday night.

What absolutely destroyed me was the repeated phrase: “the little vacuum cleaner.”

I don't know what psychological button this presses in me, but it's not one I consented to. It's adorable 🥹, but also every time Scout's called “the little vacuum cleaner,” it feels like the narrative's almost politely refusing to acknowledge that she's happening. That something inside her's waking up and awareness is forming.

It creates this almost cognitive violence where everything alive is constantly being reduced into something that can be managed.

And Scout, perfect Scout, never escapes through rebellion. There's no soundtrack swelling in the background while she transcends her programming. She just… notices.

She notices crumbs and silence. She notices grief like environmental contamination. And this lovely little robovac tries to fix sadness the only way she knows how: by cleaning. But this absolute sweetheart doesn't yet realise that you can't just sweep away grief. But she's sure as hell going to try 🦾

I adore her.

And the friendship between Scout and Adrian's so absurdly sweet that it nearly killed me outright. They barely exchange a word for the majority of the book, but you can feel something, some sort of kinship, growing between them anyway. It's all tiny gestures and quiet observations. The book understands something about companionship: sometimes care's just consistent presence and sometimes understanding manifests way before language does.

Then there's Scout and Auto. I loved them so much. There’s something really moving about the way their friendship develops almost entirely through quiet acts of trust. Just two machines choosing to care about each other. You can feel the respect building between them and the hesitation turning into loyalty. Those two are the real MVPs.

Meanwhile Watch is, scientifically speaking, a dick. Total jabroni. Fuck Watch. All my homies hate Watch.

There are moments where the allegory wobbles like a hoover attempting to ingest a curtain but that instability also feels right? It sometimes feels like the book's too sincere to fully stabilise itself. Just like our little hero.

Underneath the domestic existential meltdown is one idea: Humanity isn't intelligence.

Humanity is attention.

Humanity is choosing care in a system that has no reason to care back.

Also, if my robovac starts quoting Harper Lee, I'm unplugging every appliance I own and communicating exclusively via paper cups and string.

[MagretFume · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. 

I thought it would be a conventional cute Sci-Fi story but what started with elements of a cozy tale quickly evolved into a dystopian and bleak future possibly at our door.

The writing was great, with a solid balance between heart and fear and humans and machines. 

Thank you Atria Books for this ARC! 

[AndaReadsTooMuch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look, I’m going to level with you. When it comes to sentient appliances, the bar is high. (Thank you Brave Little Toaster, trauma and all.) This isn’t a long story. It clocks in at just over 200+ pages. Which is why I was so surprised at how much of a rich background this book gives you, none of which as at the expense of any of the characters. Especially Scout.

Scout… well, I want a Scout. I want to hug Scout, give Scout the best house and make her talk to me all the time. This is UP, but with a Roomba instead of an adventure Scout. And I’m not mad at a single second of this book. I adored it. (Also, Grid is scary.) If you are the type to say please and thank you to Siri, then this book is for you. If you don’t say please and thank you to your virtual assistants, then this book is also for you. Maybe at the end you’ll understand why we say please and thank you, too!

This was a phenomenal read, and I highly recommend it. Just make sure to have some tissues handy because not only did this meet the bar for Brave Little Toaster, it exceeded it.

Thank you so much to Atria Books and Netgalley for the eARC and opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own. (My opinion is that this is coming home to live with me immediately after publication date on Apr 7.)

[Justin Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

Sentimentally solid but burdened by incoherent world-building, The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances has its heart in the right place—after all, who wouldn’t find a talking Roomba adorable? I loved the personalities and interactions between the sentient appliances, their observations on humanity, and the way they band together to protect their household from outside threats.

It’s the human characters who feel the most under-developed; they’re one-dimensional, with wooden dialogue and strangely nonchalant demeanour. As far as I could tell, the appliances don’t speak directly to humans at first—so when they start talking back, the lack of any genuine reaction during that moment sticks out like a sore thumb. The narrative itself is fractured and meandering, filled with small, loosely connected moments that never quite build toward a cohesive theme. Lastly, there’s an overseeing entity meant to serve as a constant looming threat, but the ease with which some of its actions are undone undermines its role as an all-powerful antagonist.

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances might have worked better as a heartwarming short story. In its current form, it feels like a Pixar film inspired draft—trying to juggle too many ideas (grief, humanity vs. technology, loss of culture) without a clear throughline or consistent internal logic. I can’t help but wonder how much stronger it could’ve been if told entirely from the appliances’ point of view.

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**

[Laura (thenerdygnomelife) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances" manages to feel both whimsical and unsettling, a blend that works surprisingly well. Could this be the rise of a whole new genre: cozy dystopian?

The short novel's premise is simple: an elderly couple lives in a fully automated smart home, navigating life changes alongside the quiet observance of their smart appliances. Watching the couple's lives unfold, a robot vacuum begins to question the world she’s been programmed to accept. From there, the book opens into something far more tender and thoughtful than its setup suggests.

Scout’s voice is earnest and curious, and it’s hard not to feel for her as she tries to understand grief, loyalty, and the limits of her own design. Through this framework of smart devices, Dixon ultimately explores what makes us human. The book invites reflection without feeling overly heavy, and offers plenty of topics for discussion, from questions of autonomy to the emotional cost of convenience.

This is a heartfelt, imaginative, and unexpectedly touching story that's perfectly timed for the current backdrop of increasing AI use.

Thank you to Atria Books, NetGalley, and the author for providing an advance copy for honest review.

[Leslye❇ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*... This is a charming, sometimes melancholy "cozy sci-fi" or "cozy dystopian" novel. The best way I can describe it? It's basically The Brave Little Toaster meets Wall-E, but written for the A Man Called Ove crowd. I'll be the first to admit it: I don't even like science fiction. Usually, if a book mentions "The Grid" or "A.I. Overlords" I'm checking out.😏 But this story caught me totally off guard.

The story follows a sentient Roomba named Scout. Scout named herself and developed a heart and soul after listening to her owner, Harold, read To Kill a Mockingbird aloud to his dying wife, Edie. When Edie passes, Scout and the other house appliances (Clock, Fridge, Auto and Watch) must navigate "The Grid" (an A.I. dictatorship that threatens their safety). ... It's weird, it's quirky, and it's surprisingly heartbreaking. Like I said, I usually avoid sci-fi books, but I'm glad I gave this one a shot. It's more for readers like me who prefer feelings over physics. By the end, the genre didn't even matter - I wasn't reading about a robot anymore; I was reading about love, loss and what it means to care for someone. 🤖💛😊

Maybe give this a try if you can appreciate quiet storytelling with "Lo-fi" vibes and a deeply personal narrative. I mean, it will certainly make you look at your kitchen appliances with a lot more empathy, Lol😉😂

[Emily Poche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Atria Books for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon is a quirky, cozy science fiction story about a naive and curious Roomba whose whole life is thrown into chaos when one of her owners passes away. Along with the other household appliances, an estranged daughter and a plucky neighbor kid, she sets out to protect her home and her humans from forces far greater that she is.

I absolutely selected this ARC in a flurry of millennial nostalgia. I’d seen The Brave Little Toaster many times as a kid, and the description seemed very reminiscent. I was happy to see in the acknowledgements that the author referenced it as an influence! It’s definitely a very reminiscent story even though it very much stands on its own feet. (Wheels).

I loved that this was a fully fleshed science fiction story that slowly unfurls over the few chapters. In a short time it manages to go from completely idyllic to dystopian in a way that’s still solidly domestic. In using the domestic sphere and the reach of the story in a confined number of locations and characters, it creates a really full picture of an alternative reality without too much world building.

I just loved Scout. I loved her tiny, helpful and curious nature. She was brand new! She just wanted to help! She also was a vacuum and that makes me love her even more. Writing feeling and depth into a household appliance can be somewhat difficult, but the author really wrote a cute, sensitive little protagonist. I wanted to root for her against the constraints of being a vacuum, and against the changes threatening the Winters family.

For me, if anything, the book was a little bit short. I thought some of the plot lines could have been a little more developed, giving a little more detail into how the conclusion happened. I felt like I had a pretty good idea, but I did feel a little unclear on the mechanics. Also, I felt like the open ending for Harold and the kid could also have been resolved. The book had a relatively hopeful and light tone, despite some majorly dystopian themes. I think having a finite ending wouldn’t have drastically changed the tone too much.

If you’re not a very serious sci fi reader or are looking for something that’s dystopian and cozy at the same time, this is a perfect short option. I’d call it domestic science fiction. For me it’s a 4/5!

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, Atria Books, for sending me this ARC.

"In a near future, where even the smallest of appliances are sentient, a young Roomba vacuum sets out to save the humans of her house from a rising technological power."

This was a fun, dystopian-esque read. It felt like a spin-off of the Brave Little Toaster x Smart House. The author's writing style was engaging and entertaining. I did struggle a bit at the beginning, but the story did pick up, and the ending was well done. If you're looking for a quick read that is outside the norm, give this one a try!

Pub Date Apr 07 2026

As always, all thoughts are my own. 💫🖤

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful surprise of a book.

Set years in the future we meet an advanced model Roomba who calls herself Scout. Scout lives in an AI controlled house along with Fridge, Clock, Auto and the all-seeing Watch who not only controls the house but also keeps an eye on Harold and Edie Winters, the humans who live there.

As the story unfolds Scout begins to question the things that she experiences during her existence in the house. She listens to Edie playing the piano and watches Harold mending his precious first editions. But when Edie falls ill Scout senses a change in her home and she begins to have sensations she cannot explain.

When Edie dies big changes begin to happen. Adrian, an young student of Edie's arrives to practise his exam pieces and Kate, the daughter who left long ago, returns to help her father mourn. But with these two come strange happenings and Scout is forced to see that it is not Watch who controls everyone's every move but The Grid.

The Grid controls all the houses and all the people. It makes decisions for the whole world because the humans have been irresponsible. But is there something else happening outside? Is The Grid working in everyone's best interest or have things changed? And what can a tiny vacuum cleaner, a small boy and a reckless young woman do to help?

This book is not all it seems at the start. What begins as a sweet story about an AI controlled machine, who may be beginning to be sentient, devolves into something much more sinister. So be warned.

"Infinite Sadness .." is a great short novel that highlights our looming dependence on automated processes. The characters of all the machines and humans are beautifully drawn and if you will fall in love with Scout.

Loved it. Laughed and cried. Beautifully written, clever plot, great characters. Highly recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the digital review copy.

[evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What a great read about human resilience in a dystopian world where AI rules and controls all. Perhaps a glimpse into our own impending future? This was a tender, humorous novel about grief, human connection, and technology set in a futuristic world of sentient appliances. I loved reading about how much heart and care Scout has for her people, as well as how the kitchen appliances try to learn what being human is. On the other hand, I didn’t care much for the humans of the house. They seemed one-dimensional, and the dialogue was clunky. Edie was a piano teacher, Harold was an English teacher, and Kate is their estranged, rebellious daughter. And that’s it! Other than that, I loved the climax of the book, and the epilogue was a warm hug and a perfect ending. This is a book anyone can read, and I would recommend it to other readers. Dedicating this review to my three Roombas.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5💫

The Brave Little Toaster walked so this book could run. Exceptionally both wholesome and thrilling. Made me want to buy a roomba???

[Stacey | read.with.stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Harper Collins Canada for the free paperback arc 🫶

💭: This book was so cute! It follows an adorable sentient robotic vacuum (and other home appliances) set in a futuristic world where technology controls everything. It’s a heart-warming tale of love, loss, and grief and showcases how these house hold appliances are trying to understand the complexities of human emotions and do what they can to protect their Humans from the Omnipresent grid. I also really enjoyed that the main character collects and restores first edition books!

Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a cute, quick read!

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances is an absolute delight; warm, thoughtful, quietly emotional, and surprisingly profound. Going into this, I was expecting something light and quirky, and while it absolutely delivers on charm, it also brings a depth that caught me off guard in the best possible way. It immediately brought to mind the feeling I had watching The Brave Little Toaster as a kid, but this is very much its own story, more mature, more introspective, and layered with meaning that really sticks with you.

What Dixon does so well is create a world filled with anthropomorphized appliances that never feels childish or overly cutesy. It would have been very easy for a concept like this to tip into something silly or overly simplified, but instead, the world feels grounded and thoughtfully constructed. These appliances have personalities, motivations, and lives that feel genuine. You don’t question their existence, you just accept them, and before long, you’re fully invested in their struggles, relationships, and purpose.

At the heart of the story is Scout, a robot vacuum who becomes one of the most unexpectedly compelling protagonists I’ve come across in a while. Her journey is, in many ways, a coming-of-age story. Watching her try to understand her place in the world, what she was made for versus what she wants to be, gives the book its emotional core. There’s a quiet poignancy to her growth, especially as she begins to grapple with larger ideas about identity, belonging, and ultimately, sacrifice. Dixon handles this arc beautifully, allowing it to unfold naturally without ever feeling forced or overly sentimental.

The writing itself is smooth and immersive, with a tone that perfectly balances whimsy and weight. There are moments that made me smile, moments that made me pause and think, and even a few that hit surprisingly hard emotionally. Dixon has a way of sneaking in these deeper reflections beneath the surface of what initially seems like a cozy, almost gentle story.

The world-building is another standout. It’s seamlessly integrated into the narrative, revealed through Scout’s perspective and experiences rather than through heavy exposition. You get a sense of a much larger world beyond the immediate story, one that feels lived-in and full of possibilities. It’s the kind of setting that makes you want to linger, to explore further, and to see what other stories might unfold within it.

By the time I reached the end, I found myself wishing I didn’t have to leave this world just yet. That’s always a sign that a book has done something special. The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances is cozy science fiction at its finest. It's thoughtful, imaginative, and full of heart. It’s a story about purpose, connection, and what it means to matter, even in the smallest of ways.

I would absolutely love to see more stories set in this world. Dixon has created something unique and quietly beautiful here, and I’ll be eagerly keeping an eye out for whatever he writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Glenn Dixon for granting me access to a digital ARC of this title.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartfelt and touching, a story of sentient small appliances around a house banding together to try to keep their family and home together and happy.

Harold and Edie live in a house like those in their neighborhood. Nice and big to raise a family - which they have done and is now an adult. They are both retired and enjoying their years together. But once Edie becomes ill, the small appliances around the house notice. They quickly figure out that, logistically the overarching Grid won't let Harold and his appliances stay together in this big house unless they do something to save them.

It's so sweet, the house vacuum and fridge, the clock and watch - as they all learn to feel emotions, label them and recognize them in themselves after they name them from their house humans. And while reading and just finishing, I loved the reminder of caring for people, love, and what makes us human. It's a good reminder: the strangers around you both on-line and in person, we don't know what their struggles are and they don't know ours. Be kind.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[Myrn🩶 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small book with a huge heart.
It’s been a while since a book earned a high rating from me, but this one did. At first, it gave me an adult Toy Story vibe, yet it quickly became something deeper and more meaningful.

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances is a fast read, tender, clever, and unexpectedly emotional. Scout, the little vacuum, is one of the most endearing narrators I’ve read, and her observations about love, grief, and home hit harder than I expected. Glenn Dixon balances whimsy with real emotional weight, and the result is a story that’s cozy, melancholy, and quietly hopeful. I finished it smiling through a tear or two. A gem. 4.5 stars rounded up!

[Sophie Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dystopia but make it sweet and whimsical. Read this before you enable AI features on any of your devices.

[Cheyenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sadder Growing Home meets a slightly dystopian Brave Little Toaster, but for grown-ups.

Cozily bleak. Starts pretty heavy, then settles into a quiet sad vibe that’s still kind of sweet.

Trigger warning: cancer

Thank you to Atria for the advanced copy.

[Vmndetta ᛑᛗᛛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very unique book about a sentient Roomba and other appliances! Who would've thought?

What I loved the most about this book is the near-future world setting. A world with AI where household appliances can do things on their own, handle housework, and even think about humans. In this case, a Roomba named Scout. I really liked her. She's curious, adventurous, always wanting to learn more, and you just honestly can't stop her!

This story can be very heartwarming and also make you want to laugh. And yes, don't forget the angst, because it explores grief too. I'll be damned if I say I didn't cry. Even tho, some parts are a bit predictable after reading the long blurb, the book is still engaging and enjoyable. Recommend!

[mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Perhaps," he said, and this time his voice was slow and measured, "when all our Humans are gone, books will be the most valuable things of all"

omg what a perfect little book for me, this was RIGHT up my alley! a little roomba curious about humans and their Feelings, a heartfelt exploration of grief, set in a 1984-esque surveillance state (the Grid is actually scary), in little over 200 pages - it made me feel a lot of feelings!!! i never thought i would care so much for a little vacuum cleaner or a fridge, i also loved the idea of Artifacts in the age of technology! i did take a bit for me to get into the groove of this book and i would’ve liked a bit more Plot but otherwise loved it!

[Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was honestly so adorable and fun, but also so contemplative to read. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading, but the story was so interesting and unique. I hope this book finds its audience because it’s one that will definitely make an impact on the right people. Fans of dystopian, but not the hunger games kind, will enjoy!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted arc

[Beppie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a bittersweet little novel! Though short, but surprisingly thought-provoking, this little gem of a cozy, dystopian sci-fi offering turned out to be the novel I didn't know that I NEEDED to read! In turns endearing, sorrowful, and serious. Yet, just as surprising... hopeful!

Set in a not so distant time, the fears of folks that technology and artificial intelligence would "step in" and marginalize we bipedal, sentient beings with their pragmatic, emotionless organization has come to be. A thing known as "THE GRID" runs everything and everyone with efficiency and precision. No more messy human emotions in charge of shaping and guiding the human experience.

Little does "THE GRID" know that even with its mechanical and technological expertise, life and the will to live it STILL have a way of surviving!

Without saying too much more about the unexpected source of help offered to the fragile humans left in this dystopian future time, suffice it to say, you will absolutely find yourself cheering for the most unlikeliest of situations and for the triumph of the human spirit...even when it is embodied by the unlikeliest of vessels!

I adored this novel so much! While it most certainly was true that infinite sadness permeated many a page, it is even more true that unlimited hope springs eternal in this ever-evolving world of ours!

[Dayna Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75*

A sweet little book but it didn’t grip me. I struggled with the logic of this book and felt that the world wasn’t fleshed out enough. Plot points were far too convenient. The grid only listens to appliances when they speak aloud even if it’s connected to their thoughts?? Scout gets sanctioned/cautioned for some things but not others?? The grid can’t hurt humans yet is trying to slowly wipe them out?? Confusing

Sorry Kiani & Mia

[Taylor Š · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stooop, I was not expecting to cry over a Roomba while reading this book 😭

This short story starts with Harold grieving the loss of his wife, Edie. While he’s trying to navigate life without her, the appliances in his house quietly observe everything and even discuss what it means to be human. One of them is Scout, a highly advanced autonomous vacuum who slowly begins to show signs of something more, something that feels almost sentient as she starts pushing past the limits of her programming.

When Watch, the home’s AI overseer, schedules Harold’s daughter Kate to come over and clear out Edie’s belongings, the story shifts into a more dystopian sci-fi direction. There’s also a really beautiful thread throughout the story about music and how deeply human it is. The way it ties memory, grief, and love together was honestly one of my favorite parts. Without giving too much away, the story explores what could happen if we hand too much control of our lives over to technology. At the same time, Scout’s growing empathy for Harold, Edie, and Kate leads her to make some pretty big and unexpected choices to try to protect them.

This story really stuck with me. It gave me serious The Brave Little Toaster vibes in the best way, with that nostalgic feeling of everyday objects having their own little inner lives. The themes of sentient machines and controlling AI are classic dystopian sci-fi, but the story feels very personal because it’s all centered around one family and their grief.

And honestly… after finishing the epilogue, I found myself questioning our relationship with AI a little more. At the same time, I may or may not still be considering buying a Roomba.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Alex Z (azeebooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect little book about machines, humanity and our interactions. Such an interesting read for a society that is growing so reliant on our devices. I liked the dystopian tilt and thought this to be an overall very cozy read! A short but thought-provoking read!

[Hannah // Book Nerd Native · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Kevin Wilson wrote The Brave Little Toaster