What a slow burn of a read that was a steady 2.5 stars for me until the rapid blossoming into a 4 star book! Klara and the Sun has so much intrigue and promise during the first few chapters, where the curious world building begins in a storefront that sells 'Artificial Friends' for children. It feels so eerie and so Megan-like, but in a slightly more empathetic way (for the machines themselves). There were so many questions for the readers in the beginning like: 'What kind of world is it? Are the AFs abused or loved? Are they meant to be toys? Are these machines evil or good? Why are the adults and children so suspicious???' And although my intrigue continued, it did get subdued as soon as Klara was adopted and left her little store. While there were still odd things at play (What does being 'lifted' mean? What is the class system like? Why is Josie chronically ill? Why do they live in the middle of nowhere?), I feel like Klara's adventure becomes a little stale. I wanted to know so much more about the nuances of their society, but felt trapped in Josie's isolated home without any of my questions answered. It was also a little suffocating to see everyone treat Klara with lukewarm kindness. I thought there would be more depth in her relationships with the families she was taking care of so faithfully, but I guess the love of machines can only go so far and that's a little too much to ask for in reality. The progression of the book into something meaningful happened in the last chapter for me, when Klara's abandonment becomes gradually more severe until she's finally left alone in a junk yard to become demented in the sun. It made me want to cry because to the reader, she's a sentient being and after all of her efforts and devotion to the people who chose her, she's just an object of waste. It makes me think a lot about Toy Story (lol) and of the items that carry so many memories and meaning in my life that will eventually become insignificant trash. The lifespan of an object is really quite sad!!! I am glad it ended this way though, because it shows the duality of human nature and how much a person changes compared to a machine.