The Electric State is a 2018 dystopian science fiction illustrated novel by Simon Stålenhag depicting an alternate reality of the year 1997, in which a teenaged girl and her toy robot journey through a technologically ravaged Southwestern United States.
In 2017, the Russo brothers acquired the film rights to the book.[1] They are directing and producing a Netflix film of the same title, starring Millie Bobby Brown.[2]
The story is presented in the first person and utilizes flashbacks that add context to the environment. It is set in the apocalyptic aftermath of a war.
In an alternate reality in the year 1997, a runaway teenaged girl named Michelle and her toy robot travel west through a dystopian American landscape where the ruins of gigantic battle robots called "drones" litter the countryside.
The Electric State was well-received by critics with a "Rave" rating from the book review aggregator Book Marks based on five independent reviews.[3] Critics at NPR and New York Journal of Books gave positive reviews.[4] [5]
It received starred reviews from both Booklist and Publishers Weekly, where it was praised for the illustrations, writing, and structure of the graphic novel.[6] [7]
NPR named it one of the best books of 2018.[8]