Klara and the Sun: A Novel

Klara and the Sun takes place in a world that is almost like our own. The few differences are the key to the story. Klara is not a human, but an "Artificial Friend". She begins the book in a store. She is picked by a girl to be the artificial friend. As an artificial friend she gradually learns to be a resident of the world. She also learns her true purpose.

The girl that bought her is struggling with her own position in the world. She has a boy friend and a plan together. However, he is from a different social group and they gradually move apart as she tries to fit in with her peers. We also discover that she is sick and had a sister that had died. The parents have hatched a strange plan to create a "clone" of the sun.

The sun is a special power that Klara acknowledges. There are also polluters that in some way block the sun. Klara goes on a quest to achieve some help from the sun and eventually uses the sun to help her owner.

The relationship of A.F.s and people is only briefly explored. There are a few times were she is treated as second class or called a machine. For most of the time, she is just a regular part of the family - somewhere between a servant and a family member. Her skills of observation are beyond that of a regular human. Though socially she is more akin to a small child.