Becky Chambers’s A Prayer for the Crown-Shy was my fifth read of the year.

The first Monk and Robot book—A Psalm for the Wild-Built—was excellent. But A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is perfect. The post–semi-apocalypse and post–robot uprising story follows two loveable characters. Sibling Dex, a tea monk, and Mosscap, a robot who wishes to know what people need, go on a road trip.

This book has it all. A hilarious moment between two post-coital humans and a curious but innocent robot. A heartwrenching funeral for a fish from a robot that avoids violence. A magical moment where the robot first meets a human child, and said human child first meets a robot.

Reading this book felt like a cuddle from my wife for the mind.