Boy Robot

 Author: Simon Curtis

 Release Date: October 25, 2016

 Publisher: Simon Pulse

Format: paperback ARC

Pages: 432

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

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 Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Isaak discovers the truth about his origin and the underground forces that must come together to fight against a secret government organization formed to eradicate those like him in this high-octane science fiction debut.

There once was a boy who was made, not created.

In a single night, Isaak’s life changed forever.

His adoptive parents were killed, a mysterious girl saved him from a team of soldiers, and he learned of his own dark and destructive origin.

An origin he doesn’t want to believe, but one he cannot deny.

Isaak is a Robot: a government-made synthetic human, produced as a weapon and now hunted, marked for termination.

He and the Robots can only find asylum with the Underground—a secret network of Robots and humans working together to ensure a coexistent future.

To be protected by the Underground, Isaak will have to make it there first. But with a deadly military force tasked to find him at any cost, his odds are less than favorable.

Now Isaak must decide whether to hold on to his humanity and face possible death…or to embrace his true nature in order to survive, at the risk of becoming the weapon he was made to be.

In his debut, recording artist Simon Curtis has written a fast-paced, high-stakes novel that explores humanity, the ultimate power of empathy, and the greatest battle of all: love vs. fear. (Goodreads)

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Review:

 * I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion.*

These robots are SO COOL. I’ll be honest, I don’t read a lot of robot books but I think this could definitely be the one to change that! Gone are the days where the first thing to come to mind when someone says robot is the old school cartoon type (The Jetsons, anyone?). Simon Curtis’ bots are almost magical, they’re sassy, and consume as many electrolyte drinks as I do in the Toronto summers. :p

The action scenes in Boy Robot were also awesome. I totally want to see this turned into a movie with rad special effects. The robots’ abilities in general looked super cool in my head and then add to that the car chases, things going boom, epic battles…I’m there. I rarely have mental pictured of scenes as vivid as the ones Boy Robot created in my head.

Other things I loved? The characters; they all have such a special place in my heart. The robots and robot allies are all so different and at the same time so fiercely committed to the same goal and it’s a beautiful thing. I also have a ship that feels like it’s maybe in danger but I ship it SO FREAKIN’ HARD. Why, Simon? Why do you have to torture me? I also really liked the vignettes in between chapters. They gave an interesting peek into the backstory of soon-to-be-met characters. I will warn, however, that there are some that are a bit graphic/allude to very difficult circumstances.

The one thing I wasn’t crazy about with Boy Robot was how it dragged at points. There were a couple lulls in action that made progress feel incredibly slow and one chapter at the end that was insanely long. I kept trying to finish the chapter so I could head to bed but it just would not end. I find my attention wanes very easily when there’s no clear breaks in the narrative so it made the last chunk a bit tough to mentally push through.

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Final Verdict: 

Overall I adored this book. I’m fully on the robot train and I’m currently plotting ways to barter with Simon to get a copy of book 2 yesterday. Yes, yesterday. Also, get this made into a movie, thanks. 😉