Boy 23

By Author / Illustrator

Jim Carrington

Genre

Adventure

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

ISBN

9781408822777

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

19-11-2015

Synopsis

Boy 23 isn't in My Place any more. He can't see The Screen, he can't hear The Voice. Boy 23 is alone. One dark night, Boy 23 is thrown in the back of the van and driven out of My Place - the only home he has ever known. He is abandoned in a forest with a rucksack containing the bare essentials for survival. Before the van drives away, a voice tells him he must run as far as he can. His life depends on it. Boy 23 has never known another human. Boy 23 has never even been outside. So who is he? Why do people want to kill him? And more to the point, who is the voice that wants to save him? A hugely fast-paced dystopian page-turner which by the end will leave you in a state of shock. For fans of Chaos Walking and Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror.

Reviews

Boy 23 is an innocent. He has spent his life in isolation; his only contact being The Voice, a disembodied entity which provides everything for him from food to video clips. One night, Boy 23, named Jesper by The Voice, wakes up bound, gagged, in darkness and surrounded by unfamiliar noises. Left in a forest he has to use his survival skills to travel through unfamiliar terrain trusting the instructions given to him by The Voice. As his journey progresses we learn about the sickness that has decimated the population and the new regime that has taken control of the country. But who is Jesper and why is he special? Why is The Voice helping him to escape? Each chapter is told by one of three narrators, which allows the reader to follow the story from different perspectives. This is an unusual novel with unexpected twists and a thrilling climax. My only query would be why would Jesper use words such as 'yomping' and 'squizz' when The Voice , who taught him, does not? Overall an enjoyable read with enough interest to keep the reader entertained. 352 pages / Ages 11+ / Reviewed by Jennifer Hambleton