Twelve-year
old Bobby and his fried Sunny are trying to transform the latter into a cyborg
in order to have protection from the bullies and to get Bobby’s mother back. But
the boys fail with their attempts and Bobby finds himself left alone to face
the hardships of life. When he encounters little Rosa and her mother Val, his
life changes completely. In stark contrast to his father, here he finds love
and something like a family. After another incident at school, Val decides to
escape with the two kinds in the mobile library she has been taking care of. A road
trip all over England begins during which they meet Joe, another outcast, and
find something like love.
A lovely
book which oscillation between being funny to read because of the extraordinary
characters and giving you a lot of food for thought. The family relationships
presented here could hardly be worse, except for Val who has a lot of love to
offer to all living beings; especially the boys suffer from their fathers’
harsh abrasive behaviour. The novel ha some fairy tale aspects which make it a
lovely story to enjoy. Especially the plot revolving around the cyborg
transformation is hilarious to read. David Whitehouse really has the capacity
to make you laugh out loud the way he puts his words, the innocent naivety her
inserts is really something to enjoy.
The novel was provided for free by Pan Macillan via netgalley.
The novel was provided for free by Pan Macillan via netgalley.