Being

It was supposed to be a routine endoscopy exam for 16-year-old orphan, Robert Smith. Conscious but still anaesthetised, he hears the doctors’ confusion and shocked comments when they discover a network of mysterious technological implants inside his body: ‘What the hell is that?’ ‘It’s me,’ Robert thinks, ‘and I’ve got to get out of here.’ Pursued by a sinister governmental agency, Robert is forced on the run in a violent journey to try to find out exactly who and what he is. Turning to Eddi Ray, an ex-girlfriend of a dead friend’s brother, for help in constructing a false identity to evade the threatening secret agent Ryan, Robert begins to fall in love while at the same time questioning his ability to feel and be ‘human’. This is an absorbing and stylish novel which skilfully combines the intensity of a thriller with the thoughtprovoking world of science fiction. While some readers may be frustrated by the tantalisingly openended conclusion, Kevin Brooks has delivered yet again a powerful, page-turning and challenging meditation on adolescent identity. Age: 14+