Title:  iBoy [Indie Bound] [Amazon]
Author: Kevin Brooks [goodreads author page] [facebook]
Genre:  Science Fiction
Publisher: Chicken House (an imprint of Scholastic Press)
Series: None
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Parental Advisory: rape, gangs, violence, weapons, drugs, alcohol, language, criminal activity
Teachable Moments: gangs violence, group think. vigilantism

“I gazed up into the starless night, and all I could see was a boundless world of darkness and emptiness…but I knew it wasn’t empty.  The sky, the atmosphere, the air the night…the whole world was alive with radio waves.  They were everywhere, all around me, all the time — TV signals, radio signals, mobile-phone signals…WiFi, microwaves, VHR, UHF…electromagnetic waves.  They were everywhere.  And although I couldn’t see them, I could sense them.  I could connect to them.  I knew them.”

Summary (from the publisher):
Before the attack, Tom Harvey was just an average teenager.  But a head-on collision with high technology has turned him into an actualized App.  Fragments of a shattered iPhone are embedded in his brain.  And they’re having an extraordinary effect on his every thought.

Because now Tom knows, sees, and can do more than any normal boy every could.

But with his new powers comes a choice: To avenge Lucy, the girl he loves, will he hunt down the vicious gangsters who hurt her?  Will he take the law into his own electric hands and exterminate them from the South London housing projects where, by fear and violence, they rule?

Not even his mental search engine can predict the shocking outcome of iBoy’s actions.

Opinion:
As I read iBoy one word continued to come to mind throughout the entirety of the experience….gritty.  This is an extremely realistic portrait of the effects that gangs and rape have on an impoverished community.

Brooks was not afraid to go to the darkest and most hideous places that gang violence present.  His writing allowed for me to experience the horrific nature and devastating after effects of Lucy’s assault.  It also showed compassion and empathy towards her plight.  He did nothing to glorify or excuse any of the criminal activities that took place through the entirety of the plot of the story and let me say there was quite a bit.  As one might expect, a book focusing on gang activity brings with it drugs, alcohol, intimidation, weaponry as well as physical and emotional abuse.  It left no stone unturned but also did so in a way that showed the realities of living in such a situation.

Let’s look at the community.  The group think of doing what you’re told by gang members, the cover-ups and silence that allows them to continue to conduct themselves in such a way, and ultimately the sheer helplessness that overtakes a good person’s life as they recognize there is nothing to be done to make their situation better.  Nothing short of moving away from the community, but alas, circumstances would only bring them to a similar community so what is the point?  This is the type of neighborhood that Tom and Lucy live in.  They experience it’s realities every day and up until this point have avoided the larger atrocities.

Now let’s talk about the plot.  In the case of iBoy, Tom is on his way home to meet with his long time friend (and secret crush) Lucy who has reached out for his help in an as yet undisclosed matter.  As he is about to enter his apartment building he is struck in the head with an iPhone that has been thrown from some thirty stories above.  Waking up in the hospital many weeks later he immediately acknowledges the changes to his body.  Primarily that his brain is now infused with pieces of the iPhone allowing him the super-power, so to speak, of being the human internet.  He is able to instantly access audio, video, websites, and wireless devises with just a thought in his mind.  Additionally, over time, he realizes that he also has the ability to control electricity.  This gives him the ability to protect himself and those he loves.  Thus the crux of the story, Tom takes his new abilities and becomes Lucy’s protector.  He takes on the task of retribution and punishment of those responsible for hurting her so horribly.  Through passing of information to the proper authorities and tattle tales as well as, at times, conducting physical violence using his new superpowers he is able to turn the tables and bring the perpetrators of the crime to their knees.  Also, as a by product, he ultimately makes the community a safer place for everyone.

What makes this plot most interesting to me is the idea that there is a real moral dilemma experienced.  Tom recognizes that he is becoming no better than the gang members that bully and intimidate residents.  Even though he justifies that by using the crimes they’ve committed and even though he targets only Lucy’s attackers as opposed to the larger whole of the neighborhood he fears becoming immoral.  He fears becoming more like them than pre-iBoy himself.  It’s an excellent exploration of his own humanity and ethical code.

Not everything is tremendously dark though, there is a sweet bit of romance here too.  Not anything overwhelming as Lucy is a victim of rape and is understandably tentative.  It’s very slow to build based on a long standing friendship and is not the largest focus of the story.  It’s there just enough to catapult Tom into action and to reign him in when he realizes he’s going too far.  It’s quite a tragic and touching love story overall.

I will also say that the science fiction element of the story, the iPhone enabled human, was very Spiderman like.  It’s even acknowledged as such in the story itself.  Despite it’s general implausibility I found it enjoyable.  Brooks did well to write in these fantastical elements without making them so outlandish that it felt foolish as I was reading it.  But, I will say, that it’s clearly a science fiction book so it made sense that the technology parts were more futuristic in nature.  It was expected so I’m sure it helped me be far more accepting of it.  Having said that, I found that at times the sidebar descriptions of technology were a bit annoying but I can see where younger readers might find such things a good tool to learn.  So, in the end, it wasn’t a huge detractor as I knew I could just breeze right by them and wouldn’t loose footing in the story.

Additionally, Brooks did a lot of showing an very little telling.  He allowed all of the interesting parts to come out through Tom’s experiences as opposed to droning on and on about it. There was some internal monologue but the bulk of the book was action oriented where Tom was interacting with others and working towards a positive outcome. I found it very even handed, focused and going into the appropriate depths without overwhelming me with needless details and interactions.

In the end, I’ll tell you that I was pleasantly surprised by this book.  I went into it with an open mind but was a bit unsure if it would really be my bag.  I’m happy to say that it is an excellent read.  It has cross-gender appeal and will certainly draw in young adult lit readers of a variety of ages.  Certainly fans of science fiction will want to pick it up.  But don’t be deterred if you aren’t a fan of that particular genre there is plenty of action and focus on real world issues to appeal to the reader of contemporary and other less fantastically focused subjects.