E-Boy: Lightning strike by Anh Do
Illus. by Chris Wahl. Allen and Unwin, 2020. ISBN:
9781760877521.
(Age: 10+ years). Recommended. E-Boy begins with Ethan, a
teenage boy, in hospital for his fourteenth operation in eighteen
months. He has a brain tumour and this final operation is his last
hope. Dr Penny Cook has designed and programmed a medical android,
named Gemini, to operate on Ethan. This is top secret and Ethan and
his family have signed confidentiality papers.
The operation takes place during a violent storm and with one
percent of brain connections to go, a bolt of lightning strikes the
facility. The electricity surges into Gemini and then into Ethan.
The operation appears to have worked brilliantly for Ethan and he
goes home. However Ethan realises he has developed a super power and
affinity with computers and feels like he can see inside and
manipulate any computerised item. This new skill leads to some poor
choices by Ethan, danger for his family and the beginning of life on
the run from the authorities.
Meanwhile Dr Cook and Gemini are under the ever watchful eye of a
People's Service Agent. After the success of Ethan's operation the
agent decides to use Gemini in the Sharo Desert where a war is being
fought. Gemini begins to question what he is being programmed to do
in the desert, as he was originally programmed to heal, which leads
to his memory being erased after every dangerous and dastardly
desert task.
The two complex and fast-moving plots of Ethan and Gemini run
parallel and they meet for a final showdown. It is full of tension
and action with the reader left wanting to read the second book in
the series to find out what happens next. The lightning bolt has
obviously caused a change to both Ethan and Gemini's brain
connectors and the question is: are they half-human or half-robot?
Anh Do has written a fast-paced and dynamic story which readers of
his other series will enjoy. The illustrations are spread throughout
the book and provide interesting and supportive visuals for the
reader. Reading
group notes are available. Themes: Robots, Androids, Good vs
Evil, Fighting, Computers, Family, Illness.
Kathryn Beilby