Boy X by Dan Smith - ESSENTIAL

Boy X by Dan Smith, 288 pages.  Chicken House (Scholastic) 2017. $17.00. 

Language: PG-13 (9 swears, 0 "f"); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13. 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Isla Negra is unlike any other island.  It is a place where long forgotten biological experiments took place and where the living things on the island were left to thrive and develop into something unimaginable. Ash McCarthy has always known his mother was a scientist, but until he woke up in an empty room on Isla Negra, he had no inkling of the danger his mother's work would put him in.  On the island, Ash is changing.  He is become something more than human.  But the secrets of the island can never leave and it is up to Ash to ensure they never do.  

This is a great new science fiction series by Dan Smith.  It is reminiscent of Kathy Reichs series, Virals, but is made for a younger audience.  This first book had the perfect ending, hinting at an ongoing altercation between Ash and his nemesis Thorn, in books to come. 

Gina, Media Specialist