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Summary
Summary
Seventeen-year-old Isaak discovers the truth about his origin and the underground forces that must come together to fight against a secret government organization formed to eradicate those like him in this high-octane science fiction debut.
There once was a boy who was made, not created.
In a single night, Isaak's life changed forever.
His adoptive parents were killed, a mysterious girl saved him from a team of soldiers, and he learned of his own dark and destructive origin.
An origin he doesn't want to believe, but one he cannot deny.
Isaak is a Robot: a government-made synthetic human, produced as a weapon and now hunted, marked for termination.
He and the Robots can only find asylum with the Underground--a secret network of Robots and humans working together to ensure a coexistent future.
To be protected by the Underground, Isaak will have to make it there first. But with a deadly military force tasked to find him at any cost, his odds are less than favorable.
Now Isaak must decide whether to hold on to his humanity and face possible death...or to embrace his true nature in order to survive, at the risk of becoming the weapon he was made to be.
In his debut, recording artist Simon Curtis has written a fast-paced, high-stakes novel that explores humanity, the ultimate power of empathy, and the greatest battle of all: love vs. fear.
Author Notes
Simon Curtis was born in Michigan and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was diagnosed with leukemia at age ten and began performing in musical theater and opera that same year. He was the happiest bald, chemotherapy-addled cancer patient ever seen on the stage. At eighteen, he moved to Los Angeles. After various roles on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, Simon left acting to pursue music, releasing his first album, 8bit Heart, as a free download, followed by his second album, RA, which landed at number twenty on Billboard's Dance & Electronic Albums chart. Simon continues to write and release music as an independent recording artist. Above all else, he strives to inspire hope in young people.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 10 Up-On the eve of turning 18, Isaak has a splitting headache. These headaches signal a dramatic physical change that occurs in all of the teens in his community, who are not human at all. They are Robots. In this near-future world, sinister, shadowy government death squads are hunting and killing Robots. The few surviving teens flee alongside their adult rescuers, hoping to find a safe place. Told from multiple points of view, this debut is a violent, dark sci-fi novel that attempts to question what it means to be human. The constantly shifting perspectives, even mid-chapter, make for awkward and often confusing reading. The mystery of why these teens are Robots is not explained until the final pages, with many plot holes still unresolved. All but one of the main characters are in their 20s. There are multiple graphic scenes of brutal bullying, child abuse, and rape. When the victims come into their powers as Robots, their retribution is violent and fatal. Between the level of violence and the awkward, disjointed point of view transitions, this volume will be frustrating for many. VERDICT If dark, brutal sci-fi is in demand in your library, choose other titles, such as Pierce Brown's phenomenal Red Rising.-Kristen Rademacher, Marist High School, IL © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
A cyber-dystopian future America is the scene of musician Curtis's heartrending but uneven first novel. The lead-up to Isaak's 18th birthday has involved a killer headache and dreams of other kids being chased by agents in black. After a wound heals itself far too quickly to be natural and Isaak's adoptive mother kicks him out of the house, he finds out that he is a "Robot"; government-made synthetic humans created for war and released into the population as babies by a scientist with a shady agenda, Isaak's kind are being hunted and are forming an underground resistance. From there, Curtis's adventure story of teens on the run becomes a tad predictable, but Isaak's narration and a possible romance with a human male companion keep things interesting. Flashbacks of the other characters' lives before joining the underground include graphic descriptions of transphobic and homophobic trauma, as well as sexual assault, to a point that sometimes feels gratuitous but also gives real insight into each teen's situation, and certainly aims for empathy. A tension-filled ending leaves readers hanging on for a sequel. Ages 14-up. Agent: Laurie McLean, Fuse Literary. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
The same night he loses his adoptive parents and home, already overwhelmed Isaak discovers he's a government-built Robot marked for termination. Isaak must seek out refuge with a group called the Underground, avoiding soldiers and trying to maintain his humanity along the way. Fast-paced action scenes and a gay robot protagonist pique interest, but generic government villains ruin any sense of danger. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
On his eighteenth birthday, Isaak's lingering headache blossoms into something that consumes his whole body, and suddenly he has talents and abilities he never knew of a good thing, since he's on the run from men in black who seem to want him dead. He's a synthetic human, one of many that resulted from an originally humane scientific experiment; but those who initially wanted these created beings now believe they are a threat to society. This debut novel is unsophisticated and raw at times, but Curtis capably shapes an energetic story. The book begins with chapters or parts of chapters that usher in characters willy-nilly with little connection other than a shared history of physical and emotional abuse and the eventual headache. These exposures are interwoven with the narrative of Isaak's perilous trip to L.A., where the robot rescuers have a headquarters. Once there the story, which features a diverse cast and includes a gay romance subplot, shifts from chase scenes to adolescent bonding. A murky, cliff-hanger ending suggests a sequel.--Welch, Cindy Copyright 2016 Booklist