Introducing Brodie, the impossible boy.
An ARC copy was provided by Netgalley and Fairlight Publishing in exchange for an honest review. I’ve written the review as spoiler free as possible.
This is one of those books that hooks you in at the start and doesn’t let go. It’s very well written, easy to read and keeps you guessing.
It starts near the middle of the story and uses a series of clever flashbacks to tell the story of how we got to that point and then develops the story further.
The lead character, Rob Buckland has, in many ways, a repugnant personality yet provides plenty of laugh out loud moments, usually at completely inappropriate times. What starts as one lie gets completely out of hand yet he manages to maintain the facade getting deeper and deeper and more repugnant – and more funny – in the process.
There are times you question the reliability of his accounts, wondering if there is some fantasy or prank going on but you do see him maturing and changing through the story.
Having a friend called Bummer who owns a sex shop called the Empornium where Rob used to work provides many hilarious moments and the story develops the theme of friendship and the interactions between characters says a lot about our behaviours and relationships.
I really like how the story is serious yet retains a lot of humour, warmth and sci fi / fantasy themes without becoming implausable or ridiculous. I also didn’t see the plot twist coming.
