Reviews

A Boy and His Bot by Daniel H. Wilson

mirable's review against another edition

3.0

SLJ review:

Gr 4–7—Daniel H. Wilson's fast-paced tale (Bloomsbury, 2011) is about traditional values, friendship, and hope. Young Code Lightfall, a bullied loner whose grandfather went missing a year ago, is an unlikely hero. He discovers his inner mettle during a field trip when he follows a small robotic insect, Peep, through a hole in the ground and into the land of Mekhos, a robot world. Once there, parallels to the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland are clearly drawn as Code meets Gary, an atomic slaughterbot, and races against time to find the legendary Robonomicon to save Mekhos and his new friends before The Great Disassembly. Wilson, whose adult titles include How to Survive a Robot Uprising (Bloomsbury, 2005), revs up the action with deadly consequences and fantastic robots, including an infinipede and delightfully stuffy ladybots. David Ackroyd's narration conveys Code's wonder at the world of Mekhos as well as his desperation to succeed in his mission. His mechanical voices, especially those of Gary and XO, are wonderful. For reluctant readers, sci-fi fans, and those who enjoy their action with a dash of whimsy.—Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI

laralibrarian's review

2.0

I wanted (and expected) to greatly enjoy this book, but it ended up being a huge disappointment. I would be tempted to blame the narration of the audio book (certain character voices were quite annoying), but my main frustration was with the book's conflicted logic, stereotyped characters, and preachy "kid lessons." I think the author was trying too hard to write a "kid" book, instead of focusing on writing a good story that all readers would enjoy. If you want to read something lighter by an established author, perhaps try Brandon Sanderson's 'Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians" series. Sanderson avoids the pitfall of writing down to younger readers and, instead, provides smart, sarcastic humor that all ages can enjoy.

briarrose1021's review

5.0

A boy named Code is on a school field trip. He is wandering around when he sees something strange. Following that thing, he ends up falling down a hole and ending up in Mekhos. The strange thing he had seen turned out to be this tiny little robot that he names Peep. As he wanders around Mekhos, Code learns that in order to go home, he must reach the Beam Stalk. But, before he will be able to do that, Code learns that all of the robots will be disassembled. Not wanting to see the robots destroyed, Code seeks a way to save them all. What follows is a very fun story about friendship.

This book was so much fun to listen to. David Ackroyd did a wonderful job with the narration, and several times I found myself laughing out loud at some of the interactions and/or reactions to things that were said. I especially love his early interactions with the slaughter-bot that he designed and had made. The conversation about not being allowed to slaughter and what the slaughter-bot would do then was so comical.

While this book is self-contained, I do find myself hoping for another book set in the same world, whether it is a direct sequel or not. The world of Mekhos is such a neat world that I want more stories set in it.

theartolater's review

4.0

YA book by the scientific mastermind Daniel H Wilson, possibly best known for his book Where's My Jetpack? This was an interesting, differently-styled read about a boy who follows a small...something into a hole and ends up in a robot universe where his grandfather disappeared to and where an evil robot, Immortalis, is looking to begin the "Disassembly" and end the world that they're in.

It's a humorous sci-fi adventure, with a lot more action in the story than I had expected. Far from perfect, but absolutely one of the better sci-fi books for this age group that does really need them. The ending did annoy me a little more than it probably should have, but that didn't take away from the journey on a whole. Worth your time.

mallorychristine's review

4.0

I probably would have enjoyed it more if Code had been a girl, or if there had been any major female characters in the book at all, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.

bewarethebookwyrm's review

4.0

This is one of my favorite books. I've read it twice now. This could loosely be considered a boys version of Alice in Wonderland -- loosely though. It's fun to read. I think my least favorite part would be the dinner scene. I won't give away spoilers. There are some embarrassing parts that are difficult for me to get through. However, there are definitely some cool parts, like the desert. Anyone who touches it is eaten within seconds by nanobots. The most exciting action packed part is the final battle. If you want a good laugh, the scene where Code gets robotic eyes is really funny. He has to get robotic eyes because it's the only way to see the mandatory art viewing. Another really cool thing about the book is that Code's bot came from Code's drawing. The bot was a product of Code's imagination.
I would definitely recommend this to others to read. My mom asked me about a moral. This is the moral I came up with: Don't wander off through holes following robotic insects.



Rating: If I follow my mom's star rating, I give it 4 stars. **** If I go with the house cat to Platypus named Perry ranking system (Platypus being the best), I give it a Pet Wombat rating.

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