Jim Carrington - Boy 23 - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Review

Boy 23 isn't in My Place any more. He can't see The Screen, he can't hear The Voice. Boy 23 is alone. 

One dark night, Boy 23 is thrown in the back of the van and driven out of My Place - the only home he has ever known. He is abandoned in a forest with a rucksack containing the bare essentials for survival. Before the van drives away, a voice tells him he must run as far as he can. His life depends on it. Boy 23 has never known another human. Boy 23 has never even been outside. So who is he? Why do people want to kill him? And more to the point, who is the voice that wants to save him?

Boy 23 is Jim Carrington's eagerly awaited fourth book to be published by Bloomsbury on the 19th of November 2015. It's another adventure in the young adult world of fiction and my personal favourite, by Jim, to date. You only need to read the synopsis of the book to get your imagination going. It's very intriguing and makes you want to find out why/what happens. 

The basis of this book has been taken from a number of contemporary life stories; one of which turned out to be a hoax. A teenage boy turned up alone in the town of Nuremburg in Germany in 1828 claiming to have been brought up in a dark cell. This story becomes the setting for the book My Place. The start of the story is slow-paced but essential in drawing you into the plot of mystery and intrigue. It's very dark and atmospheric; a fantasy world that might just happen one day. 

Can you be saved from a deadly new disease?

It's a very good opener that leads you into dystopian world featuring a character with unique powers. It's very different in style from my recent reads which is actually really good. The story is told through the three main characters. There's Jesper, aka Boy 23, whose feelings and emotions are played out really well and leave lots of thought provoking questions. There's also Carina, who is very determined and mentally scarred. She has had a disturbing and troubled past which links and weaves the narrative together. The final perspective is the mysterious Mr Blake, who slowly unravels himself along the way and keeps the imagination ticking.

The science fiction twists lift the turn of events and deliver a frenzied action packed story. This will keep you engrossed right until the very end of the book. In fact the more that you read, the faster the pages will turn as you unravel the mysteries. You will find yourself hooked.

The challenges that Boy 23 face are very brutal and leave him alienated. It would be really good to follow up this book with a sequel and to find out Jesper's fate. There are so many unanswered questions left and a fantastic further plot to discover. I'm hoping that this is a possibility.