Book Description
From a very young age Robert had liked robots. This was not exactly surprising as he had a very mechanically minded father. But when he got to the age of eleven, something happened which dramatically changed the course of Robert’s life, an event which would leave a permanent scar on him. Two further occurrences came about which were to steer Robert’s life in a new and exciting direction, the opening of a rather special shop in the town of Waterford, and the arrival of Aaliyah, the American girl who came to his school when he was fourteen. Set just after the new millennium, this whole story rotates around the building of hobby robots, the use of computers, and the various relationships of the people involved. With chapter titles almost entirely computer related, and the book cram full of various computer and robot inspired topics, this exciting and heartwarming story is a must for any child or teenager who loves anything of a technological nature. It also challenges the whole concept of stereotyping, underlining how ridiculous it can be.
Claire Rosemary Jane grew up in Malvern in Worcestershire and is the eldest of six children. Her father was one of the Bawdsey Manor radar pioneers. Claire has always liked reading but her peak childhood reading was between the ages of 9 and 12. At school, her favourite subject was geography, although she also liked both writing and music. Claire went on to qualify as a Chartered Surveyor. She has travelled widely to many parts of the world and as a result has progressively become more and more interested (and concerned) in what humans are doing to harm the planet.
Author’s own reflection
People have asked me why I wrote this book. First and foremost, because I think that we can lull ourselves into a false sense of security, that we as humans can outwit planet earth, and because some people try to kid themselves that climate change is not real. But just as much, I wrote it because I think that in real life, children and teenagers are well capable of doing some quite extraordinary things. Both of the main teenagers in this story, Laura and Dan, showed great understanding, great presence of mind, great initiativ,e and not least great bravery to try to help the town of Torbridge in its great hour of need.
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6 reviews
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This story will be very much enjoyed by anyone who has any interest in technology/robots. Claire Rosemary Jane captures deep and personal emotions alongside easy to understand factual technology. 10 out of 10.
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An interesting strong story with a variety of believable characters that kept my attention till the end.
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An excellent book which was a pleasure to read and having read the first page it was difficult to put the book down until I reached the end. It tells the story of Robert, who experiences tragedy in his young life and how he grows, develops an interest, a skill and more importantly relationships with others. The books leaves one with a warm heart feeling and I would strongly urge others, young and old, to follow Robert and you may find out what happens next!
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I am the author of this book. To see why I wrote it, you can see my youtube video talking about the book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCspgwjEt8E&t=51s There are in fact four short videos for this particular book, two of which are extracts read from the book itself.. There are also several reviews of the book on Goodreads and on Amazon..
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I was very pleasantly surprised by this book.
The characters are very believable, and it was interesting to see so many different layers within the story. The use of chapter titles related to computer language was a clever idea.
From the ideas of stereotyping, that were challenged by the characters themselves to the emotions involved in the loss of loved ones and how they were coped with in different ways by the characters was handled well.
I’m sure this book could lend itself well to a sequel (or two) but maybe it is better to let the reader imagine how the relationships would develop.
I would thoroughly recommend this to older adults as well as the young adult audience it is written for. There is something in this book for everyone.
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Without giving too much away about the storyline I must say that Robert, his interests in technical things, and the family situation that unfolds in the first few chapters of this book aligns well with my own life at that age. Despite me being no longer in the age group that this book is aimed at I found it to be an excellent read and as I neared the end I found myself hoping that Claire, the author, has another manuscript underway that continues Robert’s story. Young people and adults alike, who have an interest in technical things; mechanical, electrical, computers and the like, will find the attention to detail in this book very believable.
Although not specifically a ‘coming of age’ theme the book does touch on the relationships forming between the main characters. Also this book would make an excellent read for young teens affected by the loss of a loved one by helping understand and come to terms with their feelings.
This book is well written, with an interesting story line and believable characters. It has prompted me to go and look at previous novels by this author and I look forward to a follow up to ‘The Boy Who Loved Robots’ or whatever Claire writes next.
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