Review: Man Made Boy by Jon Skovron

Man Made Boy

By: Jon Skovron

Pub. Date: October 3, 2013

Publisher: Viking Publishing

Pages: 368

Source: Netgalley

I received this galley in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine a group of monsters who pose as a Circ de Soleil style Broadway show, passing their magical abilities off as special effects. Vampires, werewolves, fairies, sirens, medusas, minotaurs…the works. Who might be a good bouncer for such a dangerous menagerie? Well, Frankenstein’s Monster of course. Then, what if the Monster and the Bride got together and created a child of their own named…well, Boy, of course, because that’s what he is. And what if Boy grew up to be a bright, sensitive, and rebellious teenage hacker who was tired of living his whole life inside the confines of a Broadway theater? How far will he go to prove to them all, including the lead dancer girl he’s always pined for, that he’s going to be somebody important and not just the Son of Frankenstein’s Monster?

When you are the son of Frankenstein and his Bride, it's hard to get close to anyone. So he doesn't. He lives under Times Square in a world hidden from the rest of us. He never leaves, and he never gets to meet anybody. But he wants too. So, so badly. Boy is bright and sensitive, and tired of living a lonely life with just his computer as his companion. Boy is a computer genius. He is able to hack into everything and hide who he really is. While this worked for a while, it isn't going to work anymore, so Boy decides to leave the security of his hidden world and see what the real world has to offer.

Boy may be me a monster, but he is as human as the rest of us. He wants to meet people, he wants to form attachments. He even wants to be in a relationship. But like every other shy, awkward teenage boy at there, he never knows the right thing to say to a girl. I found this adorable! It's definitely something that middle grade boys and girls can understand.

While I loved the characters, and found them to be very realistic, especially for being monsters, I had some issues with the plot and pacing. Some things went so quick for me, while other scenes dragged on. I would have liked more of a balance.

I really enjoyed this coming of age story and watching Boy go through this life changing event. It's a perfect story for middle graders and high school students alike.