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Brand New Boy

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Brand New Boy by David Almond and Marta Altés

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By David Almond and Marta Altés

avg rating

17 reviews

A warm and thought-provoking tale from a master storyteller, winner of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award and author of the Carnegie Medal-winning Skellig.

“Mam, did you think George was,” I say, “a bit … weird?”
“Weird? Yes, I suppose so. But you kids are all a bit weird if you ask me. And to tell the truth, it’d be weird if you weren’t.”

When a new boy joins the class, everyone thinks he’s a bit strange, but he’s brilliant at football and loves crisps, and that’s all that matters to Dan and Maxie. However, the truth about George is stranger than anyone could have imagined … and more sinister, too. Can his new pals help him to become truly free?

Reviews

07 Sep 2024

I thought that this book was one of the many of my favourite books. I liked all the characters. Brand new boy was fun but sad at the end when the boy dies or runs out of battery. I think it was a great book.

31 Aug 2024

I finished it and thought "what on earth just happened !"

06 Sep 2023

I would recommend this book because it is very funny and it is also a sort of mystery

19 Aug 2023

Kinda ok but still boring

17 Aug 2023

This book was very strange. I was a bit confused at some bits and it was quite sad at the end.

08 Aug 2023

My favourite characters are Billy,Maxie,Daniel and Louise. Billy is funny and enthusiastic, Louise is musical, Daniel is sporty and friendly and Maxie is very imaginative and funny as well. The book has a great story to it and I really love it! I would recommend it to everyone without a doubt. I want to read as many books as possible, books like this.

07 Jul 2023

There was a boy called George and he was a robot but the class never knew. So then a man called mr marsh came and he took George. 4 minutes later he took his arms off his head off and showed the class he was a robot actually they were shocked later on we were making a group picture saying he was an intelligent person off making robots. After that 4 people from the class thought they would take him and look after him and they did

19 Aug 2022

This was a fictional book and my favourite character was Daniel. Even though the brand new boy was not a human he was till determined to save him from being taken apart. I read this book for three straight! It was amazing and I recommend this book to every book lover out there!

17 Aug 2022

I enjoyed this book incredibly, it was humorous, sad, intriguing and beautifully written. I would recccomend this book to people who,like Daniel, believe in anything. Really interesting!!

14 Aug 2022

I didint like it becuse of the robot kind of boy it was kind of creepy.

22 Apr 2022

I liked this book because it was very interesting, sentimental and touching. I believe that the message in that book was;just because you are different doesn’t mean that you are bad.

03 Mar 2022

it was great but i don't know who to recommend it to

18 Sep 2021

George is a new boy at Daniel's school. He is pale and tidy and he speaks rather strangely, but he's brilliant at maths and football and when he goes home for tea with Daniel, the cat loves him.

But the teachers are weirdly excited about George and soon it becomes clear he isn't an ordinary boy at all, but a very intelligent, learning robot. What will Daniel and his mates do when their new friend George gets packed away in his box?

This is a brilliantly written story which lightly poses some profound questions. Why do people ever do as they are told? What makes us who we are? Who has the right to create life? Is AI a good thing? As you'd expect from Almond, the dialogue is perfectly observed and wittily done, and the relationships are real and tender. I particularly enjoyed the scenes between Dan and his mum, a beauty salon owner engaged in her own version of making people feel 'brand new'.

Accessible, pacy and thought-provoking with lively illustrations by Marta Altes, this is a great novel to read with or recommend to 9-11 year olds.

10 Sep 2021

a story about a friendly robot called George who can speak and 4 children save him from being used as spare parts and being displayed in a museum.

10 Aug 2021

I love this book. It has robots and I like technology.

The person that I liked most was the robot, George.

I would recommend to someone else.

02 Aug 2021

I thought the book was really good and interesting, my favourite character was George because he was quiet, nice, friendly and funny. I would definitely recommend this book it’s always exciting , I never get bored of it.

26 Jul 2021

I read it in a day and couldn't put it down. It opens up so much to wonder and ponder. I loved the main characters so much. I highly recommend this book because it will open up so much discussion and will make you laugh and cry. I am a big fan of David Almond and this is another book that touches your heart and leaves you feeling sad to turn the last page but also feeling a little lighter in your step.

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