Slick by M.M. Vaughan
Paperback published 25th April 2019 by Alma Books
Eric Young is the first child android to be trialled in society, but he doesn’t know that. He does know that he’s just moved to Ashland from London. so it’s important to make new friend. Not just any friends, but the right kind the kind that would be interested in skateboarding and the new Slick trainers his Uncle Martin sends him. He’s already growing his social media presence, but he knows it’s important to make friends in the real world too.
Danny Lazio doesn’t have any friends, but he doesn’t care about that. He would rather not be friends with someone like Eric, who’s had seemingly everything handed to him. But when Eric takes an interest in Land X, Danny’s favourite game, Danny thinks he might have found a real friend if he can figure out if he can figure out the mystery behind Eric’s sudden disappearances and strange lifestyle. As their friendship grows it becomes harder to ignore the weird events that happen around Eric, from weekly dentist appointments to inexplicable medical mishaps. But uncovering the truth behind is an act that might cost them both as powerful forces soon move in around them.
My review
I watched all of the Stranger Things TV series and in a strange way this brilliant science fiction/ friendship novel reminded me of just that.
Stranger Things meet robots in this amazing story about a friendship between two boys, but one is a human young boy and the other is an android.
Danny Lazio is human young boy and Slick/ Eric is an android.
Danny first met Slick on the 20th October at the fund raising for his dead sister. The strangest thing is Slick didn’t have a dead sister, but he didn’t know that and neither did Danny. They both share conversations just like two normal young boys would. One particular conversation was about trainers and clothes. Slick the Android wanted to know where Danny got his trainers from, but Danny didn’t know why Slick was asking. Slick gets all his clothes sent to him by Uncle Martin.
The story wraps up to a bit of a sad ending, but is really the end?
I’ve enjoyed this book so much from page one until the very last page, in truth I would be very happy to read another science fiction book by Monica Meira Vaughan. I did read her first book Six. But hands on my heart Slick is my all time favourite science fiction/ friendship book. Even If you are not a science fiction fan I so much recommend Slick, it may make you laugh one minute and cry near the end.
The First Page of Slick
Dear person reading this
My name is Danny, and I need your help. First off, I should tell you that this isn’t my story it’s Eric’s. Well, the name he was given was Eric, but I called him Slick, and he was my best friend. I say was because he died six months ago.
Before you start reading Slick’s story, I want to tell you about him. I need you to like him and you probably won’t after reading the first few pages, unless all you care about is the kind of shoes you wear and how many friends you have on Kudos. I didn’t think much of him when I first got to know him. See, when I met Slick, he was obsessed with brands and being popular. Me I didn’t care about the brands of anything I wore or owned not that I had ever had much choice about that.
But none of those things when your friends. And that’s what we became friends. Best friends.
And then he was gone. And when I say gone, I mean he was killed. And the next day, it was like nothing had ever happened.
But it did happen, and there’s no way I’m letting them get away with it. They think there’s nothing I can do, because I’m a dumb twelve year old kid. I guess they forgot that even a dumb twelve year old can use a computer.
About the author Monica Meira Vaughan
Twitter noseleepneeded
The daughter of South American parents, Monica Meira Vaughan grew up in Spain before moving to London at the age of five where she learnt English by watching Sesame Street and reading every Roald Dahl book she could get her hands on. She has over ten years experience as a teacher, working mostly with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Monica loves writing after midnigh, building cardboard cities and collecting notebooks. She lives in London with her daughter and their cat Toto From Kansas
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