Book Review: Lost Boy by Rawiri James

 Book Review

 

Basic Details:

Book Title: Lost Boy

Subtitle:

Author: Rawiri James

Genre: Teen and Young Adult, Mystery

Part of a series? No

Order in series:

Best read after earlier books in series?

Available: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49198046-lost-boy

Overall score:

I scored this book 5/5

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Short Summary of the book:

Mike is like any other 16-year-old boy. He goes to school, has a girlfriend and tries to keep up with his studies. His father has a shoeshop and his mum is a stay-at-home mum.

But then, disaster strikes. First, he finds his mother dead in the chair. Can you ever get over something like that?

Then a girl from his class disappears. What has happened and why? And when Mike becomes a suspect in her abduction, life really becomes difficult.

What I liked about the book:

The book is action-packed, and full of suspense with an unexpected twist.

What I didn’t like about the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My favourite bits in the book:

I enjoyed the entire book.

My least favourite bits in the book:

The book was enjoyable in its entirety.

Any further books in the series? Any more planned by this author?

This is the first book I’ve read by this author.

What books could this be compared to and why?

This is a mystery full of suspense.

Recommendation:

In summary, I would recommend this book for the following readers:

 

Children	No
Young Adult	Yes
Adult	Yes

 

If you like suspense, this book may be the book for you.

I look forward to reading more by this author.

Book Description by Author:

Overdue assignments.

Overbearing parents.

Overactive hormones.

 

Being sixteen sure does suck sometimes.

 

Yet Mike DeVelli Jr. knows he is destined for greatness. His mother always told him so - at least, until the unfortunate day an overdose took her to an early grave. As grief befalls the DeVelli house, Mike's father retreats to the liquor bottle, while Mike throws himself obsessively into exercise. All this, while avoiding the pitying gazes of the students at school whom he always struggled to fit in with.

 

It's not all bad, though. He has his best friend Joey, a loyal and quick-witted kid who's raging libido brings its own troubles; and he has Nicole, his girlfriend of nearly two years. Sweet, strong Nicole. She knows Mike even better than he knows himself. Lately, he's been acting different. Distant, weird, with an arrogance even his newly-formed six-pack doesn't warrant. Nicole has noticed. And she's not the only one.

 

Mike catches the eye of popular It Girl, Priya, at school. Flirtation spills over and they agree to meet, but she fails to show, and Mike feels rejected yet again. Priya is soon reported missing and Mike becomes a lead suspect in her disappearance. As the town of Flatbush searches desperately for Priya, the investigation mounts, with many residents under the magnifying glass of Inspector Peter McCall and Officer Espinoza. The evidence continues to point in Mike's direction and with the help of Nicole and Joey, the three teenagers decide their only option is to uncover the identity of the real culprit.

 

Getting closer to the truth, he learns that his seemingly ordinary family tree has supernatural roots, and as he comes face to face with a hungry, eveil enemy, he discovers a power inside himself that will create a wave of change in the world.

 

Touching on themes of addiction, loss and racial identity, Lost Boy is an engaging coming-of-age story, an entertaining superhero origin tale, and a suspenseful mystery thriller, all in one.

About the Author:

Addict. Advocate. Author. Artist. These are just some of the words used to describe Rawiri James.

 

Born and raised in New Zealand on superhero comics and hip-hop and R&B music, the multi-talented entertainer left a jet-setting career in management consultancy to become a full-time story-teller.

 

The release of his debut solo album, Lost Boy, drew comparisons to Frank Ocean for its throwback beats and progressive lyrical confessions. Singles like the moody mid-tempo 'Bottle Down' and cautionary party record 'Trip the Alarm' have helped streaming numbers top 150,000 across multiple formats.

 

During recording sessions of the record, James was inspired to take the themes of addiction and identity and explore them through different perspectives. The result is his debut novel, also called Lost Boy. With the chapters named after their album song counterparts, the book tells the story of 16-year-old Brooklynite Mike DeVelli Jr. and the gradual realisation that within him is a superpower that will change his life forever.

 

Lost Boy is the first in the planned Outsiders series, bringing spotlights and microphones to those who feel on the outside - people of colour, the LGBTQ community, the differently-abled and mentally afflicted.