Being

Being
by Kevin Brooks

BEING by

Category: Science Fiction

Age Recommendation: Grades 9+

Release Date: 2/1/07

Publisher: The Chicken House

Reviewed by:

Rating: 4 Stars

Robert Smith was waiting for the nurse to call him into the doctor's office to prepare him for his scheduled

endoscopy, not

realizing it would be the last normal day in his life. Once called into the office, Robert was put under

anesthetic and doctors

went about putting a tube down his throat in order to find out what was causing his stomach

discomfort. Unexpectedly,

Robert woke up before he was supposed to and realized he was in a different room with

many people he didn't recognize.

He heard phrases like, "What is that?" and "Are those wires?" Robert felt every cut

made into his body for the exploratory

surgery these strange people in black suits were performing on him.

After Robert forced himself off the table, he managed to get a weapon out of the hand of one of the black suits. At

gun

point, Robert demanded the anesthetist knock out his attackers and then kidnapped him in order to use his car to

get away.

Next, he set about making himself invisible. He knew he couldn't go to his house where his foster parents

lived or any place

he'd normally visit. The first night he checked into a hotel for some rest to give himself some time to

decide what to do the

next day. He was overwhelmed with thoughts about what was inside him. He looked over the

evidence he took from the

doctor's office, which included a videotape of the endoscopy. On the tape he saw things

that should have been impossible.

After a sleepless night, Robert put the first step of his plan in motion. To become a different person, change identities,

disappear from the face of the Earth. He went to see a girl named Eddi who was in the business of fake IDs, birth

certificates, and other needed credentials to get by in life. What he found when he got to her place was suspicion and

uncertainty. Life quickly spiraled out of control for both of them shortly after their paths crossed. Escape to Trejeda

on the

Canary Islands seemed like the best plan. For a time, life fell into the routine of sleeping late, eating fantastic

food, and work.

Eddi and Robert knew they couldn't hide forever, but they were never prepared for how everything

would end.

BEING is an interesting story of an orphan trying to learn his identity. It is filled with intrigue and suspense; however;

there

are a few loose ends that might leave the reader unsatisfied.