Echo Boy by Matt Haig

Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Thriller and Sci-Fi
Publisher: Corgi Childrens

Publication Date: 26^th of March 2015
Rating: 3/5

Echo Boy is a futuristic Sci-Fi thriller written from the alternate perspectives of the main characters Audrey and Daniel. They meet unexpectedly after Audrey's parents get killed by an Echo - a household robot programmed to obey humans. Daniel is not your average guy because he himself is an Echo, but he is also much more than that. Audrey is on a whirlwind journey trying to find answers to her parents' death while starting to live with her estranged uncle who happens to know when to help. He is however a leading manufacturer of Echoes and has his own agenda.

Goodreads Blurb → https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23346777-echo-boy

Thoughts:

The ultramodern premise of the story pulled me in as there's so much new technology around and people live beyond the age of 100. Matt Haig's world building is fascinating. I have to say that his philosophical writing style was also very captivating and some of the quotes I have below are thought provoking and just beautifully written. I enjoyed reading the passages that explored what makes us human because at times the lines were blurred. There are humans whose acts are immoral and wicked and robots that are understanding and caring.

I must say that about 200 pages into the book, I was a bit bored and had to put it down for a while before reading the rest, but I had to know how things turned out for the characters and it was worth the read.

-L.H-

Some of my fave quotes:

“When differences are made, it is always down to one person.”

 “Being alive meant possibility and uncertainty. Life was irrational, and irrationality could never be mapped.”

“I began to realize that humans have a very distorted view of themselves, as nothing she said about her appearance matched the reality.”

“Maybe you could only live life by heading towards the things that frightened you.”

“If you judged things on first appearances you'd be blind forever.”

“But sometimes what we think is the end is really just a beginning in disguise.”

“We were made from stardust, like everything in the universe, and we - each of us - carried a power inside us. A power that couldn't be destroyed anymore than the universe could be destroyed. ”

“It is better to be a sad poem than a blank page.”

“Before thought, before knowledge, there is instinct. It is the root of everything.”

“Was he bad or was he good- or was he like most of humanity, hovering somewhere in between?”

“The present wasn't just a tense, I realized, but a decision. Something you had to decide to accept.”