Review: Lowboy

Lowboy
Author: John Wray
Publisher: Picador
ISBN: 9780312429331
Audience: Older Teen through Adult
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Synopsis (from publisher)

Early one morning in New York City, Will Heller, a sixteen-year-old paranoid schizophrenic, gets on an uptown B train alone. Will is on a mission to save the world from global warming—to do it, though, he'll need to cool down his own body first. And for that he'll need one willing girl.

Lowboy tells the story of Will’s odyssey through the city’s tunnels, back alleys, and streets in search of Emily Wallace, his one great hope. It also follows his mother, Violet Heller, as she tries desperately to find her son before psychosis claims him completely.

My Comments

Lowboy was an interesting read, taken from both the viewpoint of the schizophrenic teen and from the detective that is trying to find him. The point of view of the boy was at times very hard to follow and seemed quite realistic, since he has been off his meds for a while.

The characters weren't as believable as I would have liked. The detective was smitten by the mother, and the mother was not someone I'd have imagined him to be taken with. Lowboy's girlfriend wasn't believable as she seemed oblivious to the danger, even knowing what he was capable of. Not what I'd expect of a normal girl of that age.

The whole story reminded me of "Catcher in the Rye" and I didn't care for that story at all. Although, this story had a better ending, I still felt let down that there wasn't more of a point.

I rated this book older teen through adult because throughout the story was a theme of wanting sex and the abandonment of both shame and morals. There was just a raw need that needed fulfilled and an unusual reasoning behind it.

This book was provided by the Early Reviewers program through Library Thing. The winning of this book had no reflection on my review.