The electric kid ISBN: 9780553406566
Published by Bantam, 1994
Set in a decaying and technology-mad Britain in 2061, this realistic novel about two throwaway youngsters is all too believable. Hotwire and Blindboy are a team. They live on a dump with lots of other dump kids, and they scrounge a living by finding bits of electronic equipment and selling it. Blindboy has a special talent. Blind as he is, he can hear tones from electronic junk - tones that no one else can hear. Hotwire can fix anything electronic, so she fixes up their finds so they can be sold. Both are geniuses in their own ways, and when the evil Mouseman learns of their talents, he puts them to his own nefarious purposes. There is a wonderfully satisfying climax when Hotwire scuppers Mouseman's super computer set up, but all sorts of exciting adventures happen before that. There is twenty-first century slang with much talk of 'yeeks' and 'swazz' and 'skidders', and graphic descriptions of life on the dump. Blindboy and Hotwire have a happy ending of sorts, and Blindboy is an admirable role model, although Hotwire is more the heroine. Grim, but great adventure.
Age: 9+
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