Christopher is a real boy with a real soul who was orphaned in a fire. He works for Mr Absalom who is an engineer of mechanical children. These eccentric, loyal and totally individual mechanicals become Christopher's family. But after a devastating accident, a secret is revealed and Christopher's world is changed forever. Christopher goes missing and it is up to his loyal mechanical family to try and rescue him.
The characters Padraig Kenny has created are brilliant. I grew to love and care about each character even more with every page I read. They each have such an individual personality which is written about wonderfully, and their questions about their place in the 'proper' human world are touching. I grew especially attached to Round Rob - love him!
As someone who loved the Wizard of Oz as a child (even receiving a Tin Man costume for Christmas one year 😂), I adored the narrative of this story. The themes of love and friendship are explored brilliantly with echoes to the Iron Giant too. The story moves along quickly and there are plenty of twists and turns, from mechanical action to moments of reflection.
This is Kenny's debut book and it celebrates hope and friendship wonderfully. For a children's book, it explores the meaning of being human and how we can be better people brilliantly. This would be an excellent class read to lead onto further discussions.
I can't wait to see what Padraig Kenny produces next.
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