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Ferralla

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En una Anglaterra alternativa, situada dècades després de la Gran Guerra, els robots animats per enginyers formen part de la societat i realitzen tasques que els són assignades pels humans. Christopher treballa per al Sr. Absalom, un enginyer de nens mecànics la finalitat dels quals és omplir el buit deixat per la pèrdua prematura de fills a les famílies humanes. Ell és feliç sent l'únic noi real a la seva colla d'amics fets de ferralla..., fins que un accident li revela una veritat terrible que el portarà a viure una aventura extraordinària amb els seus amics per descobrir qui i què són, i, fins i tot, què significa ser humà

352 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2018

52 people are currently reading
1029 people want to read

About the author

Pádraig Kenny

8 books141 followers
Pádraig Kenny is an Irish writer who hails from Newbridge in County Kildare.

His debut novel Tin was published in 2018 and was Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month. It has been nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and several other awards.

His second novel Pog was published in April 2019 and was Independent Bookseller's Book of the Month.

His third novel The Monsters of Rookhaven was published in September 2020 by Pan Macmillan. It won the Honour Award for Fiction in the 2021 KPMG Children's Books Ireland awards and was Waterstones Children's Book of the Month in October 2021, and has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal. It has also been optioned by Dream Logic Studios with the intention of adapting it into an animated movie. The sequel, The Shadows of Rookhaven, was published in 2021. The Shadows of Rookhaven won the KPMG Children's Books Ireland Honour Award for Fiction in 2022.

His fifth novel "Stitch" was published by Walker Books in 2024. It was Times Children's Book of the Month in January 2024. This was followed by "After" in 2025.

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5 stars
278 (24%)
4 stars
443 (38%)
3 stars
326 (28%)
2 stars
78 (6%)
1 star
28 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 196 reviews
Profile Image for Stephanie.
77 reviews3 followers
February 9, 2018
It's a children's book and I read it as such.
I mostly read adult fantasy/Sci-fi, O was not looking at it from that perspective.

This was a wonderful story.
I fell in love with the characters and world they belong to.

I am so glad the shop assistant recommended this little treasure to me. I know it's one I will read again and again.

It made me cry at the end (in a good way) , and that's all you need to know.
Profile Image for Amy.
195 reviews86 followers
June 16, 2018
3.5.
It was a lovely read and I loved how the robots all seemed so human. It’s a really nice and easy read! The ending was so so lovely too! It finished it off nicely!
Profile Image for Elaine.
682 reviews57 followers
February 11, 2018
What a fun book.

This book centers on a group of mechanicals who set out to rescue one of there own who isn't all he seems. It's about the lengths friends will go to to help no matter the differences.

This book throws you straight in to the story and in the opening chapters we meet Christopher, Jack, round Rob, Manda and Gripper. When Christopher is taken after its discovered he's not a proper boy, his friends set out to find his creator and get him back.
What follows is a series of little adventures and some truths been revealed about who Christopher is.

I really enjoyed this book, it had such innocence to it. A group of friends helping each other no matter their differences. The characters were well written and all played their parts perfectly.
I liked that the story got going straight away, with no lengthy descriptions. The world building was enough to allow me to see the world created.
All in all I really enjoyed reading this book
Profile Image for Sinéad O'Hart.
Author 13 books71 followers
February 2, 2018
One of the finest children's books I've read in a very long time, Tin was a marvellous, moving exploration of what makes us human (can we really be sure?), the nature of war, the morality of genius, and the profound power of love and friendship. Beautifully written and evocatively described, with a cast of distinct characters both human and mechanical, this is a book to treasure.
Profile Image for El Biblionauta.
605 reviews140 followers
July 11, 2019
Ferralla de Pádraig Kenny és un llibre ideal per a joves lectors d’esperit aventurer que vulguin veure món en companyia d’un grup entranyable de robots. Tot i que el mot, derivat de robota i encunyat per Karel Čapek, potser no sigui el més adient en aquest cas: a la novel·la es parla de ginys, no pas de robots, en referència als enginyers, que són qui els fabriquen i els confereixen vida a través dels glifs, una mena de símbols màgics. Bé, tampoc la paraula vida seria cent per cent encertada. Tot plegat sembla confús però n’hi ha prou amb endinsar-nos en la lectura per entendre perfectament allò que l’autor ens vol explicar. Ens transportem a una Gran Bretanya ucrònica, un territori on l’ús d’aquests ginys és relativament habitual. En aquesta societat steampunk nascuda de la ment de Runcible, el primer gran enginyer, tan sols hi ha unes poques restriccions pel que fa a construir ginys humanoides: no es poden fabricar models adults i no és permesa la utilització de la Propulsió Refinada, un mecanisme molt sofisticat que consisteix a dotar-los d’ànima. Tret d’això gairebé tot està permès. Aquest fet concedeix a Pádraig Kenny un ventall enorme de possibilitats a l’hora de construir un món visualment enlluernador. L’autor, però, no ho acaba d’aprofitar, ja que es capfica en aprofundir en els sentiments d’uns personatges massa encotillats en lloc de descriure’ns uns escenaris que ben bé podrien haver sorgit de la imaginació d’autors com China Miéville o Tim Powers.


Podeu llegir completa la ressenya d'Antoni Herrero a: https://elbiblionauta.com/ca/2019/07/...
Profile Image for Galleane.
1,507 reviews156 followers
May 13, 2019
Si ce roman comporte quelques défauts, un développement tantôt juste ou encore une action parfois succincte, allant un peu trop à l'essentiel, et qui demeure quelque peu facile à certains moments, je pense qu'il séduira de nombreux lecteurs. La dynamique de groupe qui existe, mettant au jour de jeunes personnages divers et variés et qui sont agréables à suivre, est plus qu'appréciable et si l'histoire m'a, peut-être moins plu au milieu, elle réserve son lot de moments attrayants. Je n'ai pas parlé de l'univers, mais ce monde peuplé de robots m'a particulièrement plu et même si je m'attendais à ce que certains thèmes soient mieux et plus abordés, la question de l'humanité notamment, je ne peux pas dire que ce que l'auteur aura construit n'ait pas été quand même efficace.

Mon avis complet : https://bloggalleane.blogspot.com/201...
Profile Image for Nadine.
2,563 reviews57 followers
June 3, 2018
3.5 stars. One of this year's Red Dot books. Good amount of action inbetween the quest scenes. I feel that the "characters" were never really fully developed, but rather pastiches of 'types'. I would have liked to have Estelle have more of a role instead of just the smoldering resentful female. The whole book I felt that it had been written with transferring to a screen play in mind and that was somewhat disconcerting.
A few interesting 'big themes' about what it is to be human, what it is to have a soul etc. Will appeal to a broad range of students, including those who like "war" or the idea of potential war.
Profile Image for Clarabel.
3,833 reviews59 followers
March 14, 2020
Beaucoup aimé cette histoire plantée dans un univers original et fascinant. Les personnages vont vivre une folle épopée qui mêle l'amitié, l'entraide et la famille. Bon point pour cette petite lecture entraînante, à conseiller aux plus jeunes !
Profile Image for Noodles78.
254 reviews18 followers
February 4, 2018
Started on a whim as it's our children's book of the month and I thought I could get some clues as to what it's like. Cut to give hours later and I'm sobbing, curled up on my chair is desperate need of a wee and something to eat and drink.

Such a great friendship, journey book. Loved all the characters, especially Manda, Round Robbie and Gripper.
Profile Image for Matt Davies.
34 reviews10 followers
March 6, 2018
Christopher is 'Proper': a real boy with soul. Since becoming an orphan, he works for an engineer who creates mechanicals. Then disaster strikes and an accident unveils a secret which changes Christopher's life forever. Before long, Christopher is in danger and needs his mechanical family to save him.

The idea of mechanicals living in a human world is not a new one. You need only think of Asimov's works of The Wizard of Oz to see this - there are many subtle references to Oz in Tin. More recently, books like Peter Bunzl's Cogheart books have introduced the concept to a newer generation. It is also a topic that has always interested me. As a result, Tin was a book that I'd very much been looking forward to.

Early on, the narrative is split between Christopher's ordeal and his friend's mission to save him. This is where some of the mechanical characters come into their own. Each has their own quirky personality, which at some point is key to the story. It's a bit like the Wizard of Oz in a way.  All in all, it's a straight forward adventure based around the theme of friendship. The mechanicals bring an added dimension and allow the reader to question what it is to be human after all.

For some reason, the book didn't live up to my expectations. I finished the book a couple of weeks ago and have been mulling over this review since. On the surface everything is there: a unique cast of characters, an intriguing adventure, interesting use of language. In the end it boils down to two things. Firstly, I  didn't believe in some of the characters. Try as I might, I never felt that emotional attachment with Christopher. Neither did I with quite a few of his  mechanical friends. Secondly, the world seemed undeveloped and left me with a niggling feeling.

The question I have asked myself for the last few days is whether these niggles are mine alone or would they stand out to children? The solution was to ask a child. Their opinion was that they liked some of the characters but that there were too many. On the other hand, unlike me they thought the whole setting was well-created. The telling comment was that Tin 'wasn't as good as Cogheart and Moonlocket', but would probably appeal to boys who like adventures.

The test of time will be how other children react as more read it. It's clear that this is a book that will work for children on different levels. Some will see it as a pure adventure; others will look deeper at the underlying themes. Without a doubt, there are children who will lap up this book, but I do feel it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

As for me, I've promised myself that I will read the book again in a few months. Perhaps I've looked at it with too critical an eye, or perhaps this wasn't the book for me.

www.mrdaviesreads.co.uk
1 review1 follower
December 19, 2018
Abdul Raheem - 6a (10 years old)

Tin is one of my most favourite books. It is about an adventure where a few robot friends go on a mission to save their "kind of real" friend. It is quite emotional as they face many difficulties along the way but they stay strong and continue. It shows how strong friendship can be, even if it is between robots. I highly recommend you purchase this book; I am sure you will not regret it.

Ala - 6c (10 years old)

I love Tin because of all the characters and their personalities. A few are extremely grumpy, stubborn people (or mechanicals) like Cormier, and some are optimistic - like Rob! Padraig use a variety of vocabulary to describe different objects and how someone feels, "A rush of anger flooded into him." Everything is so detailed and interesting, each chapter is shocking and are very important. I love the way it switches from Jack's point of view to Christopher's; it meant that you had to keep reading to find out what happened next, where the previous chapter ended.

At that start, nearly all the people reading this brilliant book thought that Mr Absalom was the main protagonist as it talks about him a lot. The beginning of the book is set at a door-step and Absalom tried to sell Jack. I think the ending is very touching.

Tin is a strange word to name the book, but that is what makes this book so unique and eye-catching. I suggest that you buy it, if you love action and well-presented books that hook you in straight away.

Rehan - 6a (10 years old)

I think that Tin the book, which was written by Padraig Kenny, is an amazing book which uses lots of authorial techniques and technical vocabulary. I thought that Padraig Kenny has done a really good job of writing this book and I would like to say well done for what you have achieved by writing it! I also like the fact that he made the title of the book only three letters, and that makes the reader want to read on. Lastly, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!

Qasim - 6a (10 years old)

First of all, to start off, I found Tin very fun to read and I recommend everyone thinking about reading this go ahead and try it out! But it is your choice if you do not. My school writing club has been studying this book for the past few weeks now and most of the children found it interesting. I think Padraig Kenny has done a great job writing Tin for his first book. Overall, I give Padraig Kenny and TIN a big 5 stars.
Profile Image for HJ.
741 reviews88 followers
March 27, 2021
4.5⭐️
Ok so I read this as part of a deal to get my mam to read my favourite book (an adult fantasy) and she said this was such a beautiful story as she recently read it to the children in her year 6 class (ages 10-11) and I have do admit I wasn’t too excited to go into it since it really isn’t my genre/target age range but BOY WAS I WRONG.

This book was such a sweet and fun read, I loved the story and the setting and the characters and it was actually a lot ‘darker’ than I expected (which was a pleasant surprise for me😂). It also has such a powerful message about what it means to be human and feeling grief and being driven by rage.

And best of all.... THE FOUND FAMILY TROPE. My absolute favourite. I may or may not have gotten emotional over this too🥺
Profile Image for Connie.
443 reviews21 followers
February 20, 2018
My homework for this month, I really enjoyed this and don't mind admitting I had a wee lump in my throat at the end.
Orphan boy Christopher saves one of his scrap-metal buddies from being hit by a car and an awful truth is revealed.
When men claiming to be from the Agency arrive and arrest Christopher, his friends come up with a plan to bring him home. As the book says, it's an adventure of discovery of who and what they are.
Profile Image for Amy.
1,417 reviews4 followers
June 27, 2020
Bravo!! Excellent story with deep themes that will speak to your precocious middle school reader. Highly recommend.
Profile Image for Kelly.
1,090 reviews8 followers
September 9, 2023
Not what I thought it would be. Gave it 50 pages, no interest so I moved on.
Profile Image for Erika.
20 reviews1 follower
December 4, 2018
@kidlitexchange #partner
Thank you to the KidLitExchange network, @padraig_kenny and @scholasticinc for a review copy of this book. All opinions and ideas expressed are my own. 📚Taste a Book Tuesday📚
Pick up a copy of this book and you may think it is a Wizard of Oz inspired story. It has many similar themes, but is definitely not a yellow brick road story.

We first meet Christopher, a “proper human”, and his ragtag group of mechanical friends as they work alongside their creator, Mr. Absalom. We learn that Absalom is not a licensed engineer, and has in fact been hiding a secret- that Christopher is a mechanical, too, of a very special sort- one that has been “ensouled” and given life by Refined Propulsion. This is outlawed and Christopher is taken away by the Agency. His friends, Jack, Round Rob, Estelle, Manda, and Gripper go searching for their friend. These robots have so much life and feeling that you will find yourself empathizing and cheering them on as they battle their way to Christopher.

The motley crew of friends learn what friendships, home, and life truly mean.

I recommend for grades 6+, as the vocabulary and themes are more advanced.
Profile Image for Julie Suzanne.
2,175 reviews84 followers
September 6, 2019
A middle grade quest story for avid readers with great vocabularies, set in a world populated with robots/animated mechanics. Themes: identity, good vs. evil, family, friendship. Lovable characters give you warm feelings, lots of action, and not accessible to struggling readers. Surprisingly, with the reading level, there's not a lot of philosophical fodder like you'd expect. It's more like The Wild Robot for a higher level reader.



Personal sidenote: "This single-minded intensity was Estelle's version of happiness." I love this sentence. I've never seen anyone else explain it this way, and it rings true for me. I truly feel happiest when I'm feverishly working on something I've deemed important, even more so than when I'm curled up on the couch with a book, in a loved one's arms, or sitting on the beach with an entire summer vacation spread out before me. I'm a worker.

Profile Image for Katy Kelly.
2,571 reviews104 followers
April 7, 2018
What it means to be human - children's story about robots.

Intriguing and exciting story in the vein of I Robot, A.I. and The Wizard of Oz. In this world, there are robotic laws to control the mechanoids created by humans, one of which is that these creations are only allowed to be child-sized.

With Absalom, a sub-par engineer, a group of mechanicals eke out a living, having bonded together as friends. The disparate group contains the usual mix of personalities, and includes a 'real boy', a 'proper' called Christopher who barely remembers the fire that orphaned him.

The plot is kickstarted after an accident with Christopher and his friends, and their loyalties are tested as nefarious forces move in...

I loved the group of mechanicals, such a loveable bunch of misfits, quirky and very close-knit. The whole idea of robotic children is a rather enthralling concept, and the action moves quickly to a rather thrilling denouement.

A few upsetting scenes (mechanicals fighting, the memories of being orphaned by fire), but suitable for readers aged around 10-14.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
757 reviews9 followers
March 18, 2018
I'm not really a fan of this book. For me it was just too young for me.

The main characters are a group of mechanicals; Christopher, Jack, round Rob, Manda and Gripper. When Christopher goes missing the rest go off on an adventure to find him. I also thought it might be more to do with the wizard of Oz due to the title and cover picture but instead it was more futuristic (mechanical people).

There few secondary characters because there are so many main characters.

The storyline is OK but it was aimed at a much younger audience so it wasn't all that exciting for me to read. The pacing is good but again it was not so exciting for me to read.

2 stars a bit to young and boring for me.
Profile Image for Artemissia G.
1,622 reviews34 followers
April 19, 2019
Comment résister à une telle couverture ? Elle est juste somptueuse ! Tout comme le résumé qui donne très envie. J’avais hâte de me plonger dans cet univers aux allures de fiction steampunk, mais pour les plus jeunes. D’ailleurs, le roman s’adresse à des enfants et peut être lu à partir de 10 ans. Toutefois, les adultes y trouveront également leur compte s’ils ont encore une âme d’enfant 😉
Si j’ai eu un peu de mal au tout début, dès que l’action démarre, tout s’enchaîne et impossible de reposer ce livre ! La plume de Pádraig Kenny est entraînante, mais également très émouvante avec des personnages qui ont su me toucher. Bravo ! Ma chronique : https://songedunenuitdete.com/2019/04...
Profile Image for Mark.
49 reviews1 follower
May 3, 2018
That's the most traumatising end I've read for a villain in a children's book for a long time. I certainly wasn't expecting a literal version of 'I have no mouth and yet I must scream' in a fun fantasy kids book about robots but here we are.

I'd be fascinated to see the broader world at play here, because the hints are tantalising and the themes briefly engaged with would certainly be a neat exploration if more thoroughly developed, but for what it is, I wouldn't fault it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kieran Fanning.
Author 11 books44 followers
February 28, 2018
A terrific Wizard of Oz type of adventure filled with human & metal characters. Like an episode of Robot Wars, but with heart. There is "no nobler thing in the world to do than to create and to take care of precious things." Beautifully written, too.
Profile Image for Bookwormandtheatremouse.
268 reviews15 followers
June 30, 2018
This book has a pretty powerful - think so tears could be shed by many a reader. This book is an interesting story about man and machine and the risk of playing God. It reflects the world we live in but at its heart it has some powerful messages about family, friends and the power of memory too. A lovely little book!
Profile Image for Sophie lit ça.
861 reviews192 followers
May 13, 2019
L’auteur s’est inspiré de Pinnochio, du Magicien d’Oz et encore d’Asimov pour créer un univers surprenant où les inventions sont régies par des lois strictes… mais pas toujours suivies. Il a aussi tissé une histoire foisonnante, avec un chemin principal qui se divise rapidement en deux intrigues parallèles.

Lien vers la critique complète : http://sophielit.ca/critique.php?id=2155
Profile Image for Angela Groves.
417 reviews8 followers
January 28, 2018
A wonderful adventure full of hope and friendship, set in an alternate Britain. I found myself pulled in to a world where The Wizard of Oz meets the kids film Robots, it was wonderful.
Profile Image for Lucy Brown.
34 reviews1 follower
February 5, 2018
Such a heartwarming story. Kenny's strong characterisation is definitely what makes this book.
Profile Image for Estelle.
245 reviews22 followers
May 1, 2019
C'était beaucoup trop bien ???? C'est un coup de cœur ????? Lisez ce livre svp ???????
Displaying 1 - 30 of 196 reviews

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