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E-Boy #1
E-BOY - Blikseminslag
Ethan hoort normale tienerdingen te doen – sporten en chillen met zijn vrienden. Hij hoort niet in het ziekenhuis te liggen om een hersentumor te laten verwijderen door Gemini, een hightech androïdedokter. Maar helaas, het is zijn enige hoop op genezing. Net op het moment dat de operatie begint, slaat de bliksem in… Als Ethan wakker wordt, ontdekt hij dat er iets veranderd is. Hij was altijd al goed met computers, maar nu zijn z’n skills van een hoger niveau. Het voelt bijna alsof hij… onderdeel is van de machines. En hoe zit het met Gemini? Als Ethan half robot is geworden, is de robot dan half mens? Ethan zal al zijn nieuwe skills nodig hebben om in leven te blijven.
- GenresMiddle Grade
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2020
13 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Anh Do
184 books457 followersAnh Do is a comedian, artist and also one of the highest selling Australian authors of all time, with total book sales approaching 3 million.
Anh’s first book, The Happiest Refugee, is his enormously popular memoir recounting his perilous childhood journey in a tiny boat from war-torn Vietnam to Australia. The book became an instant hit and has won numerous awards including Australian Book of the Year.
Anh has since turned his attention to children’s book writing.
Weird Do is an illustrated series starring Weir (1st name), Do (2nd name), a kid with a very unfortunate name. Aimed at the 8+ market, these books have gone off the charts as national best-sellers, resulting in 14 books total and more on the way. The first Weir Do won the Australian Book Industry Award for Older Children (2014).
Other children's book series include Hotdog, the adventures of a sausage dog and also Ninja Kid, the escapades of a 10 year old Nerd who discovers he’s the world’s last ninja.
In 2019, Anh released Wolf Girl, a series about a little girl who gets lost in forest and befriends a group of dogs and an enormous Wolf who become her family. Then came Rise of the Mythix, which marks the first of a number of sagas described by Anh as ‘A superhero movie in a book’.
All of Anh Do’s books are mega bestsellers and all rate between 4-5 star averages on websites such as Goodreads and Amazon.
It’s clear that Anh is an exciting voice in literature, able to delight across age ranges and different genres with great success, and he isn’t planning to slow down any time soon.
Anh’s first book, The Happiest Refugee, is his enormously popular memoir recounting his perilous childhood journey in a tiny boat from war-torn Vietnam to Australia. The book became an instant hit and has won numerous awards including Australian Book of the Year.
Anh has since turned his attention to children’s book writing.
Weird Do is an illustrated series starring Weir (1st name), Do (2nd name), a kid with a very unfortunate name. Aimed at the 8+ market, these books have gone off the charts as national best-sellers, resulting in 14 books total and more on the way. The first Weir Do won the Australian Book Industry Award for Older Children (2014).
Other children's book series include Hotdog, the adventures of a sausage dog and also Ninja Kid, the escapades of a 10 year old Nerd who discovers he’s the world’s last ninja.
In 2019, Anh released Wolf Girl, a series about a little girl who gets lost in forest and befriends a group of dogs and an enormous Wolf who become her family. Then came Rise of the Mythix, which marks the first of a number of sagas described by Anh as ‘A superhero movie in a book’.
All of Anh Do’s books are mega bestsellers and all rate between 4-5 star averages on websites such as Goodreads and Amazon.
It’s clear that Anh is an exciting voice in literature, able to delight across age ranges and different genres with great success, and he isn’t planning to slow down any time soon.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 10, 2020
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3.5 stars
POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE 2020 #11: A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character.
Anh Do introduces a brand new techno charged super series aimed at the 10-14 year old age bracket with E-Boy. The story of an ordinary teenager who becomes a robot and a hero, E-Boy is a book for our times, hailing the beginning of an addictive new series.
In this magnetizing new adventure series, Anh Do introduces his readers to Ethan, a teenage boy who has a brain tumor. When the story opens, we learn that Ethan is about to embark on a risky operation to have his brain tumor removed. An android doctor is assigned to Ethan’s surgery, rather than a human surgeon. Everything seems to be going smoothly during Ethan’s operation until a bolt of lightning changes the surgery in an instant. When Ethan recovers from his surgery he begins to notice some incredible changes to his body and mind. He is now a computer whizz. With a set of baffling new skills to contend with, Ethan begins to suspect that something must have gone wrong in the surgery and somehow he has morphed into a robot. But Ethan worries about Gemini, how has he been changed by the strange bolt of lightning during the surgery?
Anh Do is a popular author in my household, my boys and I have made our way through his Hot Dog, Weird Do and at present the Ninja Kid series. I was drawn to his new novel for older readers, as my son has just hit this age bracket. It is difficult to find books that gain and sustain my son’s interest in reading, as he doesn’t find reading easy, so it is important that I select books for him wisely. Now I have read E-Boy for myself, I am confident in decision to pass this one on to my reluctant reader to enjoy.
E-Boy is the first in a new series for Anh Do, who has a few other children’s books on the go. It was good to see a sneak peak of the next book into the exciting series at the end of this tale. E-Boy is a text that taps into ideas of modern technology advances, with a particular focus on androids. I found this aspect of the book quite eye opening and believable in a way. We could very easily see an android like Gemini, the featured robot in this book, make an appearance in society. The descriptions in the book of Gemini the android was realistic.
‘The medical android stepped into Ethan’s view.
He looks so perfect, thought Ethan.
With short blond hair, angular features and a lithe frame, Gemini was almost indistinguishable from a man in his mid-twenties. What gave him away were his chrome eyes, and the power cable reaching back into the control panel.’
Anh Do examines the positives and negatives of having such a robot entity inserted into society. Through an adventure that spills over nineteen chapters, we see the good, the bad and ugly moments in terms of life as an android.
‘This was how the military was using her invention? He was meant to be a healer, not some sort of … assassin.’
We are also taken directly into the eventful journey of Ethan, the boy who is forever changed by the lightning bolt during his vital brain surgery.
Supporting Anh Do’s text are the illustrations of Chris Wahl. Bursting with energy and exuding a comic book feel, the action definitely springs forth thanks to the picture work of this talented illustrator. The movie style images presented by Chris Wahl makes E-Boy a strong candidate for a screen adaptation.
E-Boy is an inventive undertaking, that features an interesting plot and a likeable lead. Anh Do has set his first novel of this series up well for future installments.
3.5 stars
POPSUGAR READING CHALLENGE 2020 #11: A book with a robot, cyborg, or AI character.
Anh Do introduces a brand new techno charged super series aimed at the 10-14 year old age bracket with E-Boy. The story of an ordinary teenager who becomes a robot and a hero, E-Boy is a book for our times, hailing the beginning of an addictive new series.
In this magnetizing new adventure series, Anh Do introduces his readers to Ethan, a teenage boy who has a brain tumor. When the story opens, we learn that Ethan is about to embark on a risky operation to have his brain tumor removed. An android doctor is assigned to Ethan’s surgery, rather than a human surgeon. Everything seems to be going smoothly during Ethan’s operation until a bolt of lightning changes the surgery in an instant. When Ethan recovers from his surgery he begins to notice some incredible changes to his body and mind. He is now a computer whizz. With a set of baffling new skills to contend with, Ethan begins to suspect that something must have gone wrong in the surgery and somehow he has morphed into a robot. But Ethan worries about Gemini, how has he been changed by the strange bolt of lightning during the surgery?
Anh Do is a popular author in my household, my boys and I have made our way through his Hot Dog, Weird Do and at present the Ninja Kid series. I was drawn to his new novel for older readers, as my son has just hit this age bracket. It is difficult to find books that gain and sustain my son’s interest in reading, as he doesn’t find reading easy, so it is important that I select books for him wisely. Now I have read E-Boy for myself, I am confident in decision to pass this one on to my reluctant reader to enjoy.
E-Boy is the first in a new series for Anh Do, who has a few other children’s books on the go. It was good to see a sneak peak of the next book into the exciting series at the end of this tale. E-Boy is a text that taps into ideas of modern technology advances, with a particular focus on androids. I found this aspect of the book quite eye opening and believable in a way. We could very easily see an android like Gemini, the featured robot in this book, make an appearance in society. The descriptions in the book of Gemini the android was realistic.
‘The medical android stepped into Ethan’s view.
He looks so perfect, thought Ethan.
With short blond hair, angular features and a lithe frame, Gemini was almost indistinguishable from a man in his mid-twenties. What gave him away were his chrome eyes, and the power cable reaching back into the control panel.’
Anh Do examines the positives and negatives of having such a robot entity inserted into society. Through an adventure that spills over nineteen chapters, we see the good, the bad and ugly moments in terms of life as an android.
‘This was how the military was using her invention? He was meant to be a healer, not some sort of … assassin.’
We are also taken directly into the eventful journey of Ethan, the boy who is forever changed by the lightning bolt during his vital brain surgery.
Supporting Anh Do’s text are the illustrations of Chris Wahl. Bursting with energy and exuding a comic book feel, the action definitely springs forth thanks to the picture work of this talented illustrator. The movie style images presented by Chris Wahl makes E-Boy a strong candidate for a screen adaptation.
E-Boy is an inventive undertaking, that features an interesting plot and a likeable lead. Anh Do has set his first novel of this series up well for future installments.
March 13, 2021
This was very different than I thought it was gonna be.
This may contain spoilers but I don't really know what people consider spoilers or not :)
The cover says Part human. Part robot. All hero. I really don't think so. I thought for most of it that the MC was actually gonna end up being a bad guy. His attitude is rude to put it lightly and the way he thought sometimes did not make me think hero. Also he's not even a robot. I mean there is a robot in the story but the MC is not a robot like it implies. It reminds me of how a particular metahuman gets and uses their powers in the DC TV universe.
In my opinion the MC is not the hero. But he also isn't unnecessarily the villain but only because there are people MORE villainous than he is.
Overall I did end up liking it but there was a bit too much that bothered me to keep this on my shelf so I will be giving it away to someone who will like it more than me and I will continue reading the series via the library.
If you like e-boy you might like Xink3r by Chu Kwon. It's an awesome action packed hacker superpowers webtoon. Available to read on the webtoons website or app for free :)
This may contain spoilers but I don't really know what people consider spoilers or not :)
The cover says Part human. Part robot. All hero. I really don't think so. I thought for most of it that the MC was actually gonna end up being a bad guy. His attitude is rude to put it lightly and the way he thought sometimes did not make me think hero. Also he's not even a robot. I mean there is a robot in the story but the MC is not a robot like it implies. It reminds me of how a particular metahuman gets and uses their powers in the DC TV universe.
In my opinion the MC is not the hero. But he also isn't unnecessarily the villain but only because there are people MORE villainous than he is.
Overall I did end up liking it but there was a bit too much that bothered me to keep this on my shelf so I will be giving it away to someone who will like it more than me and I will continue reading the series via the library.
If you like e-boy you might like Xink3r by Chu Kwon. It's an awesome action packed hacker superpowers webtoon. Available to read on the webtoons website or app for free :)
May 24, 2022
My grandson, Asher, left this on my bedside table - always a sure sign I’m going to love a book.
April 7, 2020
Such an exciting read! Not something I'd normally pick up but the opening text of 'I hate myself' peaked my interest. Full of philosophy and moral dilemmas, this first instalment has got me hooked. Can't wait for the next volume 😁
December 8, 2020
Eboy is a fun book for boys ages 8-12, and centres around a young boy who is zapped by lightening during an operation to remove a brain tumour resulting in him gaining 'electronic telepathy' and being able to control and hack into almost anything. AS he experiments with his powers he learns actions have consequences and has to fix the mess he has made with the help of the doctor who created the robot who made him, a fun read for boys who like technology, computers and nerdy.
May 20, 2022
I had to google what age group this is for and found the target audience to be 10-14. Apparently that’s a hard age group to cater to, as many kids loose interest in reading. The language and concepts in these books are complex enough for me , aged 32.
Illustrations are brilliant!
Illustrations are brilliant!
Read
March 27, 2025Ethan is a normal boy, but with a brain tumour. Using a cutting-edge government-run AI robot named Gemini to extract it in surgery, a lightning bolt hits the building. When Ethan wakes up, he finds that he is amazing with technology and becomes what he expects half human, half robot.
So Ethan is what he calls a “normal boy” but is diagnosed with a brain tumour, his parents have spent heaps of money on surgery and have nearly become broke because of it, using his tech skills after the bolt he can easily weave through Government security and steal for his family for a good reason.
Well I believe that it is a great book by Aussie author Anh Do. I loved how Anh kept mentioning Gemini as in if Ethan and him had given half of themselves to each other during the surgery. I also enjoyed how Ethans parents told the Bank about the money they received from Ethan hacking (he never told them it was him).
I would probably recommend the book to some 10-12 year old audiences and I hope they’d enjoy it as much as I did.
4.5/5 stars
So Ethan is what he calls a “normal boy” but is diagnosed with a brain tumour, his parents have spent heaps of money on surgery and have nearly become broke because of it, using his tech skills after the bolt he can easily weave through Government security and steal for his family for a good reason.
Well I believe that it is a great book by Aussie author Anh Do. I loved how Anh kept mentioning Gemini as in if Ethan and him had given half of themselves to each other during the surgery. I also enjoyed how Ethans parents told the Bank about the money they received from Ethan hacking (he never told them it was him).
I would probably recommend the book to some 10-12 year old audiences and I hope they’d enjoy it as much as I did.
4.5/5 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2022
I like Anh Do and I wanted to like this book more than I did. The super-hero action thing mostly works and the design of the book (including Chris Wahl's illustrations) support the story. What was disappointing was how macho and simplistic it was an in particular Ethan's disrespectful attitude toward Dr Penny and a lack of showing her perspective, how uncomfortable it would make a 26 year old professional woman (a doctor and a scientist) to have a lovelorn teenager to deal with.
I'm not denying that boys often have crushes like that but i don't think it should be celebrated or treated as neutral. The side-kick comment at the end was really not needed either. Gemini reminded me of Hymie in Max Smart which I guess is a trope likely to work in this context.
I did like the political stuff, I felt like there were some not-so-subtle parallels mischieviously incorporated there and I thoroughly enjoyed that.
I'm not denying that boys often have crushes like that but i don't think it should be celebrated or treated as neutral. The side-kick comment at the end was really not needed either. Gemini reminded me of Hymie in Max Smart which I guess is a trope likely to work in this context.
I did like the political stuff, I felt like there were some not-so-subtle parallels mischieviously incorporated there and I thoroughly enjoyed that.
June 8, 2021
I thought this was fun. There was a bit of language that seemed "technical" and maybe not fully understood by really young kids, but lots of fun pictures so it seemed a little confusing as to exactly what age group it might be targeted at, but it seemed to be for younger kids as the story's pretty simple.
I think the idea of having a robot and an E-boy in the story is good, however I'd be interested in E-boy being a bit more heroic - maybe next book?
There are a few moral dilemmas here - I think the story and the introduction of robots and tech has a lot of potential for positing more such dilemmas. I don't know if it's wrong but ... I liked Gemini more than E-boy often. I thought his confusion about himself was more interesting.
I think the idea of having a robot and an E-boy in the story is good, however I'd be interested in E-boy being a bit more heroic - maybe next book?
There are a few moral dilemmas here - I think the story and the introduction of robots and tech has a lot of potential for positing more such dilemmas. I don't know if it's wrong but ... I liked Gemini more than E-boy often. I thought his confusion about himself was more interesting.
March 4, 2021
This is an intriguing new series where 14-year-old Ethan Forrester is saved by Gemini, the new robotic technology used to operate on hopeless medical cases. A glitch during the procedure means that Ethan has new super electronic telepathic powers. In the meantime, Gemini is corrupted by existing political forces and Ethan and his doctor Penny Cook need to save Gemini, Ethan‘s patents and themselves from destruction.
The writing is rich and descriptive and the illustrations by Chris Wahl are excellent
This might be a great new series for kids who have loved and moved on from Zac Power, or who enjoyed the Jordan Stryker books.
The writing is rich and descriptive and the illustrations by Chris Wahl are excellent
This might be a great new series for kids who have loved and moved on from Zac Power, or who enjoyed the Jordan Stryker books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2021
Firstly, I am not the intended audience for this book, and I struggled to connect with the story and its characters (also I was nervous about where the 16-year-old boy's crush on his 26-year old doctor was going...). Regardless, I can see how it will appeal to middle grade readers - just not the ones as young as Anh Do's other series! It's filled with adventure, excitement and lots of robot fun, while also having a couple of important messages.
January 1, 2020
Another new series from author Anh Do.
This will appeal to the boys who have grown up with and loved Weir-do. It will help them move on to the older chapter books and keep them coming back for more. I found it was okay but I think the kids who are attached to their screens and being constantly connected will love this new series.
This will appeal to the boys who have grown up with and loved Weir-do. It will help them move on to the older chapter books and keep them coming back for more. I found it was okay but I think the kids who are attached to their screens and being constantly connected will love this new series.
March 6, 2025
Too much gore for young teens, too primitive for young adults themselves exercising sex and their voices in politics also an author's playful mind is appreciated.
Conclusion: hackering money from supporters of a cheating government is OK for revolutionary deeds while a scenery is saturated with puberescent romantic libido to a more experienced older woman.
Conclusion: hackering money from supporters of a cheating government is OK for revolutionary deeds while a scenery is saturated with puberescent romantic libido to a more experienced older woman.
September 14, 2023
Why do I wanna know what happens to him, his parents, the doctor and Gemini. Do they actually kill the government guy? Hmmm. No way am I actually gonna bother reading them tho. His crush on her is so weird too like he literally looks 15 but ik he's in college. I do remember she's much older tho.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2020
Another great read by Anh Do...
September 16, 2020
3.5 a better rating. Good story for your older readers. Plenty of action/violence. Must admit, I am not a big fan of stories that are...To Be Continued.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2020
Good. Fast paced. My oldest boy will like it.
March 10, 2021
I love this book I think it should be everyones favourite read
As soon as I saw the title I knew this was the book for me
Hell yeah, super epic!
As soon as I saw the title I knew this was the book for me
Hell yeah, super epic!
September 25, 2023
I really loved reading this book because I love Anh Do books
July 9, 2021
A lightning strike will change this boy’s life. But will it be for the better? Will he be able to control his new powers?
A new series by Anh Do, the writer who also writes the Ninja Kid-series. I was a bit worried, would I like this book? Would I hate it? The art was fancy, but so so so not my style. After seeing it around 3 times (1 time book store, 2 times library) I decided to just go for it. Try it. See if it would work. And I am happy I took the plunge because it was well-written and I flew through the pages.
In this story we have a boy who has to have a big operation, things seem to go fine.. until lightning strikes (what is this Frankenstein?) and it changes Ethan. From a boy always ill but with a big will to live he goes to superhacker. We also have the robot who was operating on Ethan, well… the humans want to use him for something else and that just broke my heart. I mean, he is a robot, but we can see he is also (what a surprise, not) developing something of a conscious or is trying to. I have to say that Ethan’s parts were more interesting to read for me (the hacking parts are done so well), I am just not a big robot fan, especially not when it is used as a terminator. Ethan though… for most he was a good kid, but at times I found him a big fat spoiled and unthankful brat. Most of this was due to the lightning strike that altered his brain, and thankfully he often saw that he was wrong/overdid it, and so he says sorry. I love an MC who can see his faults.
The story is quite exciting and only gets more and more exciting with each hack that Ethan does. He goes deeper, further, and does way more than in the beginning. I keep on wondering when things will go wrong, if they go wrong. The ending was also good, well up to the last page XD. The fight and what Ethan did in the end were fab, I was definitely very into the book at this moment. I am not sure how I feel about the open ending. I get that this is a series and so you know you want to leave things open, but for me it felt like the book abruptly ended.
The art, while good, wasn’t really my style. It was just too action and too tight lines. Give me cute, give me pretty, give me fancy, give me cartoony. That is also a big reason why I didn’t take the book in the first place. The art really put me off.
I am not sure if I will read the next book in the series. For now I am unsure. The book was fun, but I am just not into action books that much. I wish I could teleport back into time, because me in her Hardy Boys phase would have devoured these books. Wouldn’t even have minded the art!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
A new series by Anh Do, the writer who also writes the Ninja Kid-series. I was a bit worried, would I like this book? Would I hate it? The art was fancy, but so so so not my style. After seeing it around 3 times (1 time book store, 2 times library) I decided to just go for it. Try it. See if it would work. And I am happy I took the plunge because it was well-written and I flew through the pages.
In this story we have a boy who has to have a big operation, things seem to go fine.. until lightning strikes (what is this Frankenstein?) and it changes Ethan. From a boy always ill but with a big will to live he goes to superhacker. We also have the robot who was operating on Ethan, well… the humans want to use him for something else and that just broke my heart. I mean, he is a robot, but we can see he is also (what a surprise, not) developing something of a conscious or is trying to. I have to say that Ethan’s parts were more interesting to read for me (the hacking parts are done so well), I am just not a big robot fan, especially not when it is used as a terminator. Ethan though… for most he was a good kid, but at times I found him a big fat spoiled and unthankful brat. Most of this was due to the lightning strike that altered his brain, and thankfully he often saw that he was wrong/overdid it, and so he says sorry. I love an MC who can see his faults.
The story is quite exciting and only gets more and more exciting with each hack that Ethan does. He goes deeper, further, and does way more than in the beginning. I keep on wondering when things will go wrong, if they go wrong. The ending was also good, well up to the last page XD. The fight and what Ethan did in the end were fab, I was definitely very into the book at this moment. I am not sure how I feel about the open ending. I get that this is a series and so you know you want to leave things open, but for me it felt like the book abruptly ended.
The art, while good, wasn’t really my style. It was just too action and too tight lines. Give me cute, give me pretty, give me fancy, give me cartoony. That is also a big reason why I didn’t take the book in the first place. The art really put me off.
I am not sure if I will read the next book in the series. For now I am unsure. The book was fun, but I am just not into action books that much. I wish I could teleport back into time, because me in her Hardy Boys phase would have devoured these books. Wouldn’t even have minded the art!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
July 13, 2020
I know this is meant to be a children's book, but even kids deserve good writing and this, ultimately, was not that. The overall premise was interesting though.
February 1, 2022
My 9 year old son got this as a gift. He is not a very confident reader, so I read it first just to make sure that he could manage, and I ended up really liking the story. Fun characters, fun action, and written in such a way so that it is accessible to children. I always like things that are targeted to children but are also enjoyable to adults. This is one of these. The illustrations are a nice touch too. Highly recommended. I am looking forward to the next installment.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews