Blog Tour + Review + #Giveaway: FRIENDROID by M.M. Vaughan @NoSleepNeeded @JeanBookNerd

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Blog Tour + Review + #Giveaway: FRIENDROID by M.M. Vaughan @NoSleepNeeded @JeanBookNerd

Age Range: 8 - 12 years
Grade Level: 3 - 7
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (March 26, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1481490656
ISBN-13: 978-1481490658

Praise for FRIENDROID

"A timely parable for this generation of digital natives." ―Kirkus

"Vaughan presents another noteworthy sf middle-grade offering peppered with mystery." ―Booklist

"For middle-grade readers who are ready to fight the power." ―Publishers Weekly

Stranger Things meets robots in this sweet story about an unlikely friendship between two boys—one human, one android.

Eric Young is an android, but he doesn’t know. He does know that he’s just moved to Ashland, so it’s important to make the right kind of friends—the kind that would be interested in skateboarding and the new Slick sneakers his Uncle Martin sends him.

Danny Lazio doesn’t have any friends, but he doesn’t care. Even if his classmates don’t accept him, he still has Land X, the online role play game that he’s actually really good at. But then Eric takes an interest in Land X, and suddenly Danny thinks he might have found a real friend…if he can figure out the mystery behind Eric’s sudden disappearances and strange lifestyle.

It becomes harder to ignore the weird events that happen only around Eric. But uncovering the secret behind Eric’s identity is an act that might cost them both as powerful forces soon move in around them.

This heartfelt story about friendship and what it means to be human is sure to tug at your soul—or your soul-chip if you’re like Eric.

You can purchase Friendroid at the following Retailers:

My Review:

Eric Young is a twelve-year-old boy who just wants to fit in and be friends with the popular kids. To Eric fitting in means having the right name brand clothes luckily Eric has an uncle who lives in New York who sends him all the most popular name brand clothes, shoes and gadgets. Having all these name brand gadgets gets Eric in with the most popular boys in school. Sometimes these boys are not so nice to Eric but he doesn’t always know when the boys are being rude to him as he is an android.

Danny is a kid in Eric’s class who is not a popular kid. The popular kids think Danny is a loser and won’t allow him to hang with them. Danny doesn’t have all the name brand clothes and gadgets like they do. Danny’s mother is a nurse who works very hard to make sure Danny has the things that he needs but there isn’t ever anything left over for gadgets or name brand things. His father never comes to see him. Every time his Dad is supposed to come spend time with he always calls and says he has something more important to do or he might as well say that either way hurts the same.

Danny just hangs out all by himself at his house playing an online role playing game, Lands X. When Danny learns that Eric likes to play Lands X too they start spending more time together. Eric likes Danny and wants to be his friend but he has been told that he can’t be with someone who is not popular. Eric wants to be Danny’s friend so he figures that if he can make Danny popular then they can be friends. So he gives Danny some of the clothes and gadgets that his Uncle Martin is always sending him.

The closer Danny and Eric get he notices that something is not quite right about Eric like his lifestyle and the way someone always shows up when he has been injured or like the time when they were sleeping over at Ethan’s house and Eric just went to sleep, passed out or shut down and his Dad was there and no one had called him.

Danny with the help of his cousin Veto who is very smart and knows just about everything there is to know about computers figures out that Eric is an android. Things take a turn for the worse when they figure this one out. Knowing what Eric is could cost them all more than they know. Knowing what he really is could cost them all a world of hurt.

FRIENDROID is a very hypnotizing story that will pull you slowly into its depths and have you hooked from the first page right up until the last page. Eric and Danny’s story will tug at your heart and keep tugging until it swells right up and one minute you are laughing right out loud and then the next minute tears maybe streaming down your face because you feel all the pain and hurt.

Eric and Danny’s story is about how people become friends because of what is inside of them and not what they look like on the outside or what they are wearing or how much stuff they own or if they have the best stuff or things.

I would love to see FRIENDROID on the big screen because I know this is one book that would make a fantastic movie. When I was reading it I kept thinking about the kids on Stranger Things and the movie Stand by Me by Stephen King. FRIENDROID has elements from both Stand by Me and Stranger Things. I would love to read more about Danny and Eric in future books.

If you like both Stanger Things and Stand by Me then I just know you will love FRIENDROID. I would recommend FRIENDROID to all ages; who are looking for their next great read.

Photo Content from M.M. Vaughan

The daughter of South American parents, Monica Meira Vaughan grew up in Spain before moving to London at the age of five where she learnt English by watching Sesame Street and reading every Roald Dahl book she could get her hands on. On leaving school, and after a brief stint in public relations, Monica decided to train as a primary school teacher. She spent over ten years working in special needs, mostly with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, before becoming a full time writer.

Monica loves writing after midnight, building cardboard cities and playing Lego with her daughter. She lives in London, UK.

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