Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of Being

Being
Being
Author: Kevin Brooks
ISBN-13: 9781439559826
ISBN-10: 1439559821
Publication Date: 10/8/2008
Pages: 323
Edition: Reprint
Reading Level: Young Adult
Rating:
  ?

0 stars, based on 0 rating
Book Type: Library Binding
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

4 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

Bernelli avatar reviewed Being on + 266 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I got this book for my son, then decided to read it myself.

I really liked the first half of the book and was sucked in...anxious to unveil the mystery. The second half of the book seemed as though the author lost his enthusiasm for the story and the book ended up being a let down; I was disappointed. I felt like it ended up being a waste of my time.

My 13 yr old son just finished reading the book and really enjoyed it. He is hoping there will be a continuation.
Ryeth avatar reviewed Being on + 82 more book reviews
It was well written, he's good with building characters. Also very descriptive. But some passages were too graphic & by the end I decided I didn't like it. Maybe someone else will.
reviewed Being on + 9 more book reviews
It was just supposed to be an examination.

But when the doctor's snake the telescopictube down Robert Smith's throat, what they dicover doesnt make medical sense.

In his naked, anesthetized state oon the operating table, Robert hears the surgeons' shocked comments:

"what the hell is that?"

It's me, Robert thinks, and I've got to get out of here.

Armed with a stolen automatic, Robert somehow manages to escape from the hospital. But before he can evin begin to make sense of the raw red scar stiched across his stomach, he's targeted for murder by a steel-eyes assailant with an identity so covert, there's no proof he actually exsists.

Robert's only ally is Eddi, a beautiful theif he needs, but doesn't trust. Off the radar, on the run, the two deperate fugitives embark on a violent odessy to clear Robert's name and find out exactly what---he is.
GeniusJen avatar reviewed Being on + 5322 more book reviews
Reviewed by Karin Perry for TeensReadToo.com

Robert Smith was waiting for the nurse to call him into the doctor's office to prepare him for his scheduled endoscopy, not realizing it would be the last normal day in his life. Once called into the office, Robert was put under anesthetic and doctors went about putting a tube down his throat in order to find out what was causing his stomach discomfort. Unexpectedly, Robert woke up before he was supposed to and realized he was in a different room with many people he didn't recognize. He heard phrases like, "What is that?" and "Are those wires?" Robert felt every cut made into his body for the exploratory surgery these strange people in black suits were performing on him.

After Robert forced himself off the table, he managed to get a weapon out of the hand of one of the black suits. At gun point, Robert demanded the anesthetist knock out his attackers and then kidnapped him in order to use his car to get away. Next, he set about making himself invisible. He knew he couldn't go to his house where his foster parents lived or any place he'd normally visit. The first night he checked into a hotel for some rest to give himself some time to decide what to do the next day. He was overwhelmed with thoughts about what was inside him. He looked over the evidence he took from the doctor's office, which included a videotape of the endoscopy. On the tape he saw things that should have been impossible.

After a sleepless night, Robert put the first step of his plan in motion. To become a different person, change identities, disappear from the face of the Earth. He went to see a girl named Eddi who was in the business of fake IDs, birth certificates, and other needed credentials to get by in life. What he found when he got to her place was suspicion and uncertainty. Life quickly spiraled out of control for both of them shortly after their paths crossed. Escape to Trejeda on the Canary Islands seemed like the best plan. For a time, life fell into the routine of sleeping late, eating fantastic food, and work. Eddi and Robert knew they couldn't hide forever, but they were never prepared for how everything would end.

BEING is an interesting story of an orphan trying to learn his identity. It is filled with intrigue and suspense; however; there are a few loose ends that might leave the reader unsatisfied.