The Wild Unknown by Emily Gale

The year is 2045 so it's not that far into the future. There are plenty of ideas in this book that actually could happen such as personal assistants worn in the ear called 'mica'; body transplants such as hearts from animals; food orders delivered by robots called 'Goodbots'; government surveillance drones everywhere; student progress monitored by robots at school with reports sent regularly to parents; and talking appliances!

The idea of humans with body parts from animals is a key concept in this story but you might over look it.  It links with the strange changes happening to Eddie and a couple of his classmates and is introduced about two thirds of the way through the book. Eddie begins to grow feathers; he is fully awake at night and so exhausted all day; his eyes seem to have changed to night vision; he can run like an athlete way beyond his usual pace; and he can even stay under the water for a long period with no ill effects.

What is happening? How did this start? Eddie receives a delicious food delivery during the school holidays.

The Goodbot "was the size and shape of a stocky black labrador with a flat face consisting of two shining eyes and a fixed smile. It made it's way to the gate on wheels and rose to smoothly unlatch it. Then it activated its legs to navigate the step and padded towards Eddie like a cat approaching prey. ... (the treat) had to be eaten within the hour, it must be something fresh and delicious. ...the smell was something else - an aroma of fried chicken, freshly baked bread and something mysterious but delicious. ... Maybe it would taste as good as it smelt, instead of as bad as it looked. It did! Wow! WOW!"

Eddie does not question this gift from his dad even though his dad has never sent a food gift like this before and more importantly his father never uses and is even suspicious of Goodbots.

Meanwhile a boy named Theo is missing. You also need to know Eddie's mother works as a fact checker for an organisation called TruthUp because in the past "deep fakes and news-bots had turned the world upside down. No one had been able to trust a single thing they read or watched. TruthUp was trying to make news real again." Luckily Eddie has help to solve or partly solve all of this, his own body changes and the missing boy,  from his friend Kit, Kit's sister Romy and his own computer-game playing brother Jude. 

There is an interesting if somewhat minor theme explored in this story is about politics. A new political party has emerged - it is called Revive and it consists of dead former Prime Ministers. That part did give me a jolt. 

Blurb from author page: It’s 2045 and the world is full of tech. Eddie has a bot in his ear giving him advice all day, a bathroom scale that identifies illnesses, and classroom bots keeping track of him at school. The streets are full of delivery bots and game tech is amazing. But tech can’t help the police find a missing boy called Theo, who was last seen at the river. When they abandon the search, Eddie and his friends sneak down to the river to look for clues. What they find doesn’t make any sense. Then strange things start happening to Eddie. He’s never been sporty but suddenly he’s a brilliant runner. When a friend is caught in the bottom of the pool, Eddie rescues her from drowning by holding his breath for a suspiciously long amount of time. He has excellent night vision – and there are hair-like feathers growing out of his skin. It’s exciting. It’s terrifying. How can it be both? And what do the changes in Eddie have to do with Theo’s disappearance?

I did read this book quite quickly which means the story held my attention and I did enjoy the "hopefully invented" world of the future. Sadly though, two things let this book down - one, in my view, is the pastel colour choice for the cover and the second is the rushed and slightly unresolved ending - I don't think a sequel is planned. By the end of the book (spoiler alert) I was still unsure why the kids had been used in this experiment run by Theo's parents. I did find a reviewer who loved the cover - these things are always so subjective and personal. You can read more plot details here. Here is a Q and A with Emil Gale. Emily also talks about her book on this podcast (40+ minutes).

The Wild Unknown is a thrilling and suspenseful novel that explores the consequences of AI reliance and how this will shape our future. Emily Gale opens up a discussion, prompting children to ask what the benefits of AI are, and what should they be concerned about? She also hints at how AI might influence people in complex spaces, such as political parties misusing it for their own ends, or the media manipulating it. Through Eddie’s transformation and search for Theo, Gale highlights the importance of human relationships, of being able to turn to each other for help and support, and the beauty of the natural world. For ages 9+.  Readings Melbourne

(Its's) an unsettling, yet a compelling mystery that reminds us that human connection, using our own smarts and working together is better and more effective than the most up-to-date technology. It shows that we need a balance, to save humanity, to keep the world safe, and to make sure we don’t destroy the environment. This is in part a warning, and in part an examination of what could happen if gene modification and manipulation become weapons against humanity. Emily Gale has done a wonderful job of exploring this, departing from her usual historical fiction which I adore. A great example of not letting technology rule our lives. The Book Muse

The manipulation of humans using animal parts reminded me of this very old book (part of a series of three):

The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly

"She went up one step. Two. She felt Teddy's breath on her neck. Another step. Another. Was it her imagination or was it getting darker and darker? Up another step. And another. The stairs creaked and moaned. She imaged herself as a brave, brave warrior, completely unafraid. She reminded herself that fear was what red them ... She thought of herself covered in blood ... She felt the fear growing in the pit of her stomach, sprouting and growing, and tried to damp it down. I'm not scare. I'm not scared."

I am not really a fan of ghost stories but one thing that the story needs to have is motivation. I need to know why the ghosts are there. In this case it is due to several crimes. One hundred and fifty years ago the circus that had come to town burned to the ground and all of the performers were killed. Investigators also discovered the ring master had been shot.

The second crime is more recent. Lila along with her brother and mother and father have moved into their grandfather's home. It was actually once run as an Inn. On the first night Lila is visited by the ghost of Grandfather Clem. He tells her he did not die from a heart attack - he was murdered. All he wants now is to go back through the portal so he can be reunited with his wife who died many years ago.

Now that we have the problem we can assemble the team to solve this - Lila, her brother Caleb and the boy from next door - Teddy. 

As with all mysteries (in books and on television) I tried to solve this before reaching the end. I thought I had worked out the murderer and his motivation, but things sure did get way more complicated in those final scenes. If you have readers aged 10+ who enjoy ghost stories and like books where kids solve a mystery then this is a book you can recommend. The writing is very atmospheric and Erin entrada Kelly does conjure some very tense scenes. Erin talks about her book in this video.  Ms Yingling includes lots of plot details in her review. 

Kirkus gave this book a star review: Hauntingly good and sure to possess any horror aficionado. It wasn't quite at that level for me but as I said I am not a huge fan of ghost stories and also I found it a little odd that Lila did not recognise the circus performers even though Teddy had already told her about the fire from last century. 

This book is the first in series and it contains extra materials which you access via a QR code. Decades ago I read another book from Scholastic that included an element like this but of course over time the link has disappeared. (The Skeleton in the Creek and The Ghost in the Machine). 

I love that the kids went to the library to read old newspaper reports about the circus fire. I also enjoy books that refer readers to other books - here is the one Teddy is reading when the kids go over to talk to him:

Here is the Goodreads blurb for Wait till Helen comes (1986): Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her father, we're stuck with her ... our "poor stepsister" who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire. But now something terrible has happened. Heather has found a new friend, out in the graveyard behind our home—a girl named Helen who died with her family in a mysterious fire over a hundred years ago. Now her ghost returns to lure children into the pond ... to drown! I don't want to believe in ghosts, but I've followed Heather into the graveyard and watch her talk to Helen. And I'm terrified. Not for myself, but for Heather...

Companion book (just because it contains a mirror and the quest for immortality):