Book 38 of my 2014 Goal

digi by Gary Sheerin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The cover of Digi by Gary Lawrence Sheerin is a great depiction of what this book is about. The artwork is fantastic for this YA read about a boy who lives through a jolt of lightning and finds he is able to enter cyber world. I won't go into the whole description of the story as the author has already done that for you but just want you aware it is a YA read that I found difficult to put down.

The characters in the story are difficult to talk about because there are two distinct groups, real and cyber. Of course even this isn't exactly accurate as the main character, Peter has the ability to be both (no spoiler here since the author already told you this in his description). So lets take him in his human state first. Peter is the underdog, he isn't that great in school with computers, sports, and tends to be the subject of bullying. He doesn't complain much (he may think it but doesn't say it) and is sort of a quiet kid. He is also a loving son that deeply cares about his family and he does have a few friends. As far as his character goes in these aspects, he is likable and I found myself rooting for him right along with the other characters. There are some situations where he isn't quite believable with his actions as a person but then again this is a book about a kid who can go into cyber world so just how believable can he really be? In his digital state, he is curious, doesn't always listen, and at times seems to have a problem following directions. Sounds like a typical kid to me.

Terry is the ringleader of the bullies and also one of Peter's classmates. He is the typical rich kid who has everything except his father's loving attention. He never had to work hard at anything as everything was given to him on a silver platter. Terry's father owns SternGuard, a computer virus company and gives Terry an internship type arrangement complete with his own huge office. He has a new BMW, and they live in a huge house. He has no problem with flaunting these things and loves beating others down to make himself look better. A character that is true to life in many cases and surely the one I loved to see 'put in place'.

There are various other characters that all seem real enough for the most part. I would have liked to see Terry's dad have Terry washing toilets at the company instead of handing everything to him. He didn't seem to notice the 'monster' he had created nor what he was doing however, there are parents like that in real life. Terry's fellow bullies seemed real enough as well as Peter's friends and family.

The cyber world was full of characters, firewalls, bits, and bytes, just to name a few. They all take on a life of their own as they hastily zoom across the circuits and down the tunnels doing their various jobs. I don't even know how to comment on these 'characters' since I don't know what a byte might say or how it would act. What I can say is they were all with their own personalities, some with humor, and some capable of compassion and friendship.

I found the book to be somewhat predictable especially since "Every World Needs a Hero Even Cyber World" is boldly stated on the cover. Even though some of the characters are believable, the story isn't. The book is interesting, at points very amusing, and I love how the author brought the cyber world to life with his imagination expressed in these cyber characters. It was an easy YA read with appropriate language and no sex plus you don't have to be a computer genius to understand it. Some of the chapters were extremely short and the book has simple sentence structure and words. I recommend it to anyone who would like an escape in this fantasy world where the underdog is a hero and the bully 'gets his due'.

*I received a free copy of this book for my honest review.


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