Release Day Review: Borrowed Boy by Gene Gant (Giveaway)

Title: Borrowed Boy
Author: Gene Gant
Release Date: November 13, 2018
Category: Contemporary, Teen Fiction
Pages: 169

Dreamspinner Press


What would you do if you found out your whole life was a lie?

That’s what happens to Zavier Beckham. One moment, he’s a happy teen with a loving family and a nerdy best friend named Cole. The next, there’s an FBI agent telling Zavier he was kidnapped as a baby and sold to an adoption agency—that the parents he’s always known aren’t his parents.

Not even his name is his own.

Now Zavier may be forced to deal with a move from his home in Memphis to Chicago, where he would be living with strangers, including a new brother who already resents him. And there is also Brendan, an older boy who stirs confusing feelings in Zavier. There’s more to Brendan than meets the eye, but will he help Zavier adjust to his new situation or add more stress to all the upheaval in Zavier’s life?

3.5 Stars!

This one's different, something I like. I’ve never read this author, however, the blurb caught my attention right away and I couldn’t resist. I was in need of something unique that hadn’t been done over and over again and Borrowed Boy seemed to scream that.

Zavier Beckham is like many teens these days. He’d rather spend his summer playing video games and texting with his best friend Cole, than spend time outside in the summer heat of Memphis. He loves his parents, even if his mom forces summer reading lists, confiscates his phone and pushes him outdoors. He has a good life. So when the FBI shows up and reveals his adoption (something he didn’t even know about) was far from legal, Zavier’s life is turned upside down.

How is he supposed to return to the biological parents he’s never known? Why do they want him back when he’s happy where he is? How could the people he’s always considered his parents not tell him he was adopted? And how does he deal with a brother he thinks hates him?

This was definitely a great idea and the premise completely pulled me in. I enjoyed the way we were able to actually feel the fear and sadness radiating from Zavier when he found out he was stolen from people in Chicago and they wanted him back. I couldn’t imagine going through that, especially at 13 while I’m dealing with the changes I’m going through in adolescence.

I liked Zavier and his parents (although his mom was a tad off-putting in the very beginning). He had a good life and that definitely made it hard to just let new people in since he had no clue what to expect. I don’t want to give much away so I’ll leave it at that when it comes to the characters.

Overall, the writing was good and the story entertaining. It’s definitely not your typical story but if you like different and YA you might really like it.

***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Harmony Ink/Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.***

4 stars

Borrowed Boy is a YA standalone book by Gene Gant. Thirteen-year-old Zavier Beckham is a normal well-adjusted teenager living in Memphis. He loves his parents and has an amazing friend. His life is almost perfect but one day a knock on the door changes everything. Zavier finds out he was kidnapped as a baby and sold to an adoption agency which makes his adoption invalid and his real family wants him back.

I liked all the characters. Zavier is a normal kid despite everything and he handled it all way better then I would if I was in his situation. He lasted a lot longer in Chicago than I thought he would. I also loved Brendan. I really like how Gene included a trans character in the story and made Zavier as accepting as he was.

When I first read the blurb I was so excited for this book. This storyline, while one of my favorites, is rarely ever written and when it is, it is not written well but I really enjoyed the way this book was done. I think this would be an amazing ready for children and young adults both cis and transgender.

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Harmony Ink/Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

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