I Am Radar: A Novel
You can find this, and other reviews, on my blog. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Even now, a couple of weeks after finishing it, I’m still not quite sure what to make of this book. I spent equal amounts of time enjoying it, being confused by it and wondering when on earth it would end.
Broken up into 5 parts, I Am Rader is a slightly convoluted read. Parts 1, 3 and 5 tell the main story, while parts 2 and 4 are used to introduce new main characters in the longest possible way. The first time that happened was very confusing - I wasn’t sure whether part 1 was it as far as Radar’s story goes. I was much more prepared by the time part 4 rolled around. On top of that, a fair amount of time is spent on science concepts that are well and truly beyond me - I skimmed a lot of those sections.
Plot-wise, it’s an interesting read. The whole thing is well written and easy to get through, just really long. Scattered throughout the novel are diagrams and excerpts, and I quite liked that. It really helped break the text up. I found adult-Radar’s story a bit more interesting, but the digressions of parts 2 and 4 were my favourite sections, the stories were just more engaging.
I Am Radar is far from a terrible book, but I’m not in a hurry to recommend it. If you’re up for a long, sciency/techy read, then this will be right up your alley but if the blurb doesn’t capture you, then you won’t really be missing out on anything.
