Book Review: Dinosaur Boy

I never really thought I'd end up reviewing a book, much less one meant for grade schoolers/middle schoolers.

I stumbled across this book by accident when I was searching for a graphic novel at Barnes and Noble. When I saw the cover I thought to myself, "Dinosaur Boy...so I guess this is about a kid who likes to dress up as a dinosaur"? But as it turns out, he is the dinosaur!! ...Well half of one.

Dinosaur Boy is written by young adult author Cory Putman Oakes. The story is about an eleven year old boy named Sawyer. Over summer break, he begins to grow a stegosaurus tail and plates. This is because of an incident that happened at a laboratory his grandfather used to work at which resulted in him and many others becoming part dinosaur. The dinosaur gene, as it's called, skips a generation which meant Sawyer was the one in line in his family to acquire it. At school, some of the kids use this as an opportunity to bully him. The only ones who stand by him are his really tall friend Elliot who also gets picked on, being called names like "Gigantor"(do kids these days even know what Gigantor is?) and a new girl named Sylvie who prefers to hide in her hoodie. As the story goes on, the kids who pick on Sawyer begin to disappear and it's up to him and his friends to find out just what's going on.

Now I don't think it's any surprise that I love hybrid characters seeing as how I've written so many stories involving hybrids so this book already caught my attention at that. And I love transformation and seeing as how the very first page has Sawyer already going through his transformation into a half-dino, I was sold.

Despite being aimed at young kids, Dinosaur Boy is a story that anyone of any age could pick up and enjoy and even relate to. The struggles that Sawyer goes through as he tries to adjust to his new features feel very real and at times even heartbreaking. In one chapter, he's on his laptop, trying to find a way to make his dino features go away. When his mom informs him that he can't make it go away, obviously he doesn't take it too well even tossing his tail off his bed. I'm not ashamed to admit that I actually felt pretty bad for him at this part. 

The main characters are all very likable. Sawyer works perfectly as a kid who, even though he's different, just wants to get by without his classmates being jerks to him. The fact that he's excited about his transformation and at the same time ashamed of it really adds a lot of depth to his character and it's interesting watching go back and forth from being proud of who and what he is to wishing it would just go away. Over the course of the story, he even begins to develop some dinosaur traits such as preferring to eat salad as opposed to meat and at one point, even roaring like a dinosaur. His friend Elliot, despite not being the brightest kid in school, is a truly good friend and stays at Sawyer's side through all the teasing he endures, even informing him when their classmates decided to use Sawyer's plates for ring toss. I still don't know how the teachers never noticed this or how he never felt the rings hitting his plates. Sylvie, the girl of the group, is a strong female lead without having to constantly shove it in the reader's face. She's smart, funny, and rather resourceful. She also has a secret of her own that put her sort of in the same boat as Sawyer.

My biggest issue with the story comes in at the second half when the focus begins to change from Sawyer adjusting to being a half-human half-dinosaur to aliens. The alien plot isn't necessarily a bad one but the problem with it is that it ends up becoming the main focus of the story. Because of this, things like how the dinosaur gene came to be and why it was put in an ice cream machine of all things are either never really explained or just briefly touched upon. Maybe this won't be as important to the target demographic but that still doesn't mean it shouldn't have been considered. When it comes to writing, kids deserve just as much as adults do.

In all honesty, I think Dinosaur Boy would have worked better without the secondary alien plot because aside from two certain parts, it doesn't really feel like it contributes anything. The story is at its best when it's focusing on how Sawyer adapts to his new life as a half-dinosaur. When the alien plot comes in, it almost feels like a whole other book entirely. 

While the story does become predictable at times, it is still pretty fun. As I've said before, even though it's geared towards kids, it's a story that anyone could relate to, especially those who have felt like outsiders(I know I've been there). Is it perfect? No. Is it the best kids book over? Not really but it's still enjoyable. For anyone who likes hybrids, dinosaurs, transformation, or aliens, I'd recommend giving it a read.