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The Boy I Am

K L Kettle (Goodreads Author)

4.51 · Rating details · 39 ratings · 19 reviews

They say we’re dangerous. But we’re not that different.

Jude is running out of time. Once a year, lucky young men in the House of Boys are auctioned to the female elite. But if Jude fails to be selected before he turns seventeen, a future deep underground in the mines awaits.

Yet ever since the death of his best friend at the hands of the all-powerful Chancellor, Jude ha ...more

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Paperback, 384 pages

Published January 7th 2021 by Little Tiger Press Group

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Average rating 4.51 ·

Rating details

· 39 ratings · 19 reviews

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Dec 23, 2020 Marieke du Pré rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-netgalley-edelweiss, young-adult, fantasy, heartbreaking

Look at the rating, this such a powerful YA story!

My name is Jude Grant and I am alive.
Put this YA on your TBR, buy it! It’s mind blowing, unique, gripping and beautifully written. Swapping gender roles, the world turned upside down. Underage boys being sold to female elite at an auction. And if not, a future in the mines awaits.

Sometimes I start reading a book, doubting if I would like it. Like this one. But from the moment I read one page of The Boy I Am, I knew it would be a five star read, Look at the rating, this such a powerful YA story!

My name is Jude Grant and I am alive.
Put this YA on your TBR, buy it! It’s mind blowing, unique, gripping and beautifully written. Swapping gender roles, the world turned upside down. Underage boys being sold to female elite at an auction. And if not, a future in the mines awaits.

Sometimes I start reading a book, doubting if I would like it. Like this one. But from the moment I read one page of The Boy I Am, I knew it would be a five star read, easily. It gripped me from the first sentence when Jude introduced himself, the auction so realistic, Jude smiling so he would be sold, and constantly talking in his mind to Vik, his best friend.
’Pull it together’, says the part of me that sounds like you, Vik. And it’s strong like you were. Brave like you were. It’s the voice of the boy I want to be. ‘You owe me’, it says. ‘You’re still alive’.

This is a powerful story, not only because of the premise, but also because of the writing, first and second person in one. Incredibly clever to do so. First person writing can feel close and personal but using first AND second person is almost oppressive, pulling the reader into the story, and not letting go until the last page.

Jude lost his friend Vik, and he wants revenge. Therefore he needs to be sold to the Chancellor. He wants to murder her for what she did to Vik, just push her over the edge. The story thunders on from the first moment, the pace incredibly fast. From the auction to the Chancellor to a beauty pageant including flashbacks, describing Jude’s past and his friendship with Vik. The flashbacks are moving and my heart ached:
There’s that boy somewhere, the boy who danced, the one they told not to, the one they locked away until he stopped. And he’s been such a good boy.

There’s so much I’d like to say about Jude and the people around him including Vik. I won’t though because I don’t want to spoil anything. But believe me, this story is thrilling and poignant and important. The way men and boys are being treated feels inhuman. But women have been treated like this for centuries, dominated by men, no right to education, sexually assaulted etc. And that’s precisely what K.L. Kettle wants us to experience. Evoking the disturbing feeling that this can’t be true. But it has been, and still is. This book is about women versus men. But it could also be about Black versus white or any other example where inequality exists. Because we all should be equal, right?

The only thing I’m not sure of is the cover, it’s a bit garish to my opinion, but who cares when the content is so magnificent?

I received an ARC from Little Tiger Press Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Dec 30, 2020 Laura (Bookie_mama_bear) rated it it was amazing

4.5⭐️

⭐️ BLOG TOUR ⭐️
Thank you to @kaleidoscopictours @kl.kettle & @littletigerbooks for my copy of The Boy I Am as part of the blog tour.

⭐️ What’s it about?!

Jude is running out of time. Once a year, lucky young men in the House of Boys are auctioned to the female elite. But if Jude fails to be selected before he turns seventeen, a future deep underground in the mines awaits.
Yet ever since the death of his best friend at the hands of the all-powerful Chancellor, Jude has been desperate to escape ...more

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Dec 27, 2020 C.G. Moore rated it it was amazing

K. L. Kettle flips the script in her debut, 'The Boy I Am'. Set in a matriarchal world, Kettle explores the social and cultural impacts on boys, mirroring the challenges and stigmas that women face in the day-to-day world. Exploring gender roles and ideas of friendship and abuse, Kettle exhibits first-class world-building and incredible character development, culminating in a nail-biting conclusion that will leave readers wanting more. Highly recommended. Add it to your TBR list now! ...more

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Dec 17, 2020 Sara marked it as to-review

Shelves: arc, fiction, science-fiction, young-adult

ARC received in exchange for an honest review 🌠

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Nov 16, 2020 Louise Gooding rated it it was amazing

This book has been likened to a YA, gender swapped, Handmaids Tale, or The Power.
Well, it’s neither. It’s better. So so so much better.
Super grateful to be given an advance copy of this book so i can shout at you all to add it to your reading list!
K.L.Kettle looks set to storm into the YA world, especially with this as her debut.

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Jan 07, 2021 Jo McKenna-Aspell rated it it was amazing

I have three indicators of a really good book: I stay up far too late reading, I tell other people to read it so I can discuss it with someone and I have to take a break before I pick up a new book (AKA the book hangover). This hit all three.

I notice other reviewers commenting that “The Boy I Am” has much in common with Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Sure, I can see the obvious parallels often found in dystopian fiction but I feel it shares more with Alderman’s “The Power” or Blackman’s “Nough I have three indicators of a really good book: I stay up far too late reading, I tell other people to read it so I can discuss it with someone and I have to take a break before I pick up a new book (AKA the book hangover). This hit all three.

I notice other reviewers commenting that “The Boy I Am” has much in common with Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Sure, I can see the obvious parallels often found in dystopian fiction but I feel it shares more with Alderman’s “The Power” or Blackman’s “Noughts and Crosses” series. Subverting the stereotypical roles of race or gender provides a new lens to view systemic problems.

In “The Boy I am,” flipping the power dichotomy of men and women shines a powerful light on the absurdity of the treatment and oppression of women. There are big teachable moments, like consent, body autonomy and democracy. But I really respect the way Kettle handled the more nuanced examples, which would filed under the everyday sexism category. The smiles. We foster a young man and teaching him about overt sexism was straightforward; we found it far more challenging to explain why give-us-a-smile-love style behaviours and attitudes are toxic. Hearing Jude’s inner monologue as he navigates life with a catalogue of smiles is absolutely genius! It provides a recognisable lived experience for many readers and a new way in for those who have never experienced it.

They’re not really criticisms but I have two thoughts. The pace of the action rattles along full tilt even as you’re acclimatising to the world Kettle is building. I sometimes find that disorientating but I know other readers won’t. Also, the book predominately deals with a dichotomous presentation of gender; when you’re building an entire world in a single novel, I can see why. I would have enjoyed some more playing around at the margins but that’s just me. Not every book has to deliver everything to every reader.

Like Atwood, Alderman and Blackman, Kettle’s characters are not two dimensional. The protagonists are flawed, you can’t always trust the narrative voice and things aren’t neatly tied in a bow at the end. This is refreshing. And just as I’ve done with the powerhouse trio, I will be finding more of Kettle’s work to gobble and I’ll be returning to “The Boy I Am” for a second reading. ...more

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Jan 03, 2021 scottiesandbooks rated it it was amazing

“It’s not like it doesn’t happen to every boy. A grab here. A grope there. Small belittling moments we’re meant to endure, because it’s girls being girls. Shouldn’t we be grateful? Flattered? And when they don’t even know they did anything wrong, what? We’re meant to apologise?”

The Handmaids Tale
Noughts & Crosses
The Hunger games

What do these books have in common? The subject matter. Suppression. Suppression of women, a race, a class. All powerful novels set in a dystopian world. The messages are ...more

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Dec 21, 2020 Hazel rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed

Imagine a world where women are safe from men. Imagine a world where women are in charge. Imagine a world where men no longer reduce women to something to flirt with or dismiss as beneath them. This is the way of life in K. L. Kettle's dystopian novel The Boy I Am. War has left the Earth in ruins, and it is no longer safe to go outside, yet humanity is surviving in tall, secure tower blocks overseen by the Chancellor. Men and boys are confined to the basement floors as a punishment for their beh Imagine a world where women are safe from men. Imagine a world where women are in charge. Imagine a world where men no longer reduce women to something to flirt with or dismiss as beneath them. This is the way of life in K. L. Kettle's dystopian novel The Boy I Am. War has left the Earth in ruins, and it is no longer safe to go outside, yet humanity is surviving in tall, secure tower blocks overseen by the Chancellor. Men and boys are confined to the basement floors as a punishment for their behaviour during the war. To earn their right to live on the upper floors, they must learn to behave like a gentleman, and never look at a woman's skin without their permission.

The protagonist, Jude, is running out of time to earn the right to live amongst the women. If he does not gain a sponsor, he faces a future in the dangerous mines. Yet, Jude is not sure he wants to live with the women, who have demeaned him for his gender since his birth. He has seen another side to them and believes the Chancellor has killed his best friend. Jude wants to escape, risk the poisonous fog outside and search for a better life. To do this, the Chancellor must die.

The way women treat men and boys is uncomfortable to read. Female readers, in particular, may have experienced similar treatment at the hands of men. Feminists desire an equal world, but there is the risk of going too far the other way. Yet, as Jude discovers, it is not as black and white as Female versus Male. An underground gang of women known as Hysterics are also trying to escape. They want to save themselves and the boys from a society not run by women, but by the elite.

K. L. Kettle explains her intentions behind the novel in a letter to the reader at the end of the book. She quotes Lord Acton's (1834-1902) proverb "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and questions if everyone is equal, does everyone have the ability to abuse the power they have? What may have seemed a good idea for humanity after the war, has become an oppressive state where no one is safe from those in power, not even the women. The Chancellor controls everyone, but Jude and the Hysterics are determined to take that power away from her.

Telling the story from Jude's perspective highlights the faults in today's societies. Many are unaware of the belittling behaviour happening around them, but when the roles are reversed, they are obvious. The Boy I Am is both thrilling and eye-opening, challenging gender roles and power dynamics in general. Those who have read books such as Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman are guaranteed to enjoy K. L. Kettle's novel. ...more

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Jan 09, 2021 Chantelle Hazelden rated it it was amazing

Powerful, poignant, perfection.

That is how I'd describe The Boy I Am.

A world where women are in charge, where boys grow up as I guess slaves, under the watch of those women who hold all the cards.

But does that make it a better place to live?

Are they better off or are things no better than if men were to rule?

Jude (our main protagonist) isn't looking to change things, no he's look to save his friend but in the process he is destined to save so much more.

I was in awe of this story.

Unexpectedly eye ...more

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Dec 21, 2020 Charlie Bury rated it really liked it

Imagine the foggy air around you stank of sour eggs and your trousers were “splashed with veins of muck and dust” as you ran for dear life away from the Tower in the desert that kept you, locked and groomed by a power-hungry elite of masked women. Welcome to Jude’s dystopian world, a teenage boy bred by “Insem” in the House of Life, who is, like all the other Boys at the Auction, desperate to free himself of “debt” and become a man; perhaps to prove that he can control himself, and that to look Imagine the foggy air around you stank of sour eggs and your trousers were “splashed with veins of muck and dust” as you ran for dear life away from the Tower in the desert that kept you, locked and groomed by a power-hungry elite of masked women. Welcome to Jude’s dystopian world, a teenage boy bred by “Insem” in the House of Life, who is, like all the other Boys at the Auction, desperate to free himself of “debt” and become a man; perhaps to prove that he can control himself, and that to look at a woman is not to lose one’s innocence…

This speculative YA thriller was so thought-provoking and fast-paced, I couldn’t put it down. It’s smart speculative fiction, just abstract enough to feed on your curiosity without the complete confusion and chaos that comes with an entire new set of world-rules. The woman are freaky, the virtues are corrupted, the past sins of the forefathers stink, and the world outside is practically dead. It’s an incredibly bleak vision, but it isn’t one cast too far from truth, and character behaviours are certainly recognisable and illuminating. In fact, the authors understanding of power dynamics is what makes the latent action so compelling and tense.

The narration is first-person, Jude, in the present tense. He himself uses the second person singular to refer to a missing friend, perhaps dead, who acts as a kind of alter ego during the narration, and a motivation for revenge against the ruling Chancellor deemed responsible. Kettle uses highly original wordplay and compound adjectives to help build her radical vision of this world, even building exclamations based off its own elements. The language tackles the dark atmosphere with a surprisingly refreshing touch of humour and oddity. Though some action sequences may still be a little unsettling for readers. I had visions a la MAD MAX, which is very cool, but certainly not one to be stomached by everyone.

I am not widely read in the YA genre. So if the rest is as good as this, then I’ve got happy stacks of reading to do! ...more

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Jan 09, 2021 Camilla Chester rated it it was amazing

Dark yet filled with hope, this was a thrilling (slightly exhausting) and intense ride.

I was happily flummoxed for the first few chapters but so intrigued to find out about this cruel world and how Jude fitted in with it all.

The story did lose me at times but the ending is richly satisfying, tying everything neatly together.

Really enjoyed it and definitely see it as a film. Reminded me of Mortal Engines at times - very fast paced.

Go read it!

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Dec 17, 2020 Rachael Mills rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-owned

A powerful and incisive exploration of sexism in a dystopian world where traditional gender roles are swapped. Incredible.

*** Full review to come ***

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Jan 06, 2021 Bee Jay rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020

This is a slow starter - which is strange, because it literally starts in the middle; it took a while before I really followed everything that was happening - but once I caught up with what was happening everything flew. There's a lot going on in this novel; I don't want to risk spoiling it, so I'll only talk quite generally about it.

Imagine Only Ever Yours from the other perspective; boys are the ones being bid on and subjugated and pushed down. It's a thin genre, needs a few more entries, but ...more

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Jan 09, 2021 Lisas Books, Gems and Tarot rated it it was amazing

Thank you Little Tiger Books for this review copy!

Wow. This is such a moving, powerful story.

I loved Jude. My heart ached for him. I felt like he was so naive. He really didn’t know what to believe.

We are so used to reading stories where men are all powerful, but this time the women rule. It’s refreshing to read this from the male POV despite how awful the boys are treated.

I loved the relationships within the story, especially Jude’s friendship with Vik. He is full of anger that he lost his frie ...more

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Jan 03, 2021 Carolyn rated it liked it

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review.
An interesting subversion of the 'Handmaid's Tale' formula, a dystopia where men are the property of women. By reversing the "traditional" gender roles, we are given more to think about regarding the conversation around the structures of power and their abuses. Well written and thought provoking. ...more

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Jan 08, 2021 Lost_in_her_bookland rated it really liked it

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐲 𝐈 𝐀𝐦 ⁣
⭐⭐⭐⭐⁣
⁣
This book just kept getting better and better, stranger and stranger, thrilling and more thrilling, until the ending, that left me complete.⁣
⁣
This is a YA dystopian power novel but so different to the ones we are used to. This gives the women the power & makes the boys and the men the submissives, without an ounce of control. Jude is about to be auctioned to the female elite, women so corrupt, all they can see is perfection in themselves. Jude is desperate for ...more

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Jan 15, 2021 Sally rated it really liked it

A fast paced dystopian world where women are the elite and boys are auctioned. Disturbing but salient novel.

I enjoyed the story's constant pace; it's as though the author doesn't want you to take time for yourself because the protagonist Jude, isn't afforded that luxury.

Jude's lack of social intelligence due to his dystopian circumstance is clear. He has been groomed by the Chancellor's head boy to be auctioned to the highest bidder and through his grooming, tries to control his destiny by using ...more

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Jan 15, 2021 Carola Ergis rated it liked it

I'd give this book 3.5 stars. Its beautifully written but I couldn't get into it for the first few chapters. Got me hooked half way through though. Saying that, its not really my genre. Too far fetched for me, not realistic enough. However, I truly admire the author for thinking of such a story line and wish her all the best for the future.
...more

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