Review Detail

In the small town of Danville Heights, five teenage boys lived their lives as usual: they went to high school and played football. After a much-awaited and adrenalin-filled match against a formidable team from another school, however, their lives changed forever.

On their way to the house of one of them after the game, they were exposed to some extraordinary lights and lost their consciousness. They would not have reached their destination had not an unknown man helped them.

As days passed by, things became baffling for the boys as one of them mysteriously developed an intensified sense of hearing; another one a super-active sense of sight; and a heightened sense of smell, taste and touch for the other three, respectively. They also found out that their new hyperactive senses came with superhuman abilities and multitudes of lawless enemies to defeat.

Hiding everything from their families, they used their newfound gifts night after night to fight the brutal men who were destroying the nearby town of Sandry Lake. These activities took a toll on their personal lives and forced them to reconsider their priorities as young boys who simply used to go to school, play football, and deal with girls.

After a series of heart-pumping secrets and tensions that included telling lies as to their whereabouts and affairs, taking an unknown man and woman as allies in their adventures, and discovering a cruel past that haunts the present, the teenagers had to choose between going back to their simple lives and taking what fate had thrust upon them. And not every teenager was willing to take the latter.

Followers of Michael Crichton and Dan Brown will be familiar with this story’s heart-racing pacing, and fans of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series and C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia books will appreciate the elements of the unknown and the captivating choice of words in this beautiful novel by another author who writes with initials: K.N. Smith.

The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses is a gripping and action-packed tale of friendships, families, young love, and the supernatural. As the eyes come to the end of this splendid story, sweet sorrow lingers in the heart, and a sequel to this book will surely be greeted like a long-lost friend.