Boy in a White Room

An initially unnamed teenager wakes up alone in a blank white room with no recollection of who he is or how he came to be there in this cerebral speculative thriller by Olsberg. The teen’s only apparent companion is a virtual assistant named Alice, whose monotone voice “seems to come from everywhere.” With Alice’s help, the teen uses the internet to try and piece together what has happened to him. After some time, a new voice claiming to be his father informs him that he is a 15-year-old Hamburg resident named Manuel, who suffered life-threatening injuries following a failed abduction by unknown assailants that resulted in his mother’s death. Assuming that he will have to “live in this virtual reality world forever,” Manuel endeavors to uncover more about his past, in the process unearthing ominous truths regarding his father’s claims and the world beyond the white room. While the conclusion’s breakneck pace leaves a number of questions unanswered, Olsberg makes adventurous use of classic sci-fi tropes, meticulously arranging them in a continually surprising series of twists and turnabouts to craft a pensive tale that explores questions of artificial intelligence, free will, and personhood. Ages 12–up. (Feb.)