Every Boy Should Have a Man

In a future where primitive “mans” are considered pets or food by the dominant, giant humanoid “oafs,” one female man and her daughter become the cherished possessions, then friends, of a young oaf who learns to see them as more than just creatures. That friendship sets the daughter on a course to slavery, war, and traveling to a place where humans are not endangered—and a time when individuals might find salvation, even if a world is lost. Allen’s concise book’s power lies within its understated irony, never more heavy-handed than a preacher’s admonition that “a world without mans is a world without us all.” The plain narrative and relationship between boy and female man, rounded out with humor and occasional (sometimes literal) bite, promises to be a sleeper favorite among speculative audiences. Agent: Eleanor Jackson, Markson Thoma. (May)