Normal black, plastic yo-yo equipped with a special nylon string that will lift up to 200 pounds and clips securely to your belt. Small tube of zip cream that is harmless to the touch but can burn through metal. Nintendo Game Boy, with four game cartridges, each performing an extraordinary function: fax/photocopy, x-ray, bug finder, and smoke bomb.
What do these gadgets have in common and who would possibly need them? Alex Rider, 14-year-old Special Operations Officer for the British Intelligence Agency MI6. Alex Rider, reluctant teenage spy.
His mission? Complete the assignment his uncle Ian (the banker?) had been on before he was killed in car accident. A car accident that mysteriously left his car riddled with bullet holes. An assignment that merely requires Alex to pose as the winner of a contest and test the new super computer, Stormbreaker, which is being given to every school aged child in the country, a gift the government believes is too good to be true.
Will he choose to accept it?
Join us next time… for another Alex Rider adventure.
Why I picked up the book: Originally I read it in 2007 as we were showing the movie and wanted to have a discussion of the differences. I chose it as our January 2014 middle school book club selection as one of our middle schools used it as their One Book in the fall.
Why I finished it: It was very fast paced.
I’d give it to: boys (and girls) who like action and spies.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars (I liked it)
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
Christmas at Gunpoint by Anthony Horowitz
Alex and his Uncle Ian travel to Colorado for a Christmas holiday ski vacation, or so Alex is led to believe. Alex shares this story of a time when he should have suspected Ian was leading a double life. Bet you’ve never had a ski vacation like this, with a gun fight, kidnapping, and more than a few near-death experiences.
Why I picked up the book: It was a short story included in the 10th anniversary paperback edition of Stormbreaker, which our Afternoon Book Club just discussed.
Why I finished it: I liked that it was in first person and that you got a bit of background into Alex and Ian Rider.
I’d give it to: fans of the Alex Rider series.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars (I liked it)
Reviews by Jenn, YA Librarian (View all my reviews)