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Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Adventure

December 7, 2009 By

Alex RiderCrocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Adventure is book #8 in the Alex Rider Adventure series featuring Alex Rider, who might look like a typical 15 year old boy, but he’s actually an agent for MI6, Britain’s Secret Service. Ever since his Uncle Ian died and he learned that his Uncle was an agent, Alex has been working for MI6, helping them track down bad guys. In his newest adventure, Alex has to stop a con artist from orchestrating a disaster for his own gain.

A con artist has realized there is big money in charity– the bigger the disaster, the greater the money flow! So that is what he will produce: the biggest disaster known to man, all thanks to genetically modified wheat that can release a virus so potent it can knock out an entire country in one windy day. But Alex Rider will face whatever it takes–gunfire, explosions, hand-to-hand combat with mercenaries– to bring down his most dangerous adversary yet.

I’m a huge fan of Young Adult fiction, especially when there’s a series that lets me really delve into a main character. I hadn’t read any of the other Alex Rider books, but after reading Crocodile Tears, I’m hooked!  This series reminds me  of the Artemis Fowl books without the faires and goblins.  Suggested reading level is ages 9-12. For fans of the Alex Rider books, the official book website www.alexrideradventures.com is packed with excerpts from the books, character bios, games, quizzes, polls, and tons more.  Amazon price: $9.71

Suggested Links:

Alex Rider on MySpace:  http://www.myspace.com/alexrideradventures

Anthony Horowitz’s Official Site:  http://www.anthonyhorowitz.com

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Alibi Junior High

August 28, 2009 By

Alibi Junior HighI’m a big fan of Young Adult (known as “YA”) fiction, especially when I find a book that my oldest son enjoys as much as I did. That was the case with Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted.  Main character Cody Saron has spent his life, all thirteen years of it, traveling the globe with his Dad, an undercover CIA agent.  When an explosion in a cafe in France leaves them both shaken, Cody is put on a plane to his Aunt’s house in Connecticut to lay low until the danger passes. Which means that Cody has to do something he’s never done before- go to school. His Dad has been tutoring him, but now he has to go to…JUNIOR HIGH. And, he can’t let on that he’s been trained as a spy by his Dad.

I asked my son, who is almost 13 and headed to Junior High next week, to read the book and give me his feedback. Here’s what Ryan thinks of Alibi Junior High-

PROS:  First person perspective rather than third person,  good action sequences.  Easy to relate to (even if you aren’t a spy!),  what a lot of kids wish they could be (example-Cody takes on bullies picking on his friend).

CONS:  The story starts as if there was another book before it, picks up in the middle of the story. It alludes to awesome CIA adventures before the book starts, Ryan says it would be really awesome if there was a book before this one that told those stories!

Ask your local librarian or bookseller  where the YA section is and you’ll discover a world of books with terrific plots just like this one.

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Daniel X: Watch the Skies Book Review

August 25, 2009 By

Daniel X Watch the SkiesJames Patterson’s exciting series for Young Adult Readers which started with The Dangerous Days of Daniel X continues with the sequel, Daniel X: Watch the Skies.  Co-written by Patterson and Ned Rust, Watch the Skies has Daniel going after another alien on his “List”, and this time, he’ll have to fight to save his whole town.

Daniel X is not your typical small-town teen. For one thing, he’s an alien hunter. He can not only see the aliens who have infiltrated Earth, he has a List of the most evil aliens ranked in order, and he has the powers to eliminate them. For help, Daniel relies on very special powers- the ability to create tangible things from his imagination. Like, for example, his own parents, who were killed by aliens, and his best friends. Daniel can also transform himself into anything he can imagine, which helps him significantly in this book.

Daniel’s town of Holliswood has been invaded by Alien # 5,  who takes over humans, then forces them to dance and perform for his intersteller variety show, which he calls “endertainment”.  While battling # 5 and his minions, Daniel also discovers first love. I also had fun reading the chapter where Daniel and his Mom explain to Daniel’s school why he isn’t attending classes, with a “Car Talk”-like list of “experts” that can back up her story for what Daniel is doing that’s more important than school. “Dr. I. M. Trubbell is assessing the state of his bureaucratic mumbo jumbo allergy.” Ha!

The book is fast-paced and the chapters are short, making it easy to tell yourself you will just read “one more chapter”.  Patterson has me wanting Daniel to do more, go more places. If Patterson keeps writing books about Daniel X, I plan to keep reading them!

Pick up Daniel X: Watch the Skies on Amazon.com for only $12.73, what a great deal! Thank you to Mom Central for providing me with the book for review. I loved it!

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