Alex Rider Series
Readers will cheer for Alex Rider, the 14-year-old hero of British
author Horowitz's spy thriller (the first in a projected series).
When his guardian and uncle, Ian, is mysteriously killed, Alex
discovers that his uncle was not the bank vice-president he purported
to be, but rather a spy for the British government. Now the government
wants Alex to take over his uncle's mission: investigating Sayle
Enterprises, the makers of a revolutionary computer called Stormbreaker.
The company's head plans to donate one to every secondary school in
England, but his dealings with unfriendly countries and Ian Rider's
murder have brought him under suspicion. Posing as a teenage computer
whiz who's won a Stormbreaker promotional contest, Alex enters the
factory and immediately finds clues from his uncle. Satirical names
abound (e.g., Mr. Grin, Mr. Sayle's brutish butler, is so named for
the scars he received from a circus knife-throwing act gone wrong)
and the hard-boiled language is equally outrageous ("It was a soft
gray night with a half-moon forming a perfect D in the sky. D for what,
Alex wondered. Danger? Discovery? Or disaster?"). These exaggerations
only add to the fun, as do the creative gadgets that Alex uses,
including a metal-munching cream described as "Zit-Clean. For Healthier
Skin." The ultimate mystery may be a bit of a letdown, but that won't
stop readers from racing through Alex's adventures, from a high-speed
bike chase to a death-defying dance with a Portuguese man-of-war.
The audience will stay tuned for his next assignment, Point Blanc,
due out spring 2002. Ages 10-up.
Book 1: Stormbreaker
Book 2: Point Blanc
Book 3: Skeleton Key
Book 4: Eagle Strike
Book 5: Scorpia
Book 6: Ark Angel
Book 7: Snakehead
Book 8: Crocodile Tears
Book 9: Scorpia Rising
The Diamond Brothers Series
Grade 5-8.Nick Simple's life is anything but simple. His parents
have moved to Australia, leaving him in the care of his incompetent
older brother who is trying to make a living as a private detective
and changes the family name. They are visited by a dwarf who leaves
a package with them for safekeeping and later turns up dead. Set in
England and filled with a variety of colorful characters, the plot
reads like a 1940s P.I. movie. Like Horowitz's "Alex Rider" series
(Philomel), the teen protagonist relies on his wits to thwart the
enemy. Short chapters, with a conflict in each one, will appeal
to reluctant readers.
Book 1: The Falcon's Malteser
Book 2: Public Enemy Number Two
Book 7: The Greek Who Stole Christmas
The Power Of Five (The Gatekeepers) Series
Grade 9 Up-At the outset of this first book in Anthony Horowitz's
latest series (Scholastic, 2005), 14-year-old Matt is arrested at
the scene of an electronics warehouse break-in. Soon, he's remanded
to the home of a crone in a country village. She's ornery, but the
village is out and out creepy: he can't find a road that goes
anywhere but in a circle and it seems everyone to whom he turns for
help winds up dead. Horowitz's Alex Rider books presented the boy
against the system of national espionage. Matt's situation is even
worse-his opponents are witches. Simon Prebble's pacing as Matt
struggles from quicksand, is chased by dinosaurs through the
Natural History Museum, and finds himself about to be sacrificed
by the coven in a secluded wood remains agonizingly steady, wringing
every drop of horror from the author's carefully drawn plot in this
fantasy set in modern times.
Book 1: Raven's Gate
Book 2: Evil Star
Book 3: Nightrise
Book 4: Necropolis
Novels
1. The Devil And His Boy
Grade 5-7-Finding himself in London when he fully expected to spend
all of his days in Framlingham where he worked, or more precisely
slaved, for Sebastian and Henrietta Slope, young Tom Falconer hardly
knows what to make of the startling turn of events in his life.
Taken from the Slopes' inn by a gentleman who is then murdered by
the highwayman, Ratsey, Tom is now on his own. Befriended by
a pickpocket, Moll Cutpurse, he decides he wants to be an actor.
As luck would have it, no appropriate parts are available for him
in Will Shakespeare's new play at the Rose Theatre, so he accepts
work with the mysterious Dr. Mobius, whose play The Devil and His Boy
is to be presented before Queen Elizabeth. The fast-paced plot quickly
thickens. Tom finds himself pursued by Ratsey, warned of danger by
a fellow actor, and caught up in political intrigue. Needless to say,
when he lands in the lap of the queen while trying to save her life,
Tom finds himself in more trouble than he ever thought possible.
Horowitz paints his characters, or in some cases, caricatures, with
broad strokes and keeps the melodramatic story moving at a rapid clip.
There's no subtlety here, but it's a rollicking good tale that is
mostly based on historical fact, or at least historical rumor.
2. The Puffin Book Of Horror Stories
A collection of contemporary and classic horror stories by authors
such as Pete Johnson, Robert Westall, Roald Dahl and Stephen King.
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