Stormbreaker

Stormbreaker (Alex Rider #1)
Anthony Horowitz
Published by Puffin, 2006; ISBN 0142406112
Recommended reading age: 10 and up

Summary:
In the middle of the night, the doorbell rings. Instinctively, Alex knows it will be the police (after all, who else rings the doorbell so late?). He also knows it will be bad news, and isn’t too shocked when the police announce that his uncle, Ian Rider, died in an automobile accident. Only when Alex begins prying for more details do things begin to seem fishy. Why was his uncle not wearing his seatbelt that night? He always wore a seatbelt. After Alex finds bullet holes in his uncle’s car, he is kidnapped by MI-6, the Special Operations unit of Britain’s intelligence agency. They confess that Ian Rider worked for MI-6, and was assassinated during a mission. But then they announce that the only person who can complete Ian’s work is Alex himself! Although Alex is only fourteen, he goes through a whirlwind training session and sets off to save his country from a dangerous, secret plot.

Review:
I was a bit doubtful about this book, since it is generally described as the adventures of a fourteen-year-old James Bond. How could a fourteen-year-old secret agent not take part in a cheesy, unbelievable plot? Never mind that this has gone on to be a highly successful series. Thus, I was pretty surprised by how much I enjoyed Stormbreaker. Horowitz proves to be a talented writer who can take unbelievable situations and fill them with believable emotions. He uses detail and metaphor in order to bring his plot to life, but it never makes the action too flowery. Instead, he has the perfect balance of great writing and great plot. Even as I was buying Point Blank, the sequel, I was thinking, “Really? A fourteen-year-old secret agent?” But I was hooked on Alex and eager to see what would happen next. I’d recommend Stormbreaker to fans of adventure and espionage; readers who liked Little Brother; and sophisticated readers looking for a lighter, but still enjoyable read.