Posts Tagged 'secret service'

Zero Day by Jan Gangsei

Published January 25, 2018 Mystery , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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Genre: Mystery/realistic fiction

# of Pages:  359

2018-19 Iowa High School Award Winner

Addie Webster was kidnapped from her home when she was 8 and there has been no trace of her ever since.  Then, after her father becomes president of the U.S. she mysteriously shows up again and claims to have escaped from her terrible captors.  The head of the NSA finds her story troublesome and enlists her former best friend, Darrow, to keep an eye on her and see if she does anything unusual.  Darrow is offended at first, but unfortunately has some deeds in his past he would prefer did not become public and agrees to keep an eye on Addie.  He is surprised to find that she does exhibit some unusual behavior, such as being able to hack and take down a video posted by a bully in a threatening manner.  He’s happy she did it of course, but where did she get such computer skills if she was raised in a compound with no connections to the modern world? What is she up to and how far will she go to get what she wants?  Most importantly, is any part of her still the Addie he remembers playing board games with as children?

This book is fun, surprising, and fast paced.  Readers will enjoy the unusual set up, but will most likely see through some of the lies that take Addie awhile to figure out.  It is set up to continue and I’m sure that readers will want more after the exciting ending and subsequent cliffhanger.  Many of the characters are not fully developed, but as the series continues I’m sure they will develop further.  This would be a popular title to share with reluctant readers, not because of its length, but because of its ability to grab the reader from the very beginning and keep him or her guessing until the very end.

 

Don’t Judge a Girl By Her Cover by Ally Carter

Published September 2, 2009 Adventure , RAC , Realistic Fiction 7 Comments
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Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  14 and up

# of Pages:  263

RAC Book:  Yes

In this third installment of the Gallagher Girls series, Cammie Morgan is back with her friends and about to start junior year in the private spy school, Gallagher Academy.  Before going back to school, Cammie decides to visit her friend, Macey, on the campaign trail with her father who is running for Vice President of the United States.  When they are unexpectedly attacked by skilled kidnappers, Cammie realizes how much danger her friend is in and worries about keeping her safe.  Abigail Cameron, Cammie’s aunt, is brought to the Gallagher school in order to protect Macey and keep anyone out who might blow the academy’s cover of being a snooty prep school for wealthy girls.  Meanwhile, Cammie can’t help but think about Zach, who left her at the end of the last book to go back to his spy school, Blackthorne.  She  feels like he is always on her mind for no apparent reason.  Is she paranoid or a very perceptive spy?  Can the Gallagher Girls manage to keep Macey safe during this crazy and very public election time?

This series is a lot of fun and many students eagerly awaited this third installment.  They were not disappointed in the quality of the story.  The election added an interesting new spin on the girls’ spy training because they were actually in real danger many times during the course of events and had to act as real spies would act in order to create new and adventurous plans to protect themselves.  The characters are just as interesting as ever and the story kept a brisk pace.  The only complaint I heard was that it went by too quickly.   All in all, a fun ride.

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