Point Blank (Alex Rider)

Anthony Horowitz is an extremely popular and prolific author. His books include Groosham Grange and its sequel The Unholy Grail, Granny, The Switch, The Devil and his Boy and the Diamond Brothers Trilogy. The Falcon's Malteser, South by South East and Public Enemy Number Two as well as the prequel to Point Blanc, the best-selling Stormbreaker, nominated for the 2001 Children's Book Award. Among his many TV credits are Murder Most Horrid, Midsomer Murders, Poirot and Crime Traveller. He is married with two children and lives in north London.

Gr. 6-10. There are times when a grade-B adventure is just the ticket for a bored teenager--especially if it offers plenty of slam-bang action, spying, and high-tech gadgets. Point Blank, the second in the Alex Rider Adventure series, is a nonstop thriller of just that sort, which features a 14-year-old orphan who is a reluctant spy for the British government. Trained by his uncle, a topnotch spy who died with his boots on, Alex is a bright, tough, daredevil athlete. No wonder M16 wants him to investigate a mysterious Swiss school dedicated to "reforming" delinquent sons of wealthy industrialists and important officials. Using a false identity, Alex enters the school and soon finds himself surrounded by curiously docile students, teachers who support the fascism, and a renegade doctor interested in cloning. With secret rooms, sullen sentries, mysterious disappearances, and wild rides galore, this is a great choice for reluctant readers. Jean Franklin
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