Eagle Strike, by Anthony Horowitz

Bibliographic Information:
Horowitz, A. (2003). Eagle Strike. Philomel Books. ISBN-10: 0399239790

Book Awards:
None.


Plot Summary:
Alex Rider, a fourteen year old sometime-spy for Britain's MI6, is on vacation with a friend and her family in the south of France. When Alex sees the mysterious hitman who killed his uncle, he knows trouble is afoot, but decides not to get involved. Unfortunately, it turns out that the hitman's business is killing his friend's father by blowing up the house. Enraged and guilt-ridden, Alex goes after both the hitman and the man who hired him. This time, however, MI6 won't back him up because Alex cannot convince them that the man behind the hit is England's most philanthropic citizen-- a mega-rock star who gives a huge proportion of his proceeds to charities. Undeterred, Alex braves maddened bulls, hardened killers, and Aztec warriors (!) to bring justice to the deserving.

Critical Evaluation:
This is not deep literature, but it's not supposed to be! Horowitz keeps his sentences short and the action and prose tight. This results in a fast-paced, enjoyable book that is accessible to younger tween readers. Alex gets himself into, and out of, incredible situations, and the author occasionally excuses himself by using the phrase, "he got lucky, and...". While this is a pretty weak literary device, it is not terribly overused, and lets face it: how else can one explain James Bond's or Alex Rider's continuous escapes from death?

Reader's Annotation:
Alex must call on both his spy skills and his Xbox skills to save the world.

About the Author:
Anthony Horowitz was born in England in 1956. He had a miserable time at boarding school, and knew that he wanted to be a writer by the age of 8. He has written over 50 books, and is also a prolific television screenwriter. He currently lives in London with his wife and two sons.

Genre:
Action

Curriculum Ties:
None

Booktalking Ideas:
Can video games save the world?
If you had to play one with your body instead of an avatar, would you survive?

Interest Age:
9-14

Challenge Issues:
None
Reason Included:
I enjoyed the movie Stormbreaker, and I became curious about the books.