I AM THE MISSION

An unnamed soldier infiltrates a teen military camp and picks up where his lost colleague left off.

Still recovering from the trauma of his previous mission in New York City (I Am the Weapon, originally published as Boy Nobody, 2013), Boy Nobody, known as Daniel in this sequel, embarks on a new one. He is to assassinate the ringleader of a secret military camp in rural New Hampshire, where he indoctrinates teens to become weapons of fear. Daniel knows he must win their trust and prove his leadership abilities, and that makes up the majority of the pages of this tightly written, exciting second outing. Zadoff packs in plenty of tension-filled moments that will leave readers on the edges of their seats, including some flirty repartee that leads to a bit of steamy action with the daughter of the camp’s owner. This time, however, the blood-and-guts level escalates. It’s no splatterfest, but there’s some bona fide Rambo action in which Daniel digs a knife into his own skin, and that will no doubt turn a few stomachs—but the book’s not really for those readers anyway. The novel’s only fault lies in Zadoff’s apparent need to keep going. Just when readers think they’ve made it through one breathless climax, Zadoff adds another twist that tacks on more pages and Hollywood-esque thrills. Readers won’t mind, however. In fact, they’ll be sorry when it finally stops.

A more dangerous Alex Rider for the older set