Crocodile Tears

January 1, 2010
Gr 6-10-Alex Rider is only 14, but that hasn't stopped MI6, the British espionage organization, from recruiting him for dangerous missions. Here, Alex is enlisted in a seemingly quick and easy mission of downloading computer data while on a school trip to a lab immersed in the genetic engineering of plants. While there, he discovers a sinister plot involving a criminal turned preacher and philanthropist. As in the earlier installments, the book is chock-full of excitement and suspense from the first page to the last. It starts with a bomb at a nuclear plant in India, and along the way there is a charity black-tie card game, poison needles, car crashes, bullets, and exploding gel pens. Most of the backstory is explained, so no prior knowledge of the earlier books is necessary. Great for reluctant readers."Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2010
Grades 6-9 Alex Rider, teenage British secret service agent, returns. This time, a wealthy villain schemes to make millions by creating disasters and then pocketing the money from false relief agencies. Alex discovers the bad guys plan to cause famine in Africa, but he is able to expose the fake philanthropist, although he is nearly fed to hungry crocs in the process. Horowitz's series remains on top of the growing genre of YA novels that feature intelligence agencies employing teenagers. He knows how to pace a thriller and delivers one exciting scene after another. Alex Rider fans will rejoice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2010
In his eighth appearance, teen spy Alex Rider agrees to just one more small task for MI6. But that mission makes the crafters of murderous botanical schemes interested in what he knows...enough to warrant a bi-continental kidnapping; the titular reptiles play a frightening role. Readers who like their action with no holds barred will race through this well-paced thriller.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)