In an effort to find more books that my 12 year old son will enjoy, I downloaded Stormbreaker by Antony Horowitz, which is the first book in his Alex Rider series. Fourteen year old Alex lives with his uncle in England. One night the police show up at his door and inform his housekeeper/nanny that his uncle died in a car crash because he wasn't wearing his seat belt. It was the last statement that bothered Alex. His uncle always wore his seat belt. He snuck into the auto yard closest to the accident site and found his uncle's car riddled with bullets. The next day, he is summoned to the bank where his uncle worked and discovers that his uncle actually worked for MI6. They blackmail him into working for them to try to finish the assignment that got his uncle killed. He tackles that project as any teenage boy might be expected full speed ahead and maneuvers through one danger after another with a combination of athleticism and luck.
I actually had only intended to read the first couple of chapters when I sat down this afternoon, but I was quickly sucked into the story. It is fast paced and packed full of action. Alex is very likeable and resourceful with more luck than should be possible, but I quickly found myself routing for him to not only stay alive but succeed. Altogether an excellent story that I'm confident my picky reader will enjoy. I enjoyed it enough that I will certainly continue with the second book of the series when I have time.
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