Title: I Am the Mission
Author: Allen Zadoff
Genre: YA thriller
Pages: 432
Pub. Date: June 17, 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Book Blurb:
HE WAS THE PERFECT ASSASSIN
No name. No past. No remorse. Perfect, that is, until he began to ask questions and challenge his orders. Now The Program is worried that their valuable soldier has become a liability.
And so Boy Nobody is given a new mission. A test of sorts. A chance to prove his loyalty.
His objective: Take out Eugene Moore, the owner of an extremist military training camp for teenagers. It sounds like a simple task, but a previous operative couldn't do it. He lost the mission and is presumed dead. Now our assassin is confident he can finish the job. Quickly.
But when things go awry, Boy Nobody finds himself lost in a mission where nothing is as it seems: not The Program, his allegiances, nor the truth.
The riveting second book in Allen Zadoff's The Unknown Assassin series delivers heart-pounding action and a shocking new twist that makes our hero question everything he has believed.
Review:
Wow. Just wow. Zadoff sure knows how to keep readers on the edge of their seat! Where to start this review? Alright...let's start with the rating because there's a little story to go with it. Under normal circumstances, I would rate I Am the Mission (which, btw, is the sequel to I Am the Weapon) a solid 4 stars....BUT....the story takes place in New Hampshire. Let me repeat that. The novel takes place in NEW HAMPSHIRE. Nobody writes about New Hampshire. Like ever.
And because I live in New Hampshire, I was oh so very happy/amazed when I cracked open I Am the Mission and discovered it takes place in the Granite State (and in Manchester--which is actually really close to where I live!!!)
And so, because of that, I tacked on an extra 1/2 star, thus bringing the rating of the novel up to 4 1/2 stars. Alright--I hope I haven't bored you with my back story...onward and forward!
I think Zadoff's trademark is his short, snappy sentences, which really suites this genre. I think I might have mentioned this in a previous review for a book written by Zadoff, but his writing really reminds me of the writing found in the Jack Reacher series and the Alex Rider series as well. However, the target audience is probably for readers older than those of Alex Rider but younger than Jack Reacher. I enjoyed how there is no slow parts in the plot.
And gosh...the main character (who constantly changes his name due to the nature of his job) makes a lot of self discoveries. For this particular book, the main character takes on the false name of Daniel--so that's what I'll call him in this review. There's a lot of introspective stuff going on in this novel--and it's actually kind of sad to read about. Daniel lost his childhood ever since he joined the Program--and I think this quote beautifully illustrates this:
"Am I happy? I know there are times that I feel good...is that happiness? [to "Father"] 'Maybe I am,' I say. 'I'm not sure what happiness is.'
'I'll give you a hint,' he says. 'If you have to think about it that long, it's not happiness.'"
A lot of secrets are revealed throughout the novel, which keeps tension high. I also love the references Zadoff makes to real-world history (ie. MAD--mutually assured destruction from the Cold War.) There was some romance involved in the novel, but Daniel does a pretty good job pushing it aside and focusing on his mission (assassinate Eugene Moore--a military camp leader.)
Overall, I would highly recommend this book for older teens who love a fast paced page turned filled with a lot of action.
Rating:
Find
it: Amazon, Barnes
& Noble, Goodreads
About the Author:
Allen Zadoff is the author of the THE UNKNOWN
ASSASSIN series as well as several acclaimed novels includingFOOD, GIRLS, AND OTHER THINGS I CAN'T HAVE, winner of
the Sid Fleischman Humor Award and a YALSA Popular Paperback for Young
Adults. Allen's action-packed series debut, I AM THE WEAPON (formerly BOY
NOBODY), is a page-turning thriller about a teenage assassin that
has already been optioned for film by Sony Pictures & Overbrook
Entertainment. The book was featured in the Los Angeles Times' Summer
Reading guide and has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and
VOYA. Kirkus Reviews called I AM THE WEAPON "fast, furious, and
fun." Look for the sequel, I AM THE MISSION,
beginning in June 2014. Allen is a graduate of Cornell University and the
Harvard University Institute for Advanced Theatre Training. His training as a
super spy, however, has yet to be verified. Visit Allen on the web
at www.allenzadoff.com.
Interested? Be sure to read I AM THE WEAPON first!
Title: I AM THE WEAPON (The Unknown Assassin #1)
Author: Allen Zadoff
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pub. Date: June 11, 2013
Pages: 368
Previously published
under the title Boy Nobody
Book Blurb:
They needed the perfect assassin.
Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few
notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school in a new
town under a new name, makes a few friends, and doesn't stay long. Just long
enough for someone in his new friend's family to die-of "natural
causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, moving on to the
next target.
But when he's assigned to the mayor of New York City, things
change. The daughter is unlike anyone he has encountered before; the mayor
reminds him of his father. And when memories and questions surface, his
handlers at The Program are watching. Because somewhere deep inside, Boy Nobody
is somebody: the kid he once was; the teen who wants normal things, like a real
home and parents; a young man who wants out. And who just might want those
things badly enough to sabotage The Program's mission.
In this action-packed series debut, author Allen Zadoff pens
a page-turning thriller that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping,
introducing an utterly original and unforgettable antihero.
Alright--you've made it this far into the post! Whoot! Be sure to enter the Giveaway below for the chance to win *insert drumroll* I AM THE WEAPON and I AM THE MISSION
Week One:
6/16/2014- Fiktshun- Guest Post
6/17/2014- New
Adult Addiction- Review
6/18/2014- By the Book Reviews- Review
6/19/2014- YA
Book Nerd- Interview
6/20/2014- Swoony
Boys Podcast- Guest
Post
Week Two:
6/23/2014- The Book Landers- Review
6/24/2014- Crossroad Reviews- Review
6/25/2014- The
Haunting of Orchid Forsythia- Review
6/26/2014- Curling Up With A Good Book- Guest Post
6/27/2014- Parajunkee's View- Interview
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