120. Projekt 1065

Projekt 1065. Alan Gratz. 2016. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [Middle Grade, Young Adult Historical Fiction, World War II]

First sentence: It's hard to smile when you're having dinner with Nazis.

Premise/plot: Michael O'Shaunessey may be a boy, but he's also a spy from a family of spies. His father is the Irish ambassador to Germany, and the family has lived in Berlin for over seven years. He belongs to the Hitler Youth for one reason only, to help his cover and his parents' cover. Michael is essential to his family's work because he has a photographic memory.

My thoughts: Thank you, Alan Gratz for your short chapters! Each chapter left me wanting more, and because the next chapter was so short I could keep going and going and going. This historical novel was compelling and packed with action. The characters were developed well. It was interesting to see Michael take an interest in the banned books and take up reading mystery novels! Loved the Rex Stout Golden Spiders reference. Simon was a memorable character as well. I'll refrain from elaborating because I don't want to include spoilers. Fritz was an interesting character as well. I am glad there was some complexity to some of the boys in the Hitler Youth. 
 

ETA: I reread this one in June 2023. I remember loving Alan Gratz's work. I knew he wrote several set during the Second World War. This one was such a mighty (aka INTENSE) read. One thing I noticed in my reread were the details about books and the talk about banned books. One of my favorite scenes is when he's talking with either Simon OR his father (maybe both???) about books. He's challenged to rethink an issue. Michael's family has a hidden stash of banned books that would be burned if discovered. There's a certain risk if these books are discovered. Yet despite having access to books, Michael is not a reader. There's a line like IF YOU AREN'T READING THESE BOOKS, if you're not valuing these books, the contents of these books, they might as well be burned. I'm sure I got the scene a little wrong. Unlike Michael I don't have a photographic memory. But it reminded me of Fahrenheit 451. 

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

53. The Winter Soldier: Cold Front

The Winter Soldier: Cold Front. Mackenzi Lee. 2023. [February] 416 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence from prologue: When you wake, the only thing you remember is dying.
First sentence from chapter one: The agent flinches when Rostova rips the hood from his head.

Premise/plot: Dual timelines of 1954 and 1941--both star the same man. (Well, "same" may be relative.) In 1941, Bucky Barnes is eager to join the war effort, but he's only sixteen. When he's offered an opportunity by the British SOE, he accepts despite protests from his guardian. His time in Britain will bring him into contact with an unforgettably-forgettable-unforgettable young woman who has burdens of her own. In 1954, the Winter Soldier is an Agent for who-knows-who. He's built--constructed--to do missions, to follow orders precisely and exactly. He's not built to ask questions, to show mercy, to bend the rules. So when someone (or two someones) recognizes him as Bucky, this is one confused Agent. Can he piece together who he is and how he came to be there...before it's too late???

My thoughts: Don't expect Bucky Barnes to be *the* Bucky Barnes from the Marvel Universe FILM franchise. The history you know from the Captain America movies (etc.) is not *this* Bucky Barnes. When I began to realize this, I sought out reviews from GoodReads. I came to the conclusion that this Bucky Barnes is more strongly influenced by the comic book version. (I'm not sure that there is one definitive story line. Perhaps Bucky Barnes is a character that keeps re-inventing in the comic books? I know some do. (Like Batman)). I have not sought out more on the comic strip version(s) of Winter Soldier and/or Bucky Barnes. So I decided just to read it as if it was my very first and only introduction to the character. 

Bucky is YOUNG and idealistic, in some ways. I don't know that he has a full grasp on the horrors/terrors of war. (Does any young soldier?) He is thrilled that he may qualify for a super-top-secret program designed for young people around his own age. He can still serve "the good guys" (aka Allies) while being part of a super-secret-exclusive group. In some ways, this might be "even better" since not everyone is qualified and/or chosen. But he finds that "good guys" and "bad guys" are not as black and white as he might have first thought. There are some that would win at any cost--no matter the means, no matter the consequences. 

Bucky meets a young woman, Imogen "Gimlet" Fleming. He will fall hard and fast for her. But she's layered, complex. (As he soon will be as the Winter Soldier). There is some romance. This romance gets a little heated. (Nothing above and beyond what you'd find in Marvel movies in general). But it is not a clean read. 

The book is ultimately and predictably tragic. Because most readers will know that the Winter Soldier does not have a happily ever after ending....in 1954.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

We Set the Dark on Fire

We Set the Dark on Fire. Tehlor Kay Mejia. 2019. 384 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: In the beginning, there were two brother-gods: the God of Salt and the God of Sun.

Premise/plot: The book is set in the fictional island-world of Medio. In this culture, every man--or at least every man of rank--has two wives.

Dani, our heroine, has spent years training to be a Primera--a first wife. She won't be her husband's only wife, but she will be his equal, his helpmate. She'll manage his household, and keep things running smoothly. When she graduates she'll be fulfilling her parents' dream and making all their sacrifices worth it. But is it what she really wants? Maybe, maybe not. Dani's country is just as unsettled and out of sorts as her heart and mind. Political unrest has been growing and building--mainly concerning the nation's borders and those seeking to cross. Dani's would-be husband is a wealthy politician--the son of a wealthy politician. She'll take her husband's status and shed forever hers--which is for the best, right? But if it's right, why does it feel so wrong?

On the day she marries Mateo Garcia, he marries his Segunda (second wife) as well. Her name is Carmen. The two young women have been training at the same school for years. Segundas have an entirely different role within the family. They are for heart, passion, and childbearing. Dani worries that Carmen--who has sometimes bullied her in the past--will make life difficult for her.

She enters into the marriage uneasy...and her intuition is correct...there will be nothing predictable about it.

My thoughts: The prologue was beautifully written. It made it sound like there would be at least some mythological substance, some spirituality to the world-building. In the first few chapters, Dani alludes to the fact that her gods--the gods of her family--are not those of Medio. But this thread tends to not go anywhere or serve a purpose. Though the prologue makes you think its about gods in conflict with one another--sibling rivalry--the book isn't really.

I was drawn into this one from the prologue and the first chapter or two. Dani, our narrator, has a tough decision to make. Will she continue living a lie just because her parents want her to have a better life? Will she continue living that lie out of self-preservation? Will her secret come out? (The secret is about where she was born--what side of the border she was born on and the sacrifices her parents made to falsify her documents.) How does she feel about the border? about the racism? about the violence? about politics?

Medio. The culture isn't really explored as fully as I had hoped. The more I read, the shallower it felt to me. It just felt undeveloped.

It is definitely action-driven and not character-driven. I felt most of the characters--with the exception of Carmen and Dani--were incredibly flat and insubstantial. The action wasn't particularly satisfying--to me. The book seemed to digress from being a political thriller with SPIES to being about two women who make out a lot.


© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

World at War: In Farleigh Field

In Farleigh Field. Rhys Bowen. 2017. Lake Union. 397 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: It had been unusually hot all summer.

Premise/plot: In Farleigh Field is a stand-alone mystery/suspense novel set in England during the second world war. It has multiple narrators. It follows the lives of the aristocratic Sutton family and their neighbors. There are five daughters--no sons. Olivia (aka Livvy), Margaret (aka Margot), Pamela (aka Pamma), Diana (aka Dido), and Phoebe (aka Feebs).

Before the war, Pamela was head over heels in love with a neighbor, Jeremy Prescott, who joined the RAF. While she was making heart eyes at Jeremy, Ben Cresswell, the vicar's son, was making heart eyes at her. Almost three years later and little has changed. Well. Both Ben and Pamela are working for secret government agencies. (MI5 and Bletchley Park). But Ben still hasn't come any closer to getting the girl to notice him in that way. Pamela still daydreams that if Jeremy returns alive from the war that they may get married and live happily ever after one day.

At the Farleigh estate a dead man in uniform is found--his parachute did not open. Who was this man? Was he British? Was he German? Why parachute there? Was he on a mission to talk to someone who lived at Farleigh or nearby? What was his mission? what was his message? Does his death mean that the threat is over? Or does danger still lurk?

Phoebe and Alfie (a boy evacuated from London and living with the groundskeeper) team up on the sly to try to solve the mystery.

Ben has official orders to investigate--undercover of course. He's to go back home and see what he can uncover. Everyone should be willing to talk to the vicar's son, after all. And he may be better able to uncover the truth than a stranger would.

My thoughts: I found this an incredibly suspenseful read. Perhaps a bit predictable here and there but in a satisfying way. When it went the way I predicted, I wasn't disappointed but elated.

I typically don't like novels with alternating narrators, multiple narrators. But this one worked well for me. I loved the changing perspectives. It was nice not only to get the perspectives of Ben and Pamela but the others as well. In particular, I liked spending time with the other Sutton sisters--Dido, Phoebe, and Margot. With Margot, we got a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in occupied Paris.

I read this one in one sitting. It was GOOD.


© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

World at War: A Woman of No Importance

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II. Sonia Purnell. 2019. 368 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: France was falling.

Premise/plot: A Woman of No Importance is a biography of Virginia Hall. She came from an upper class background. Though her parents may have had certain expectations for her--a good marriage, raising a family, etc. She had plans of her own. These plans would include getting entangled in politics and government. Her dream job would be to work for the State Department and serve overseas. Realizing this dream in reality was a seemingly impossible quest. She faced discrimination certainly. It didn't help her cause that others saw her as a "cripple" or "disabled." (A hunting accident had led to an amputation of a leg.) But capable she was. Capable she'd prove herself to be over and over and over and over again. If there was no place for her to serve America, perhaps she'd serve France or Britain. Ultimately this is what she did. She served for a time as an ambulance driver in France at the start of the war. After France fell, she went to Britain where she became involved with a spy unit, SOE, she'd go to France undercover as an innocent American journalist/socialite. She'd be a spy and resistance leader. The book focuses extensively on the war years. One gets a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it was like to be a spy--the dangers, the risks, the sacrifices and hardships. Hall faced challenge after challenge with bravery and gumption.

My thoughts: This one was packed with details. It is a complex biography with dozens--if not hundreds--of names and code names. It provides details of spy rings and resistance operations. It is complicated to keep everything straight. Her story would make a lovely documentary or bio flick. Perhaps seeing it on the screen would help. There would certainly be enough suspense and drama to keep you watching.

It is an interesting and important read. Some of the challenges Hall faced were because of her sex and/or disability. There were men who did NOT want to take orders or be under the authority of a woman, even a strong, competent woman who had proved herself through experience. She was not in the military, she had no title/rank to give her the power to enforce her authority. There were spies that were reckless and careless with their business. Not knowing or caring that they were endangering everyone in the spy ring by their behavior.

This is the kind of book you would expect to be super-compelling and intense. I didn't find it so. I found it on the dry, almost boring side--very mechanical. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Blood Red Snow White

Blood Red Snow White. Marcus Sedgwick. 2016. 320 pages. [Source: Library; Audience: YA, Adult]

First sentence: The years slip away.

Premise/plot: Set during the Russian Revolution, Blood Red Snow White is narrated by Arthur Ransome, children's book writer and journalist. Though a fictionalized account it does have a historical basis. The writing is lyrical.

My thoughts: What a book!!!! This one should not be forgotten when Cybils comes around again next year. I love the writing. It is beautiful and amazing. The story itself is compelling; the details are fascinating.

The title brings to mind fairy tales. Ransome loved fairy tales, and even wrote a collection of Russian fairy tales for children. While this one is not a fantasy exactly, fairy tale lovers may find it well worth their time! It very much celebrates storytelling.

Favorite quotes:

Beyond the sunrise, halfway to the moon, and so very far away it would make your feet weep to think about it, lies a land vast in size and deep in sadness. (7)

The typewriter was a marvel of miniaturization, made from steel and rubber and ivory. A simple enough thing, though to him, a miracle in itself, for in that box was the potential to write everything that could ever be written. Every word, every sentence, every thought that could ever be, was waiting to be made from the machine in the box. Every single idea ever was in there. And that in itself was a wonderful idea. One day I'll write a story about a closed wooden box. (31)

Stories twist and turn and grow and meet and give birth to other stories. (41)

Language is a subtle but vicious killer. (119)

© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Zoo Station (2007)

Zoo Station. David Downing. 2007. Soho Press. 304 pages. [Source: Bought]

John Russell is a British journalist living in Nazi Germany in 1939. While he doesn't like the Nazi regime, he loves his (German) son very much. (He's divorced from his wife.) He's also been in a good and steady relationship with his German girlfriend, Effi, an actress, for many years. One day he's presented with an opportunity, the Russians want him to write articles; he'll be well paid, but Russell fears that if he begins working for another country he'll soon be asked to do more than write--perhaps spying or smuggling or something much more dangerous. But after some doubts, he talks himself into it. He gets the permission of the Nazis--who want the articles in advance so they can be approved--and his work begins. The British take notice and also want to see the articles in advance. They want to be very friendly with Russell just in case he proves useful. (Russell suspects they want him to be a spy as well.) Most of Zoo Station seems to be setting the stage for the 'real story' that may be revealed in later novels.

John Russell has some decisions to make. He has to decide how much he's willing to do to risk his comfortable life in order to stand up for what he knows is right. Is he willing to ask his Nazi acquaintances about the fate of his Jewish friends? How much is he willing to do to let the world know the truth about the Nazis? Is he willing to risk his own life? Should he keep silent with the truth? Can he manage to put his conscience on hold and wait for the right moment?

Zoo Station was an interesting read. It definitely held my interest! I'm not sure I loved it, but I definitely want to know what happens next!


© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Out of Sight, Out of Time (YA)

Out of Sight, Out of Time. Ally Carter. 2012. Hyperion. 304 pages.

"Where am I?" I heard the words, but I wasn't sure I'd said them. The voice was too rough, too coarse to be mine. It was as if there were a stranger in my skin, lying in the dark, saying, "Who's there?"

Out of Sight, Out of Time is the fifth book in the Gallagher Girls Series. Did it disappoint? No!!! It was just as fabulous as I expected, as I hoped. Am I growing tired of this series? No, not yet! I'm not sure I ever will. What do I like best about this series? Well, to be honest I love the balance. How it's plot-driven, premise-driven, to a certain extent, so much does depend on pacing, action, and mystery. But. The main character, the narrator, is such a GREAT character. I mean there's nothing flat about her at all. She's so fascinating. I feel about Cammie Morgan the same way I used to feel about Georgia Nicholson. (These two series are SO VERY DIFFERENT from one another, I don't want you to get the wrong idea about either one.) I suppose what I mean is that I enjoy her character so much that I'm just always glad to spend more time with her. There's also a good balance between action/adventure/mystery and humor/romance.

What can I tell you about this specific adventure? Well. Not much. Not much at all. Because it is the FIFTH book. And you need to read books one through four to meet the characters, to get to know the plot, to know what the big, big mystery is that we're trying to solve. I do think the books are getting even better. (And I loved the first ones!)

Read Out of Sight, Out of Time

• If you're a fan of the Gallagher Girls series
• If you're looking to find a boarding school full of girl spies
• If you're looking for action/adventure with plenty of danger and plenty of fun
• If you're a fan of Ally Carter

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Dreamers of the Day

Dreamers of the Day. Mary Doria Russell. 2008. Random House. 254 pages. 

I suppose I ought to warn you at the outset that my present circumstances are puzzling, even to me. Nevertheless, I am sure of this much: my little story has become your history. You won't really understand your times until you understand mine.

There were a few things that I just loved about Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell. For example, I loved the first few chapters. Readers see the impact of World War I and the 'Spanish' influenza on our heroine, Miss Agnes Shanklin. She truly lost everyone. Her mother. Her sister. Her brother-in-law. Her two nephews. Her brother. These chapters spent describing both the war and the influenza were truly fascinating. Here she is as a young woman trying to make sense of the world, of the war, of her place in it all, she's just an ordinary woman, a school teacher, and within weeks or at the very most months, to face such sudden devastation.
A few months after these losses, she decides to visit the Middle East, to visit Egypt, Cairo, in particular. She wants to see the land where her brother-in-law and sister spent their happiest years together before the War. Her sister was friends with T.E. Lawrence, and soon she is too. She is soon mingling with other famous people too--like Winston Churchill and Lady Gertrude Bell. She is listening to their heated discussions on the Middle East. Everyone has an opinion on what is best for the many people who live there, an opinion on who should rule, how they should rule, how many countries or nations, etc.
She also makes a "special" friend while in Cairo. A man who is very, very interested in what she has to say. A man who listens intently. A man who always treats her with such kindness and respect. But this "relationship" has its basis in politics too, as she later realizes.
But as much as I loved a few things about this novel, there were other things that I just did not like at all. And these weren't small things that were bothering me. For example, I did NOT care for the narration at all. I do not like dead-narrators, for the most part. People who are telling their life story from beyond-the-grave. I do not like dead people narrating on the present, and sharing their so-called wisdom. I especially do not like opinionated dead narrators who treat Christianity with disdain and contempt.

Read Dreamers of the Day

• If you are interested in novels set during the 1920s, this one, I believe, is set in 1920/1921.
• If you are interested in reading about World War I, the 'Spanish' influenza, etc.
• If you are interested in politics and history
• If you are interested in the Middle East, the formation of the Middle East; much of this one is set in Egypt, but they also travel to Palestine.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Blackstone Key

The Blackstone Key. By Rose Melikan. 2008. Simon & Schuster. 435 pages. [Historical/Mystery/Romance]

The clock at Great St. Mary's Church in Cambridge tolled the half hour on a grey, gloomy, October morning in the year 1795.

Mary Finch, our heroine, is on her way to a new life, a new start. So she thinks. She's going to visit an uncle she's never met. But the journey to get there, well, it's not without complications. Life-changing complications. She'll be meeting lots of new people--some trustworthy, others not so much. Can she discern the difference? Can you?

Set during the late eighteenth century, it focuses on the conflict between England and France. What you'll get--if you choose this one as something you'd like to try--is a bit of history, a bit of mystery, and a tiny bit of romance.

Did I like it? Yes and no. On the one hand, it's detail-oriented. There's a richness to that in some ways. It's like immersing yourself in a different time period, a different world. It can be a good thing. On the other hand, it can be a bit tedious at times, a bit tiresome. To be honest, there were places I just felt so bogged down that I was at the point of giving up. And then I would have a moment, where the book felt like it was on the verge of being oh-so-good. So I would keep on going. Towards the end, the pace did pick up and I reached a place where I knew I had to finish it.

So I wanted to like it more than I did. But I think it has potential for patient readers. (Or readers who aren't reading two or three books all at once.)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Year of the Bomb (MG)

Kidd, Ronald. 2009. The Year of the Bomb. Simon & Schuster. 202 pages.

There were Martians in the backyard.

This is why I love the Cybils. I love discovering books like this one. The cover on this one didn't thrill me. It didn't say read me, read me. But. This book was oh-so-good. And I hope that you will give it a chance. You may just be surprised at how much you enjoy it.

What is it about? It's about a group of friends (boys) growing up in the fifties. (The year--to be exact--is 1955). (The boys are Arnie, Paul, Crank, and Oz.) What these boys have in common is science fiction and horror. Books. Movies. Magazines. Doesn't matter. If there are monsters or aliens lurking, they're there. They're hooked. Though they may be scared silly, they are loving every minute of it.

One day they learn that a movie--a horror movie--is going to be filmed in their hometown. (They live in Sierra Madre, California.) The film is Invasion of the Body Snatchers. From the minute they hear the news, they are excited, thrilled. Maybe just maybe they can watch the movie being filmed. Maybe they can see a few stars. This is what they've been waiting for. Finally. Something to be excited about.

This book is about the filming of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But it is also about McCarthyism and the Cold War. Coming-of-age during this time in history. When the threat of war, of bombs, was very real.

I'd definitely recommend this one. If you like historical fiction. If you like coming of age stories. If you like science. If you like science fiction and/or horror. If you're a movie-lover. This one just felt so right to me. I love how everything comes together in this one. How the author, Ronald Kidd, weaved real facts into this fiction novel. There is a great author's note explaining what is real and what is not.

(This review copy was provided by the publisher.)

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Swiss Courier

Goyer, Tricia and Mike Yorkey. 2009. The Swiss Courier. Revell. 324 pages.

He hoped his accent wouldn't give him away.

There was so much to love about this one. It's historical fiction. Set during World War II. 1944 to be exact. I've read many books set during this time period, but this one was unique--at least to me. It is set in Switzerland, for the most part, and stars heroes and heroines who are spies. They are men and women going undercover in Germany and risking their lives for the Allied Cause. Our heroine is the young and attractive Gabi Mueller. She's been given a secret mission--well, one big secret mission--she must help smuggle someone out of Germany. Will she succeed? Will her contribution make a difference to the war?

I think this one has much to offer readers. It's an enjoyable read that happens to be historical. If you love this time period, you should definitely seek it out.

Available October 2009 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Squad: Killer Spirit

Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. 2008. The Squad: Killer Spirit. Random House. 324 pages.

Once upon a time, I thought that the cheerleaders at my high school were no more capable of intelligent thought or true athleticism than the average dachshund. Suffice to say that unless the wiener dogs of the world have been holing out on me--big time--I was very, very wrong.

This book is the sequel to The Squad: Perfect Cover. Both books are great fun in a quirky, sarcastic meets Alias kinda way. Both books star a teen girl, Toby, who unexpectedly finds herself chosen to be a cheerleader. But not just any cheerleader, no, the super-fun, undercover-spy, working-for-the-government, top-secret, glitter-wearing kind of cheerleader. Transitioning from proud-loner to popular-cheerleader hasn't been easy for Toby. The first book is about the recruitment and Toby's first few weeks. The second book opens a few weeks after the close of the first novel. It's fall and homecoming is approaching. But a big case has come up as well. The book balances both the danger and treachery of spies working on a tricky case and the typical high school melodrama centering on homecoming, football, pep rallies, and homecoming courts. (Who will be Queen? Who will be princess? Who will go with whom to the dance?) You can read an excerpt from the book here.

What I love most about this one? Besides the general snarkiness of Toby? The friction-filled, chemistry-packed always-on-the-verge-of-developing relationship between Jack and Toby (or "Ev" as he calls her short for "Everyone knows Toby.") This is the scene right after Toby learns that she has been nominated for Homecoming Queen...along with all the other members of the cheerleading squad.

"Fancy meeting you here." Jack spoke into the back of my head, but I knew it was him.
Darn Noah. Darn the PTA president. Darn Hayley Hoffman.
"Aren't you going to say something, Ev?"
I muttered an expletive under my breath, and Jack smiled.
"That's my girl."
"I'm not your girl," I said sharply.
He stepped closer, until the rest of the crowd felt miles away by comparison. "You could be."
There were times when I almost couldn't restrain myself around him, times when I wanted to kiss him again so badly that my lips literally hurt. This wasn't one of them. He was being suave and smooth, and I wasn't falling for it.
"Yeah," I said, "and I could also tattoo an anorexic pterodactyl on my navel, but I'm not planning to do that either."
"Anorexic pterodactyl." He repeated my words, and the self-assured smirk on his face was replaced with repressed amusement. "Sounds more like a butt tattoo to me."
It was comments like that one that did me in. He could wax poetic about me being his girl or how beautiful I was or whatever from now until graduation, and it wouldn't inspire anything in me other than the desire to spell out for him just how much of a tool I thought he was. But the moment he started snarking or quipping or admiring my snarky quippiness, I was a goner.
"I'll make you a deal, Ev. You go to homecoming with me, and I'll save you from having to go to the God Squad after-party."
He knew how to sweet-talk a girl. He really knew how to sweet-talk a girl....

But will she say yes? Did she say yes? Can she survive long enough to get to the dance? Read and see!


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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The Squad: Perfect Cover

Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. 2008. The Squad: Perfect Cover.

If you'd told me at the beginning of sophomore year that I was going to end up a government operative, I would have thought you were crazy, but if you'd told me I was destined to become a cheerleader, I would have had you committed, no questions asked. At that point in time, there were three things in life that I knew for certain: 1)I was a girl who'd never met a site she couldn't hack or a code she couldn't break, 2) I had a roundhouse that could put a grown man in the hospital, and 3) I would without question chop off my own hands before I'd come within five feet of a pom-pom.

I loved this one. I just loved it. We clicked right from the start. The premise? Practically perfect, an unlikely girl, Toby Klein, is invited to try out for the cheerleading squad. Her invitation? It contains a code, and that's not the only suspicious thing going on. Yet before she knows quite how and why it's happening...Toby Klein is...in fact...a cheerleader. True, she's not your typical cheerleader. None of the girls on the squad are...which is why they make perfect undercover agents for the government!

I don't want to reveal too much. But I do want you to know that this one is pure fun, and thoroughly satisfying. I know I can't guarantee that YOU will love it as much as I did. Reading is too subjective to make promises like that. But I do encourage you to pick this one up and give it a try. It's a paperback original--and it's worth every penny of the $7.


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews