Point Blank: An Alex Rider Adventure

Horowitz, Anthony. Point Blank: An Alex Rider Adventure. Philomel Books: 2001. ISBN: 039923621X.

Plot Summary:
Alex Rider is back to school and recuperated from his first mission for MI6. School seems petty and uninteresting after his work for the agency. One day as Alex is leaving school he notices a guy in a white car selling drugs to the students. This makes him angry and he takes matters into his own hands. How hard could it be for a secret agent to catch a small time drug dealer? Well, millions of dollars of destruction later, Alex is back in the office of Mr. Blunt of MI6. Luckily the government needs him for another mission so the whole drug dealer incident can be forgotten. Alex is asked to infiltrate a prestigious school in the Alps where the rich and famous send their wayward teenage sons. His mission is to attend the school and find out what they are up to. This adventure includes a beautiful girl, suspense and lots of danger.

Critical Evaluation:
Anthony Horowitz knows how to write an adventure novel. Alex Rider's escapades are realistic enough to almost believe even though he must have nine lives and a very busy guardian angel. Teenage boys check these books out quite regularly and heartily recommend them. The draw is the idea of a person their age who can make a difference in the world and solve a problem that the adults can't. The books in the series build on one another with the same characters making at least brief appearances. I like that Alex is not some boy genius like Artemis Fowl or has special powers like Harry Potter. He is an average teen that has taken karate lessons and learned several languages, no wand required. Alex also gets our sympathy right off. His parents are deceased and his only relative, the uncle he lived with died in the first novel. The author primes us to like Alex and it works. He is vulnerable and strong, sometimes kicking himself for his actions. Alex is pretty much the typical teen.

Reader's Annotation:
The most exciting school day is worse than the most boring day of a teenage spy.

Information About the Author:
Anthony Horowitz had a horrible childhood. Born in England and part of a wealthy family, he was overweight, unhappy and lived at a boarding school. One positive result from such unhappy circumstances was Anthony's ability to make up a good story. The very popular Alex Rider series is celebrating it's tenth year and was made into a movie in 2006. To date there are eight Alex Rider novels, another just completed will finish the series.
The newest series from Anthony Horowitz is The Power of Five, a supernatural thriller with a boy protagonist. Also part of Anthony's resume is writing for television including Foyle's War and an episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot, both seen on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery.

Genre:
Adventure/Espionage and Terrorism

Curriculum Ties:
Espionage
Terrorism
Children doing adult's work

Booktalking Ideas:
Could you take on the identity of another person?
The ability to work under pressure, knowing it is life and death.
Would you be able to kill someone in self defense?

Reading Level/Interest Age:
8th +

Challenge Issues:
None

Why Include This Book?
I really liked the first book in the series.