Stormbreaker (Alex Rider Series, Book 1)
By: Anthony Horowitz
Fourteen-year-old Alex Rider lives with his Uncle Ian, who has raised him since the death of his parents. His Uncle is an international banker and is often away on business. One evening the police come to his home to tell him that Uncle Ian has died in a car crash because he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. Alex knows that this can’t be true because his uncle was a stickler about wearing his seat belt. When Alex finds his uncle’s bullet ridden car in a junk yard, he realizes that his uncle was, in fact, murdered.
In his quest to find out what really happened to his uncle, Alex discovers that his uncle was not an international banker but a British spy working on a top secret mission for MI6. His uncle was investigating Herod Sayle, a ruthless business tycoon. Through a series of events, Alex is forced to take over his uncle’s mission and go undercover to investigate Sayle, an evil computer genius. Sayle has developed a revolutionary computer called Stormbreaker that he wants to donate to every British school but Sayle is hiding something and Alex must uncover the truth.
To prepare Alex for his mission he is given two weeks of training, zit cream that can burn through metal and a Game Boy that will scan, fax and emit smoke bombs. When Alex enters Sayle’s compound he finds himself in the midst of terrorists and villains. He must find out what Sayle is planning and stop him if he wants to save himself and all of Britain’s school children.
Alex is a wonderful, likable character who is strong and smart. This action packed story has twists and turns and a spectacular ending. Readers will be on the edge of their seats wondering what will happen next. There are ten books about Alex Rider and his adventures and after reading this first one, you will run to grab book # 2, Point Blank!
Recommended for grades 5 and Up.
Review By: Jan Bridges