#Prettyboy Must Die

February 1, 2018
A disgraced teen CIA operative must race to thwart a terrorist plot after his cover is blown in Reid's (Perfect Liars, 2016, etc.) latest action thriller.After a botched mission to apprehend a Ukrainian terrorist, black 17-year-old CIA agent and expert hacker Jake Morrow (alias: Peter Smith) is sent packing back to the States. Now at an elite STEM-focused high school in Colorado, Jake is unofficially investigating a nefarious hacker who was behind things in Ukraine when the unthinkable happens: Jake becomes an internet sensation. A la #AlexFromTarget, Jake's picture goes viral under the hashtag #Prettyboy, and within a matter of hours terrorists descend on his school, taking the students and administrators hostage. Jake is sure they are there to take him out, but the more he uncovers, the clearer it becomes that the stakes are far higher, and no one--even Jake's crush--is entirely who they seem. Reid has yet to miss with her brilliant teen protagonists, who are sometimes too savvy for their own good, and Jake is no exception, with well-honed espionage skills that make him prone to playing hero and making himself a target. Readers looking for contemplative growth, development, and character drive should look elsewhere--high-octane action, frighteningly plausible intrigue, and creative survival are the narrative engines here, and boy, do they work.Die Hard with Bond villains and teen spies--explosive. (Thriller. 14-17)

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February 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-In the spirit of Anthony Horowitz's "Alex Rider" and Charlie Higson's "Silverfin" books, Reid offers an action-packed story of a teenage secret agent whose cover has been blown, putting his entire high school in danger. Peter Smith, aka Prettyboy, is (or was) part of a special CIA training operation for young spies. After botching a mission in Ukraine, Peter is put on leave and sent to high school in the United States. Unwilling to let go of a hunch about a hacker involved with the arms dealers he was tracking in Ukraine, Peter follows leads that indicate the hacker is also masquerading as a student in his school. With a trusty and affable sidekick who has spent most of his life in a bunker (resulting in some humorous pratfalls and cultural blunders), Peter is able to respond quickly when Ukrainian arms dealers descend on his school in an effort to locate and, perhaps, eliminate him. Unlike the predecessors in the genre, this volume fails to fully engage readers on an emotional level, leaving some of the most suspenseful scenes lacking in intensity. There is little character development and many of the plot devices require a suspension of disbelief that may ask too much of teens. However, the book reads easily and should please fans of spy thrillers. VERDICT Recommended for large collections.-Nora G. Murphy, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, CA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2018
Grades 7-10 Most teens dream of going viral, but not Jake Morrow, a hacker prodigy recruited by the CIA, whose cover at a Colorado private school is blown when his shirtless picture starts trending on Twitter. After his classroom is taken hostage, Jake must fight back against the intruders, who are out for revenge. But Jake isn't the only undercover agent at Carlisle Academy, and he must race to unmask the attackers' allies on the inside. Jake suspects that Katie Carmichael, a brilliant new transfer student, has infiltrated the student body, but whose side is she really on? Is laying siege to a high school in a town that happens to be home to the country's top research labs a coincidence, or is it a threat to national security? Characterization takes a backseat to action in this thriller; little attention is spent on Jake's transformation from criminal foster kid to hero, and bland foes fail to rouse much interest. But the jam-packed plot, while hard to follow at times, should please older fans of the Alex Rider series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)