Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Adventure (#8)
From the publisher: The Alex Rider Adventures by Anthony Horowitz have already spent over a year on the New York Times best seller list and sold 12 million copies in English alone, with sales of over 5 million in the US . The next installment of this flagship action series for boys Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Adventure (#8) by Anthony Horowitz will be published on November 17, 2009 followed by a 10-day national tour by Anthony Horowitz and tween boys just can’t wait. There is an announced first printing of 350,000 copies.
This past July, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times included the Alex Riders Adventures on his “The Best Kids’ Books Ever” list: “These are modern British spy thrillers in which things keep exploding in a very satisfying way. Alex amounts to a teenage James Bond for the 21st century.” Since day one, tween boys have been gobbling up each thrilling chapter in the life of Alex Rider and as a result, Alex has even made it onto the radar of Stephen King. The Los Angeles Times lauded Anthony Horowitz as having an “Ian Fleming-esque talent for dreaming up timely, imaginative, and far-out plots.”
Alex Rider is a reluctant teenage spy who works for Britain ’s MI6 and unlike James Bond, does not have a license to kill. Instead, he uses his wits and cool gadgets to incapacitate the bad guys. Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Adventure (#8) feels ripped from the headlines, with a charity broker con artist raising millions of dollars in donations, only to invest them in a form of genetically modified wheat that has the power to release an airborne strain of virus so powerful, it can knock out an entire country in one windy day – a catastrophe so far-reaching that it would raise millions of dollars more in charitable donations, all of which would be embezzled by one man. The antidote? Alex Rider, of course, who survives gunfire, explosions, and hand-to-combat with mercenaries – just another day in the life of an average teen super-spy kid.
My take: More and more I’m thinking the Y.A. (young adult) fiction I’m reviewing is better than most ADULT fiction out there lately. I also thinking “where the heck were these books when I was growing up?” And at the very least, I’m thinking about when I can get myself to the bookstore to get the Alex Rider Adventures Books 1 – 7!
Not that you need them to read and enjoy Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Adventure (#8). This book stands alone just fine. In fact, I had never even heard of the Alex Rider series before I laid my hands on Crocodile Tears and I just loved, loved, loved it! The book is jam packed with action-action-action! Comparing Alex Rider to James Bond (abet a teenage-James Bond) is a perfect description. Actually, I had a hard time thinking he is only a teenager, what with his skills, poise and intelligence. This was another book I really had a hard time putting down. It was a few late nights to finish it up but it was well worth the loss of sleep. If you or anyone in your family loves adventure, be sure to snatch up this novel – it may be targeted at tween boys but let me tell you, it has appeal across a broad spectrum of ages and gender.
About Anthony Horowitz: Anthony Horowitz (www.anthonyhorowitz.com) is a world-renowned screenwriter for television and film, a playwright, and the author of the #1 New York Times best selling Alex Rider Adventures. Crocodile Tears is the eighth title in this blockbuster series, which has also spawned a major motion picture and a line of graphic novels. Anthony lives in London with his wife Jill, and their two sons, Nicholas and Cassian.
About Penguin Group USA : Penguin Group ( USA ) is the U.S. affiliate of the internationally renowned Penguin Group. Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children’s trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks including Berkley Books, Dutton, Frederick Warne, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Grosset & Dunlap, New American Library, Penguin, Philomel, Plume, Puffin Books, Riverhead Books and Viking, among others. The Penguin Group is part of Pearson (FTSE: PSON ; NYSE: PSO ). Pearson is an international media company with market leading businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing. For more information, visit www.pearson.com.
This post was written for Penguin Group USA who provided the book for review. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary book.
About the author:
Because we all have an opinion. Did U See That? is where you'll find reviews of books, movies, products, toys, websites and whatever else catches my eye. Where I'll discuss ideas sparked by current events. Come on in and join the party! Your opinion is welcome here.
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Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Adventure (#8)
That looks very interesting!! I really need to start branching out when it comes to reading-I have a few authors that I read ALL the time, but it’s starting to get monotonous.
Great review
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