Synopsis from Chris Rylander's website:
From the publisher:
From Chris Rylander, author of The Fourth Stall, comes an incredibly funny and clever mash-up of middle-grade school story and spy adventure, in the vein of H.I.V.E. and NERDS.
There are places in the world where heroes are born. There are places where brave men and women fight a never-ending battle against evil in order to keep our country and all other countries safe. There are places where the fate of our planet is being decided, even at this very moment, the consequences of which will echo through history.
None of these places is in North Dakota.
Carson Fender, seventh grader and notorious prankster, knows this. He’s lived in North Dakota for his entire life, going to the same boring school every day, the same boring movie theater every week, the same boring state fair every year. Nothing ever changes, and nothing ever happens. That is, until today. Because today a desperate man hands him a package with a dire set of instructions. And that package is going to lead Carson to discover that there’s a secret government agency operating in his small, quiet North Dakota hometown.
And that this agency needs his help.
My Thoughts:
Codename Zero is a great read for middle school boys. I'm always on the lookout for recommendations for my boy readers (I think they get tired of my dystopian shero book recs). I've read aloud The Fourth Stall for several years and I think Rylander is becoming an even better writer (faster-paced action, shorter chapters, and even better humor). CZ brings together Anthony Horowitz-type spy gadgets with Jon Szieska-ish humor. I particularly LOVED the character Olek and his hilarious screw-ups of English sayings ("Is okay, as they say, early bird get many intestine worms in guts."). I can't wait to book talk this one when break is over! Side note: Rylander is a great author to Skype with! (See my students' reactions a couple of weeks ago when our librarian set up a Skype with him after finishing TFS).
No comments:
Post a Comment