Spy High Mission One (Spy High (Little Brown and Company))
Grade 9 Up–The six members of Bond team are on a mission that may mean life or death for them or for thousands of innocent people. They are students at Spy High, an elite school that not only teaches them academics, but also instructs them on hand-to-hand combat, infiltrating evil-doer computer systems, and proper use of their shock suits. The book is set in the future, whengenetic mutation gas is the weapon of choice for the bad guys. The teenagers find it difficult to function as a unit; there is a struggle about who should lead and they are all filled with self-doubt. Only a tragedy of monumental proportions can force them to work together and realize their own strengths. While striving to create a James Bond story for teenagers, this book ends up being more of a cliché about the spy business than an intriguing adventure. The main characters are never fully developed and stereotypes abound. Readers may appreciate the nonstop action, but descriptions such as "The stench of the creature was in her nostrils, making her gag. Saliva drooled from its jagged mouth as razored teeth snapped at her throat" get old after awhile. Fans of adventure series may initially be attracted to this new offering, but they will tire quickly of the repetition.–Lynn Evarts, Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac, WICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.