Ark Angel

Alex Rider is fourteen years old. He attends school. He has friends.

And Alex Rider is a spy.

The story opens with Alex Rider in the hospital, just recovering from a bullet wound, the result of a previous spy adventure. In the room next to him is another fourteen-year-old boy, Paul Drevin, the son of one of the wealthiest men in the world. Alex overhears four men in the hospital lobby who are armed and seeking to kidnap Paul. Of course Alex must intervene, and he pretends to be Paul in order to save his new friend.

And we are off, into a James-Bond-for-kids world of bad guys and wicked plots and clever gadgets and, most importantly, a kid who can use his brain to triumph even in the tightest of situations.

Great fun.

One of the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read.