This book may not be my favorite, but its definitely up there. It reminded me a lot of another one of my favorite books, Proxy by Alexander London, in more ways than one, but especially in the ending. The love that I have for Allen Zadoff for writing a logical and well-thought main character is beyond words—one of the many great features of this young adult novel, including, but not limited to, a riveting plot, a fascinating moral dilemma, and a wicked sense of ironic humor.
People today have a ridiculous irrational fear that the government is out to get them. Pretty dumb, right? It’s not as if they have secret super-assassins to eliminate anyone, anywhere, for any reason. Don’t laugh. Meet Boy Nobody. Recruited by The Program when he was 12, this teenager wouldn’t exactly be considered your average 16 year old. With his complete stoicism and perfect reflexes, he was practically born to be an assassin, becoming the new kid, dropping into people’s lives and eliminating his target before his “new best friend” even realizes that he disappeared. Now, he has a new assignment: take down the mayor of New York. Why? Just another mystery. His “new best friend”? His daughter Samara, a spunky and fiercely independent individual, that is perhaps more than she seems. Except this mission is different than the others. For the first time, Ben has made a friend. And maybe, this might be the first assignment that he fails.
Allen Zadoff has pulled off a masterpiece in character. The first book in The Unknown Assassin series, I’ll admit that I was highly skeptical when I took this off the shelf. It looked like your typical YA novel. Evil secret government organization. Love interest. And don’t get me started on “assassins”, or “super-soldiers”. Too often, assassin books go terribly wrong—the so-called “cold-blooded murder” that is promised by the blurb is actually a sappy romantic that avoids killing people at all costs and falls in love with everyone, a “special snowflake” assassin who nobly goes against the terrible system that they were forced into. Is it too much to ask for what we were promised? This is not the case with Boy Nobody: I am the Weapon. “Benjamin” (his alias in New York) is exactly what we were promised—completely logical and an accomplished fighter that we get to see in action. You might think that reading a book narrated by someone resembling a robot would be boring, but I found it refreshing. Everything Benjamin does makes perfect sense, and just because he’s a super-killer doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have his own sense of humor, which shines through all throughout the book.
With a fast-paced and unusual plot, amazing characters, the second best ending I’ve read in a book and a beautiful writing style, Boy Nobody: I am the Weapon will undoubtedly become one of the greatest books of this year. It’s got a deceptive blurb, but don’t be too quick to judge. You’re missing out on something great.
★★★★☆
Sounds cliché, but has genuinely unique characters and plot in a fast-paced action assassin book
No comments:
Post a Comment