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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Stormbreaker is the first book in the Alex Rider Series, following a young boy named Alex. After Alex's uncle dies under mysterious circumstances, Alex is visted by a man who seems to know something about the way Alex's Uncle died. This is a good book if you like action/spy novels and the occasional humor. Stormbreaker was a nice book to read, almost felt too short for how smooth the story line went.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I binge-watched the new 2020 show in a day, and then immediately after finishing started reading this book. The pieces the book filled in were helpful to understanding Alex's character in the show, and I think they did a good job of the adaption, as in the book his introduction into MI6 is a bit less dramatic. There are a lot of elements that are difficult to believe, but it's fun to cast my doubts away and enjoy the book. I know I would have loved this as a kid, and my little brothers probably would too!
The only reason I don't give this at least four stars is the writing. It was told in third person POV, but the POV was so distant, I felt it was very hard to connect to Alex. He is a really smart, bold, and quit witted character who is not afraid to take chances, but at the same time he messes up in incredibly foolish ways. If we had deeper insight into his head about what he's thinking when he succeeds (and fails) it might make him more relatable, but we don't. Alex sees a lot of hard things, too, but we don't get the emotional impact of, say, watching someone get murdered, that would definitely hit a fourteen year old hard.
So all in all, it was a fun read, but not a very deep or emotional one, which is what I think makes good books great. It's a fun story, if a bit wild and hard to believe, and I think young teens would love it. I'm certainly enjoying it, and I'll probably read more of them. But the lack of emotional investment and connection to the main character--or any of the characters at all--means I probably won't stick the 12 and counting series to the end.
The only reason I don't give this at least four stars is the writing. It was told in third person POV, but the POV was so distant, I felt it was very hard to connect to Alex. He is a really smart, bold, and quit witted character who is not afraid to take chances, but at the same time he messes up in incredibly foolish ways. If we had deeper insight into his head about what he's thinking when he succeeds (and fails) it might make him more relatable, but we don't. Alex sees a lot of hard things, too, but we don't get the emotional impact of, say, watching someone get murdered, that would definitely hit a fourteen year old hard.
So all in all, it was a fun read, but not a very deep or emotional one, which is what I think makes good books great. It's a fun story, if a bit wild and hard to believe, and I think young teens would love it. I'm certainly enjoying it, and I'll probably read more of them. But the lack of emotional investment and connection to the main character--or any of the characters at all--means I probably won't stick the 12 and counting series to the end.
It was a fun action book for grade 5+. The author is British and I happened to read the British printing of the book which I enjoyed as the British colloquialisms were there. (I'm assuming some were changed in the American market.)
My son really enjoyed this series, so I thought I'd give it a try on audio. It's pretty much James Bond for teens -- very fun and fast-paced with some cool gadgets thrown in.
meh. the kids really like these books and have been encouraging me to read them for quite some time...and this first one was...ok. it moved quickly and it definitely had a lot of action in it. i just felt like it was incredibly cliche, and you could see everything coming from a mile away. for a spy novel, it could have used a little more intrigue.
Some young adult fiction is meant for *Very* young adults. This must be one of them. It was pretty terrible. Extremely cliche. Other problems: this is a book that takes place in england yet the main character says his favorite sport is soccer? And, if you want to use the word bloody 100x why not just do that and not change it to bliddy?
The main villain was maybe the most annoying character I've come across in many years.
Hope the tv show is better or that won't be getting renewed =x
The main villain was maybe the most annoying character I've come across in many years.
Hope the tv show is better or that won't be getting renewed =x
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism