Book: I Am the Mission (The Unknown Assassin, Book 2)
Author: Allen Zadoff
Pages: 432
Age Range: 13 and up
The boy's mission is to penetrate the tryouts for an ultra-right-wing summer camp that is apparently radicalizing teens and assassinate the head of that organization, a charismatic man named Eugene Moore. He is not supposed to actually enter the camp, because a prior operative from The Program disappeared there (and is now presumed deceased). The boy ends up out of communication with The Program, and not sure who to trust. I mean, when you are a secret teenage assassin, who can you trust, really? Happily for the reader, the boy's one friend from the previous book, Howard, makes an appearance.
Like the first book, I Am the Weapon has a premise that may disturb some readers: a teen who has been taught to kill people, quickly and stealthily, and who has no semblance of a normal life. But if you can accept that premise, it's a well-constructed, twisty thriller. The boy does commit one act that I found ... disturbing, I guess, in part because it's clearly a mistake. But he shows hints of humanity, too. Zadoff also provides more background for how he ended up in The Program, and why he is the cold-blooded, fearless killing machine that he is. Fans of the first book will definitely not want to miss this one.
Zadoff has a knack for quick characterizations, like this:
"He has a masterful way of using truisms to support his ideas. One can easily agree with the truth of the surface statements without questioning the ideas themselves." Chapter "It's Moore", digital ARC (The ARC, at least, doesn't have conventional chapter titles. The first sentence of each chapter is formatted as a title, instead.)
He also muses quite a bit in this book on the nature of fear. Like this:
""The part they don't understand..." he says. "If you don't feel fear, you don't feel joy or love. Not in any real way. Without the fear, the risk is gone. And without risk, rewards don't matter. You're left with nothing much at all. You're numb." ("My Name is Francisco Gonzalez", he says.)
I Am the Mission is written in first-person present tense, which helps to keep up the suspense. The narrator is a surprisingly sympathetic character for a stone-cold killer. Attempting to figure him out is perpetually interesting. Recommended for older teen and adult readers for whom the fascinating aspects of the premise outweigh the disturbing aspects. Personally, I couldn't put it down, and eagerly await the next book.
Publication Date: June 17, 2014
Source of Book: Advance review copy from the publisher
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© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
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I loved FOOD, GIRLS... Definitely want to read Allen's latest. Great interview--so true about where we feel safe. I think it's why I DON'T feel introverted around writers. :)
I love this interview! FOOD, GIRLS cracked me up and I know I'll enjoy this new one as well.
I watched you give that speech, Allen, and trust me, you sounded great. In fact, that's what inspired me to buy your book. That leap made a fan out of me :)
Wow, Sherrie. That's deep. A reminder of all the great things that can happen when we stretch.
And thanks, Becky!
* Thanks, Allen, for sharing your interesting experiences! It's wonderful that you mustered up the nerve to just speak from your heart at the SCBWI conference. Gives a lot of hope to introverts, like me, who wonder if one can step up to the plate, in order to express true feelings. * Best wishes....
"But then I thought, instead of trying to be a Twitter black belt, what if you just participated at any level?"
I think that's true of so many activities. We may think that if we can't participate just like the most proficient and most famous among us--what's the point? But we each have our own unique contribution to make.
Fun interview! I've heard these books recommended before, and they're on my TBR list.
Allen was in town last December and we grabbed a bite. At this point we had met in person a handful of times, and I had worked with Allen on his two YA novels. He said something during the meal about being shy and I replied “You know, I don’t really buy the ‘shy’ thing.” Because sure, I knew his inner world somewhat from his writing, but the person I worked with was always professional, funny, friendly to everyone at Egmont, good at speaking on a panel or from a podium, good at supporting other writers, picked up the phone when he had questions to ask me (something some writers avoid), seemed to make friends easily at the SCBWI and other places, had done plenty to support his own career, had sent out newsletters promoting his books and his work as a writing coach, etc etc. How was I to know he was shy? Truly, I hadn’t guessed.
I mention this because it underscores something I say a lot. It's not how you feel that makes a difference out there, it's what you do. So take a deep breath and go out and support your books and tend your career. (It will get less painful if you keep at it, too.)
Nice article, thanks for the information.
I'm late to this, but wanted to say that Allen comes across as so warm and genuine in this interview. I've become an instant fan!