Boy Nobody (The Unknown Assassin)

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Product Description

They needed the perfect assassin.

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school in a new town under a new name, makes a few friends, and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's family to die -- of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, moving on to the next target.

But when he's assigned to the mayor of New York City, things change. The daughter is unlike anyone he has encountered before; the mayor reminds him of his father. And when memories and questions surface, his handlers at The Program are watching. Because somewhere deep inside, Boy Nobody is somebody: the kid he once was; the teen who wants normal things, like a real home and parents; a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's mission.

In this action-packed series debut, author Allen Zadoff pens a page-turning thriller that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping, introducing an utterly original and unforgettable antihero.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-In this fast-paced thriller, readers quickly learn that 16-year-old "Boy Nobody," a Jason Bourne-like assassin, doesn't have friends. He receives his assignments from a clandestine group called "The Program." Intelligent and skilled in combat, he's been trained to ignore sentiment and emotion in favor of finely tuned instincts and intuition to kill. But nagging questions about his past, The Program, and his role in it are brought to the forefront when his handlers, "Mother" and "Father," give him a new mission on an accelerated time line. The latest target is beautiful Sam Goldberg's father, who's also the lauded mayor of New York City. This novel is predominately narrated by Boy Nobody in first-person present tense (save for the occasional revelatory flashback). The teen characters are world-weary and mature, but at the same time realistically vulnerable and susceptible to manipulation. Sex is suggested or happens off page. With short, action-filled chapters, this is a good choice for reluctant readers. It reads much like popular adult thrillers and will certainly find its way into the hands of guys, but also holds appeal for any suspense-novel fan. Unresolved mysteries and an open-ended conclusion make this a promising start to an exciting new series.-Danielle Serra, Cliffside Park Public Library, NJα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Boy Nobody is a coldly dispassionate teenage assassin working for a mysterious organization called the Program. When it assigns him his next mission—to assassinate the mayor of New York—it seems at first like business as usual. But then he meets Sam, the mayor’s beautiful daughter. Suddenly, his mission is abruptly changed, and all bets are off. The formerly obedient Boy Nobody begins asking questions that are dangerous to his mission and to himself. Readers may question that a teenager is capable of playing the role assigned to Boy Nobody, but books like these require a suspension of disbelief, and most readers will be willing to make that suspension for the sake of the fast-paced plot and the surprisingly sympathetic protagonist. Operating in the tradition of both James Bond and of Robert Cormier’s I Am the Cheese (1977), Boy Nobody is an auspicious first volume in a promised new series of action-adventure thrillers that will keep readers clamoring for more. Grades 8-12. --Michael Cart

Review

Praise for Boy Nobody:
A 2014 Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
* "Zadodff shines in this violent, entertaining twist on the teen spy novel. [Boy Nobody is]...a tense and exciting story with a strong cast...blunt and hard edged narration and twists will keep readers riveted."―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

* "[Boy Nobody] is like a darker version of Alex Rider, [and] Thomas in James Dashner's Maze Runner series... Fans of such fast-paced action novels should love this first installment in the Boy Nobody series."―VOYA (starred review)

"Operating in the tradition of both James Bond and of Robert Cormier's I Am the Cheese(1977), Boy Nobody is an auspicious first volume in a promised new series of action-adventure thrillers that will keep readers clamoring for more."―Booklist

"Fast, furious, and fun...Plenty of action and drama, and hairpin turns [that] will keep readers guessing; a twist in the end will have them begging for more."―Kirkus Reviews

"A promising start to an exciting new series."―SLJ

"I cannot wait to get this title, first in a new series, into the hands of my male students who are often at a loss for material to read."―Library Media Connection

"When James Bond was a little boy, he wanted to grow up to be half as hard-core as Boy Nobody."―Barry Lyga, New York Times bestselling author of I Hunt Killers

About the Author

Allen Zadoff is the author of several acclaimed novels, including Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have, winner of the Sid Fleischman Humor Award and a YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults. He is a graduate of Cornell University and the Harvard University Institute for Advanced Theater Training. His training as a super spy, however, has yet to be verified.