Alex Unlimited, Vol. 1: The Vosarak Code

http://lampbane.livejournal.com/437037.html

"The book's biggest failing probably is that it lives in the territory of utterly ridiculous James Bond schemes, with ridiculous villains to boot. One of the villains is named Sabre Cromwell. Sabre Cromwell. You just take that one in.

At the same time, though, it makes the books a lot of fun to read. I don't mind the inherent silliness of Bond movies. It's escapism, after all. It's a weird mashup of science fiction and fantasy and espionage and teen drama - oh, is there teen drama - and it works. We're not talking about James Bond Jr. or Spy Kids here. At least here they recognize that ultra-competent teen superspies are only believable to a point. And Alex is far from ultra-competent. Or show more confident, for that matter." show less

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

I have to start off by saying that I really, really, really enjoyed this book! It's got action-adventure, it has alternate realities, it's got a great main character. In essence, it's got everything you need for a great read. Actually, it's got everything you need in a book you'll want to read more than once!

Alexandra "Alex" Benno isn't your typical teen. Alex has the ability to sift through alternate realities as if they were snowflakes. Ever since she can remember, she's been trained to use her gifts by a secret government agency. Now she uses those same gifts to bring different versions of herself to this reality whenever they're needed. Alex is able to sift through those realities and choose the show more version of herself that is the best fit for whatever job is at hand.

There's only problem (as there always is!). All of the "other" Alex's are beautiful, tough, [...]-kicking girls who get to see all of the action and ultimately save the day. Unfortunately, the "real" Alex (the one in this reality) is more of a quiet, pretty-but-not-beautiful, stay-in-the-background type of girl. And, frankly, she's tired of it. Tired of not getting the kudos that she deserves for bringing the other Alex's in to the rescue. Tired of always being treated like a little girl who never gets to have a hand in any of the action.

So when the powers that be decide that the current mission is safe enough for Alex to take a front-seat, active role, she's thrilled. Alex needs to work to decipher the Vosarak Code (along with an alternate reality Alex, of course) and stop some bad guys from trying to take over the world. But things don't go exactly as planned, and the real Alex realizes that there might be a reason she never sees much action.

This is a great start to what I hope will be a long-running series in the ALEX UNLIMITED books. You'll immediately be hooked by Alex and all of her alternate versions, and, if you're like me, will be eagerly awaiting the next book in the series to find out what happens next! show less