Your Code Name Is Jonah

Volume 6 in the Choose Your Own Adventure series, Your Code Name is Jonah, is a refreshingly straightforward spy adventure without any wacky sci-fi loose ends masquerading as endings. In fact, the vast majority of the death endings (out of 27 possible endings) in this one involve being shot by rival agents, so the maturity level of Your Code Name is Jonah is a bit higher than some of the previous series entries.

These Choose Your Own Adventure books are really fun. My particular adventure, Spy Trap by Edward Packard puts you, the reader, in the story as a secret agent for the government. You are asked to follow a tremendous secret that would rock the marine biology world. Humback whales are disappearing and you think you have discovered where they are going through analyzing their song. These whales can communicate! All along the story there are choices that you must make. Make the wrong choice and you end the story (and often times, your life). Make the right choice and you continue on your adventure and get to live on. Sometimes the endings are death while others are implied with a sentence that trails off... Your choices could be as simple show more as a right or left at the fork in the road or as complicated as asking if you trust your superiors to tell them all (if so, turn to page 89) or do you NOT trust them and you keep quiet (turn to page 95)? Every decision is up to you and because of the number of decisions you can make throughout the story there are countless variations of the same story. In my version I took risks left and right and managed to live to see a happy ending. My second time through I wasn't so lucky. It's implied I died at sea. So sad. show less

The Choose Your Own Adventure series offered an option every few pages to choose how the story would continue. According to your preference, you would follow its instructions by turning to the appropriate page of the book as indicated by your choice. This was a popular and revolutionary idea when the series was first launched in the early 1980s, driving it to incredible sales levels for many years until it was overshadowed by variants on the idea that took the concept to more elaborate lengths (e.g. Fighting Fantasy) and especially by other interactive media.

The plot: I didn't even remember it's about a whalesong recording. It's the first entry to explore the life of an undercover operative, a sort of James Bond Junior.

Observations: I show more appreciate the effort at a story that isn't just about a generic setting. It felt like Packard was trying for something original here, but I think that cost it some popularity.

Personal memories: This was one of the first I owned, but it never became a favourite. The premise didn't grab me. show less

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3052804.html

A standard choose-your-own-adventure book; there are moments where you can make a good choice or a bad choice, and moments where the capriciousness of the author pushes you down one track rather than another.