An enjoyable and fast-paced version of those slickly-plotted spy/assassin/heist movies that I can never get enough of. I love too-smart-for-their-own-good protagonists; love being surprised by the plot. BOY NOBODY is perfect for the young reader who's a little too young still for adult thrillers but who still loves the genre.

At a Glance:
Spy book. Though I've never read many book like this, I was immediately interested when I heard about this book. It seemed very Bourne Identity-ish, and that being one of my favorite movies, I really wanted to read this book.

Cover:
I really like the cover on this book. It immediately puts mystery around the main character, mystery that continues throughout the entire book.


Action:
The action in this book completely awesome. The plot was very fast-paced, and the action scenes were some of the most well-written that I have ever read. Zadoff's writing style is very short and to the point, and though I don't always enjoy that style of writing, it worked very well for this book.


Romance:
The romance in Boy Nobody was, if I'm honest, not too great. Ben, of course, was very confused the entire book about the feelings he has for the love interest, since he was trained his entire childhood to stay away from that kind of attachment. So, besides the one time he actually hangs out with this girl, the romance never really gets anywhere.


Hero:
You know that feeling you get when you're watching the Dark Knight and you know that The Joker is such a fantastic character and there's that part of your brain that is sort of rooting for him, but then you feel bad because he's such an awful guy? That's the sort of confliction that was going on in my mind. Because Ben, AKA Boy Nobody, is very much an anti-hero in this story. Imagine James Bond and Jason Bourne both combined into a 16-year-old boy. He's willing to do anything to finish an assignment, and he utilizes both his aloof, Bond-like charms and his calculating, Bourne-like cunningness in practically every situation. Since the book is told in a first-person perspective, it is very interesting to see all of the little things he notices about people. He always treats people as if they are trained killers, and always uses caution when dealing with a situation that has any possibility of going bad. He's extremely intelligent, and only fights when absolutely necessary. But when he does fight, his opponents don't stand a chance. I would read many more books told from Ben's perspective. He would definitely make any book sound more interesting.


Something I loved:
I loved how smart Ben was about every detail of his experiences in the book. He noticed things that nobody else would notice, and always acted accordingly. Whether it be taking a subtle step backwards that nobody notices to stay out of the range of a knife that somebody is holding, or beating a highschool bully to a pulp to send a message, this guy is the definition of the awesome spy that every boy wants to be at some point in his life.


Something(s) I hated:
I really didn't like how Ben used women in this book. They were all tools used to accomplish a goal, and sometimes to satisfy his 16-year-old desires. Of course, this kind of thing is seen in every Bond movie ever released, but I still didn't like that aspect of this book.



Would I recommend it?
Definitely. Anybody who likes a mysterious, action-y spy thriller should read this book. It's definitely worth it.


Will I buy/keep it?
I am keeping this book, and will be loaning it out to friends.

I had not requested this title - it was auto-loaded to my shelf by the publisher and I have chosen not to read/review at this time.

Netgalley has required me to leave a rating in order to give feedback so I chose the 5 star.

Thank you

I lost interest in this book and did not read it so I cannot write a review. Nonetheless, thank you for the chance to review this book.