The Infinity Code

Storm: The Infinity Code is the first book in a cool new spy series for young readers. Although the heroes, Will, Gaia, and Andrew, aren't spies in the normal sense of the word, their adventures are definitely espionage based. In addition to cutting edge technology, international chases, and really bad guys, there also cut off and operating independently in a dangerous world. I got pulled into the novel immediately by Will when he start experimenting with his new gadgets. One of the best things about this book is that the gadgets all have basis in reality. The designs are all being worked with for military applications by several different developers around the globe. Spy stories just aren't spy stories without these gadgets, and this book has a ton of them - including a flying insect drone and a remote-controlled rat. Most kids are going to find someone among our three heroes they can empathize with. Personally, I really enjoyed Will because he was very sympathetic after losing his parents. He's the real loner among them and doesn't want to hook up with anyone, especially after he finds out what Andrew intends to do with all his millions and specialized knowledge. Gaia is the perfect heroine for girls because she can be fantastically sarcastic when she needs to be, and she's smarter than the boys at times. She's independent, funny, and intelligent, yet at the same time she is a nurturer and caretaker. Andrew is probably the least likely for readers to look up to. He's a good character, but he has his faults. He's driven and he has his own idea about how things should be. Also, if he feels compelled to, he will interfere in the lives of others and snoop through their things. STORM (Science and Technology Over-Rule Misery) was his brainchild and he wants to help the world be a better place to live. None of the three have a happy home life. Will's father was killed and his mother has virtually abandoned him (though as readers will find out in this first novel, there's a lot of mystery about those things!), Gaia's father is an alcoholic, and Andrew's father is absent. I really enjoyed how much the that novel moved around. It felt like a James Bond film or an Alex Rider spy novel as it sprinted through London's posh areas and estate manors. Then it ripped right through Europe as the trio journey to Saint Petersburg, Russia for the last confrontation. The intriguing story is made even more exciting by the headlong rush of the pacing. E. L. Young obviously knows science and she knows a thing or two about young readers as well. This is one of those books that young minds will totally absorb and clean to until they're finished. Thankfully there are two other books in the series waiting in the wings.

If the Alex Rider and Artemis Fowl books have taught us one thing, it's this: Science. Is. Cool. It's in a world of gadgets and gizmos where kids who might otherwise be dismissed as weird find their place and emerge as extraordinary. Empower them by placing them in a position of authority --- say, self-made spies on a mission to save the world --- and you have established all the necessary ingredients for a hit series. E. L. Young, a journalist for a British science magazine, taps into this popular genre, adding the unique touch that the gadgets she writes about are based on real objects, with her debut novel, STORM: THE INFINITY CODE. STORM centers on three teens in London: Will, the loner inventor; Gaia, his multi-lingual classmate; and Andrew, the computer genius whose software earned him his first million dollars by the time he was 10. Andrew has used his considerable wealth to create an organization he calls STORM (Science and Technology to Over-Rule Misery), whose altruistic goal is to make the world a better placed with their combined, advanced skills. Will, still despondent over his father's death months earlier, initially resists the idea, but when the team is able to save a plane that nearly crashes as the result of a solar flare, he begins to warm to the idea of saving lives. Their next mission proves much harder. The genius son of a kidnapped scientist gets involved with the design of a superweapon in a bid to negotiate his father's release. The STORM team hightails it from London to St. Petersburg, Russia, to stop the weapon from falling into the wrong hands. What follows is a fast-paced, gadget-laden story that will keep fans of the teen spy genre turning the pages at breakneck speed. Young, whose background in science writing lends authority to the story, decorates her foray into middle-grade fiction with high-tech gizmos that either exist in real life or are in development (a handy section at the end of the book catalogs the genesis of each device). The narrative plays out with cinematic fervor, and it's easy to assume that we'll be seeing a film adaptation at the local Cineplex in short time. There is a lot here for readers drawn to action, and although the characters come off a little flat in this initial outing, we can hope to see them develop more in future installments. STORM: THE INFINITY CODE will entrance lovers of the Alex Rider or Young James Bond books and make them wait anxiously for the second volume to hit bookshelves. --- Reviewed by Brian Farrey