Grant Newman- Crocodile Tears

Grant Newman

Crocodile Tears

Anthony Horowitz

Action-Adventure Fiction

Holiday

p. 263

1. In the book, the main character, Alex Rider, has been taken against his will to a safari camp in Kenya. The people who took him there are the villains of the novel, Desmond McCain, and Leonard Straik. They have been partnering behind a company that Straik runs called Greenfields, which is a genetic modification research facility, and McCain's company, First Aid, to produce a plan called Poison Dawn. Not much has been revealed about it, but from the title, I would guess poison is involved. They have taken Alex here because when he was on a mission for MI6, the British Secret Service Agency, he slipped into the Greenfields facility while on a school field trip, and stole a sample of a solution, and information off of Straik's computer. The partners found out he was there with the help of security cameras, and need him for something. (That's what Alex thinks). The author reveals very little about the situation so the novel is very suspenseful, especially at this point, because so many questions have not been answered.

2. I like the book a lot so far. This is the eighth book in the series and I've read the previous seven. Like its predecessors, this book is very interesting to read, and easy to read as well. It's filled with action and suspense, but it's easy to understand because its language is not particularly complex. The author, Anthony Horowitz, is a great action writer, in my opinion, because he tells the story but still doesn't let you in on all the secrets. He obscures parts of the story until later that provide clues as to what's happening, so you actually find out along with the main character, Alex, what's actually occurring. The book is fast-paced, and takes you around the world, but without confusion, to exotic locations, such as Kenya, Scotland, and England in this novel. Many action novels are filled with confusion, but Horowitz does an excellent job with clearing up any problems (not many, if at all) that a reader may have. It's also interesting to read because the main character is of similar age and easy to relate to for me. So, how he thinks is also very interesting to look at.

3. A theme I've noticed so far in the book is dishonesty. Jack Starbright, Alex's guardian, because his parents and uncle have all died, has been frustrated with Alex's inability to explain himself sometimes, and get into and out of trouble a lot of the time. A journalist who found out about Alex's story, and wanted to make money off of it by writing a book, lied to Alex about a profit in the book, which never actually happens. Alex brought the issue to MI6, who handled it well. MI6, throughout the series, has lied to Alex about the danger and scale of missions he's gone on, and have led him through hoops while he does all the "dirty work" for them. So, many characters are dishonest, or at least have trouble conveying the truth to others, and they run into problems (especially Alex) with people they know.

4. My favorite character is Alex. He's a great person with a good personality. He's nice, and focused on what he does, and tries to stay out of danger as much as possible. He sometimes doesn't tell the truth, but it's for good reason. Many times it's not his fault, like it has been so far in this novel. He's been trained in lots of special skills, like scuba diving, martial arts, etc. to train for being a spy and it's really interesting to hear about. He's expressed an interest in leaving the MI6 organization, but he's never been able to do that. Despite his dissatisfaction with this system, he continues to do what he must for his job, and it's admirable. Some of the feats he's accomplished in this book include breaking into a high-security facility, and winning a game of poker against one of the richest men in the world, are impressive, and he's a character that's easy to relate to. What he's done, and what he may do are impressive, along with having a nice personality.

5. My least favorite character(s) are Straik and Desmond McCain. They're the villains, of course, but their personalities aren't anywhere near friendly. They're filled with deception, trickery, and other nasty qualities that aren't desirable. They're planning what I would guess as some sort of mass-scale terrorism plot, Poison Dawn, and they're planning on using a child (Alex) to help attain money. All of these characteristics are not good, and they don't feel remorse or anything for doing them. They're classic villains, but they're also my least favorite characters.

6. A prediction I have for the novel would be that Alex escapes the Kenyan camp and somehow foils, or lessens the effect of Poison Dawn on the world, and goes back to living a semi-normal life.