Stormbreaker

Citation: Horowitz, Anthony. Stormbreaker. New York: Philomel Books, 2000

Ages: 14 yrs. and up

Genre: Adventure

Theme: Espionage, Adventure, Conspiracy, Secret Agents

Main Characters: Alex Ryder, Herod Sayle, Mr. Grin, Mrs. Jones, Mr. Blunt

Plot Summary

Alex Ryder is a normal kid who has just lost his only living relative, his uncle, in a car accident. However Alex soon finds out that his uncle is not what he seemed but was in fact a spy for the central intelligence agency in England. The same people who Alex’s uncle worked for ask Alex for his help. Alex agrees and is soon on a mission to check on a millionaire who has donated computers to every school in the country of England. They suspect that he is up to no good. Alex is soon in a harrowing race to save the country from certain death.

Stormbreaker is the first novel in a series about Alex Ryder, YA Spy!!

Writing style

Stormbreaker is written in the third person. The author takes an omnipresent narrative approach to tell the story of Alex Ryder.


Assessment of Quality and Utility

Stormbreaker is a very exciting and spell binding story that young adults will enjoy. The story is well written and it is easy to get caught up into the action of the novel. It is a quick read that will interest even the most reluctant readers. There is not a lot of character development taking place which can be good and bad. Good, because you are put right into the action quickly, the author does not waste time introducing you to the characters in lengthy descriptions but bad, because it is a little bit difficult for the reader to identify with the characters of the book. Many of the events in this book seem very contrived but that is fitting for this type of adventure book. The reader is not supposed to believe that this type of situation could actually ever take place.

This book would be a great novel to offer to a reluctant reader or for a young adult who has some reading issues. It is a low level high interest book that is easy and fun to read. I am a slower reader and I was able to finish it in one afternoon.