Thursday, December 1, 2011

Teen/YA Review: Goldstrike


I just finished reading Goldstrike by Matt Whyman, the fast-paced sequel to his techno-thriller Icecore.  Both my 17-year old son and I are enjoying this exciting series.  It’s going to be challenging to tell you about Goldstrike without giving away too much about what happens in the first book.

Carl Hobbes is an eighteen-year old hacker who was imprisoned by the CIA for breaking into Fort Knox.  Carl only did it to impress a girl and to see if he could (the motivation for most hackers), but the US government believes he is a threat to national security and suspects him of being a part of a terrorist network.  After he manages to break out of the arctic detainment camp where they imprisoned him, they are even more determined to stop him.  At the same time, there are real terrorists seeking revenge on Carl for some of the fallout from his escape.

As Goldstrike opens, the chapters jump around to locations all over the world, as both the CIA and the terrorists try to track down Carl.  Eventually, we find out where Carl really is and what he is now up to, as his main goal has turned to protecting himself and maintaining his freedom.  It’s a fast-paced, suspenseful novel, with lots of details on how Carl uses his hacking skills in his latest scheme to try to remain free.  The book reads like a classic thriller with the requisite high-tension chase scene at the end, only written for teens.  We can’t wait to find out what happens to Carl next!

262 pages, Atheneum

 

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