Review: I Am The Mission by Allan Zadoff

I Am The Mission by Allan Zadoff
(The Unknown Assassin #2)
June 17, 2014
Little, Brown Books
432 pages
Genre: Mature Young Adult Thriller 16+
(Contains: sexual references, violence, mature language)
Source: eARC from publisher for Honest review

Book Synopsis:

He was the perfect assassin. No name. No past. No remorse. Perfect, that is, until he began to ask questions and challenge his orders. Now The Program is worried that their valuable soldier has become a liability.

And so Boy Nobody is given a new mission. A test of sorts. A chance to prove his loyalty.

His objective: Take out Eugene Moore, the owner of an extremist military training camp for teenagers. It sounds like a simple task, but a previous operative couldn't do it. He lost the mission and is presumed dead. Now Boy Nobody is confident he can finish the job. Quickly.

But when things go awry, Boy Nobody finds himself lost in a mission where nothing is as it seems: not The Program, his allegiances, nor the truth.

The riveting second book in Allen Zadoff's Boy Nobody series delivers heart-pounding action and a shocking new twist that makes Boy Nobody question everything he has believed.

My Review:

I definitely liked 'I Am The Weapon', but I loved 'I Am The Mission'. We pick up not long after the first book ended, with our Boy Nobody entertaining, yet also denying, the doubts that started to encroach upon him during his last mission. But neither does he, nor does The Program, want to leave him idling without a mission. His new mission, however, is not his usual sort, and he is thrust into not only the world of military extremists, but is additionally dealing with more issues from The Program that he'd imagined.

From the get-go, this sequel was exciting and gripping. I was completely drawn into Daniel's (Boy Nobody's name in this book) predicament. His voice, his feelings (mixed as they were), his past and present, his emotions, how he processed things, the physical and mental strain, and even how he seemed so old yet like a teenager at the same time, were really well-written, and I felt like I was right there with him. Now, I didn't always love the choices Daniel made, and one in particular broke my heart, but knowing how The Program trained him, seeing his mental process, made it exciting and shocking at the same time.

I also must mention the interesting way relationships are dealt with in this series. Having the POV of a male teen assassin changes the way emotion plays into his relationships. But this doesn't mean Daniel is emotionless. If anything, we see from book to book how he is evolving, even as his doubts trickle in - this includes how he interacts with potential love interests, potential friends and enemies, and his Program authority figures. But in particular, I really loved his budding friendship with Howard and how Zadoff brings together this unlikely pair.

'I Am The Mission' was a complete page-turner from start to finish, full of suspense and action, as well as fascinating character growth. The ending left me eager and wanting the next book. There are still so many unknown factors out there, so many questions I have about The Program, and I can't wait to see how Boy Nobody discovers it all.

5 STARS

 

Book Links:

AMAZON  *  GOODREADS

 

I AM THE WEAPON (BOOK 1)

MY REVIEW  *  AMAZON  *  GOODREADS