Desert Dark

January 11, 2016
In this promising series opener from debut author Stone, life at an elite boarding school that is secretly a training ground for Black Ops CIA agents seems like a dream come true for 16-year-old Nadia Riley—until her studies take a backseat to a real mission. Miserable after a spectacular breakup, cryptogram-loving Nadia jumps at the chance to attend the government-funded Desert Mountain Academy; she’s soon off to Arizona, where the school is reeling from the death of Drew Anderson, the girl whose spot Nadia is taking. Desert Mountain is home to a typical mix of students including Nadia’s roommate, Libby, a well-mannered Southern girl with a touch of OCD; Alan, a genius lacking in social graces; and Jack, the team leader who catches Nadia’s eye. As Nadia tries to catch up academically, rumors circulate that Drew’s death wasn’t accidental, and there’s talk of a double agent operating within the school, with new recruit Nadia as the prime suspect. A mix of all-too-real war games, teenage love conundrums, and a tenacious heroine makes this an engaging first outing. Ages 12–up. Agent: Logan Garrison, Gernert Company.

January 15, 2016
A teen enters a world of espionage and intrigue. Teen cryptography whiz Nadia Riley has just been humiliated by both her BFF and boyfriend and can no longer face school. So when the Irish-Lebanese-American teen is offered a position at the prestigious Desert Mountain Academy, she jumps at it, even though it means leaving her home and family behind. Arriving at the campus in the Arizona desert, she finds what she thought was a simple private school is actually a program designed to train agents for the CIA's Black Ops. It's not easy to adapt, but with her skill at cryptography and her willingness to train hard, it's not long before Nadia makes friends and a place for herself. She's even beginning to trust the attractive team leader, Jack. But someone in the school--most likely someone on her team--is a double agent intent on framing Nadia...and there's no scapegoat like a dead one. Debut novelist Stone alternates her third-person narration through the perspectives of several of the academy's teens, a fairly diverse bunch, focusing on Nadia while giving readers glimpses into the others' psyches. This gives readers a good sense of the fluid group dynamics of this intense program and occasional peeks into the brain of "Agent Number 77365," which effectively amps the tension. With secrets around every corner and an exciting premise, this thriller will keep readers guessing right to the very last page. (Thriller. 12-16)

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2016

Gr 7 Up-Nadia Riley is ready to leave the East Coast with its recent memories of a cheating boyfriend and a two-timing ex-best friend, so the invitation to attend Desert Mountain Academy in Arizona comes at an opportune time. Upon her arrival in Phoenix, Nadia discovers the true nature of the school, which is designed to prepare the nation's best covert operatives. She is also immediately immersed in the intrigue of finding a mole who is bent on killing her. With shades of Neal Shusterman's writing style in Unwind, Stone's debut boasts some strengths and weaknesses. Nadia's ethnic heritage (she's Irish on her father's side and Lebanese on her mother's) has little to no development within the narrative. Instead, the focus is her father's background as a professor of criminology. The plot has more switchbacks and twists than a Himalayan mountain trail. Stone's decision to use third-person narration from different perspectives adequately explains how Nadia has come to be accepted at the prestigious and highly secretive school that will prepare her to become a CIA operative, but keeps readers at a dispassionate distance. The chapters are short, and the author tosses tons of red herrings into a plot that will keep teens guessing as long as they are willing to tolerate a somewhat stilted narrative and some predictable prose. The story ends with a cliff-hanger, making a sequel a foregone conclusion. Give this title to fans of Joy N. Hensley's Rites of Passage, Dan Wells's Partials, Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Naturals, or Susanne Winnacker's Impostor. VERDICT A good additional purchase for those seeking strong female protagonists, mystery, or foreign operative adventure.-Jodeana Kruse, R.A. Long High School, Longview, WA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 Sixteen-year-old Nadia's knack for deciphering codes draws the attention of a recruiting agent from Desert Mountain Academy, a government-funded school for intellectually gifted teens. Nadia seizes the opportunity to get away from her high school, where her best friend and ex-boyfriend have become a couple. The academy, Nadia quickly learns, is actually a training facility for a black ops branch of the CIA, and Nadia is thrilled that she is going to become a spy! She is assigned to a group of fourtwo boys and one other girlto execute small missions. Then she discovers that someone in her group is a double agent spying for the enemy. This is a new kind of puzzle for Nadiareading people instead of numbersand her life could depend on getting it right. A pesky love triangle makes it harder for Nadia to know whom to trust. Readers who enjoyed Marie Lu's Legend series or James Dashner's Maze Runner trilogy will appreciate this fast-paced action novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2016
Nadia, a cipher whiz, is recruited to an elite boarding school that turns out to be a CIA training program. Perspectives rotate among various students (and one mysterious agent) as a murder plot unfolds. Despite predictable romantic undertones, the engaging fish-out-of-water setup, fast pace, and strong lead character make this a compulsively readable thriller.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)