4 out of 4 stars
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Eric Auxier’s Code Name Dodger Mission 3: Jihadi Hijacking is a action packed page turner that follows the story line of a fourteen year old boy named Justin Reed. Readers are introduced to Justin as a teen just trying to rebuild a life outside of his espionage full upbringing, but finds himself unluckily in a situation where he and his adoptive father, Bob Cheney (who happens to be an ex-CIA operative who now works for an even more secret organization) must save a plane full of citizens from a group of terrorists. Readers will learn about the events that lead to this Snakes On a Plane meets Jason Bourne adventure and the steps Justin takes to save the innocent people on the plane, no matter the cost. And then, if/when Justin and Bob are able to stop the terrorists, the problem still stand of who shall pilot this big passenger plane back down to ground. Thankfully, Justin Reed is a boy who is quite interested in flight simulators so he may just have what it takes to make this landing a success... or will he?
In his foreword, Auxier provides the quote of “Write what you know.” It is quite evident that he follows this maxim because through out this text, there is swaths of information from the mechanics of planes to the different techniques of martial arts. It is clear that Auxier is passionate about everything he does, including his writing - which just makes it all the better for his audiences to read. This is why I am giving Jihadi Hijacking a four out of four star rating. Had I have been given the option, I may have consider giving it a three and a half rating instead of a complete four - for reasons I will disclose later - but I do not believe that giving this book a full four star rating is any way an injustice to its overall quality.
Before continuing on with any substantial review and analysis of this book, it is important to address the audience of Jihadi Hijacking. This piece is listed as a young adult piece, and I find that quite appropriate because despite its sometimes descriptive passages of fighting and violence, it is other wise geared to the likes of older children and pre-teens because of its childish language and diction. I would personally not recommend any child under the age of ten read this, unless they are mature for their age. That being said, I think the lessons that can be taken away from Auxier’s story is extremely vital for young adults - and can definitely be a beneficial read for those who are ready.
Now, getting into first what I disliked about the book - and there was not a lot, so I shall keep it brief. So my literary brain first went to the credibility of Justin himself as a narrator, and the effective that had on the story. I understand that the story would not have been the same had it been told any other way, but any fourteen year old boy telling a story of this nature in a casual setting isn’t going to get the details the exact way - and this arises most when Justin was describing what was going on in the setting. This is a minor issue though, and is up to interpretation- some may say that having the boy perspective on it all gives a fresh view to subjects (like terrorism and bullying) that are typically not told that way.
Secondly, and this one is more of an opinion that is fueled by my political brain, I believe that the author may have used Bob - Justin’s adoptive father - as a way to implant his own opinions on the issue. Like I said in my last paragraph, Justin provides the perspective of a young male - and while Eric Auxier was once a young male he is now grown and may have wanted a way to express his own beliefs on some of the subjects touched in the plot in a way that was relatable and realistic. This is most evident to me in chapter three, where Bob and Justin are having a heart to heart talk about religion. Here, Bob tells Justin what he thinks about human nature and our inevitable attraction to thinking about higher powers. I thought that this was a some what weird thing to say given the context of the conversation, and didn’t really fit with his other message of the fact that peaceful Muslims exist. It is pure speculation though, since I am not Auxier and have no idea what was going on in his head when he wrote that chapter - but again up to interpretation.
Besides those two minor things that stuck with me, I generally liked this book. The main character was a like-able and relatable hero, especially for young boys trying to figure out the world and what role they shall play in it - that is being a good person or a bad one, as if it’s that simple sometimes. The voice of the overall text really animated the story for me, showing Justin as an actually fourteen year old and actually thinking like one would - that and the amount of pop culture references that are made through out the piece really set the mood. I feel that this book accomplishes expressing a quite realistic problem in a not really realistic way, because no sane person is going to put a fourteen year old orphan on a spy mission to Tel-Aviv. I hope that maybe one day though, the children of the next generation will have more Justin’s that are able to understand that the most radical of a group often times do not speak for the whole group - and to stand up for those who are being kicked down.
So in conclusion, I believe that this story is deserving of a four out of four star rating because of its exquisite application of language, the knowledge that it provides to young audiences, and the overall quality of the adventure and thrill that follows readers from cover to cover. I applaud Eric Auxier for his success in making this story, and from what I have seen his success throughout the entire code name dodger series. I hope him more success and would recommend any readers who are considering to give this book a read to go right ahead a dive in, because Auxier’s writing will have you finished in one sitting!
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Jihadi Hijacking
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