I
share my thoughts on Allen Zadoff’s The
Hit (formerly entitled Boy Nobody),
a gripping young adult thriller, published by Orchard Books in both the USA and
the UK.
Boy Nobody is the
perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about.
He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new name, makes few
friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's
family to die -- of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy
Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next target.
When his own parents
died of not-so-natural causes at the age of eleven, Boy Nobody found himself
under the control of The Program, a shadowy government organization that uses
brainwashed kids as counter-espionage operatives. But somewhere, deep inside Boy
Nobody, is somebody: the boy he once was, the boy who wants normal things (like
a real home, his parents back), a boy who wants out. And he just might want
those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's next mission.
I’m
a huge fan of good thrillers. There’s a reason why I love Jason Bourne and Person Of Interest so much, and I’ve
read 20 of James Patterson’s Alex Cross
novels. They’re fun. They’re entertaining. But one thing that I have not
actually read much of is young adult thrillers, preferring to lean more towards
the science fiction and fantasy genre that often comes with YA. In fact, I can
name only two thriller series that I read off the top of my head that is aimed
at young adults, and that’s Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series and CHERUB
by Robert Muchamore. There’s probably a few more that I’ve forgotten, but when
I saw Allen Zadoff’s The Hit (also
entitled Boy Nobody, but I will refer
to it in this review as The Hit because
that’s the edition that I read) crop up on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it
especially with all the positive praise I’ve been hearing. And it certainly
didn’t disappoint, turning out to be one of the strongest young adult novels
that I’ve read in a while.
Boy
Nobody is the name of the main protagonist. He takes on cover identities every
time he goes to a new high school, a new town, impersonating different people
depending on what the task might acquire for him. Ever since the age of twelve
when his parents died (of causes that totally weren’t natural), he’s been part
of the Program, a government organization. This latest mission takes him to
kill none other than the Mayor of New York, and in order to do that, he’s going
to have to befriend his daughter, Sam, in order to get closer to the Mayor to
complete his task. However, to make things more complicated, Boy Nobody is
wanting to get out of the system. He doesn’t want in anymore, and the lingering
doubts are starting to come more and more to the surface.
I
mentioned Jason Bourne in the first paragraph and if you’re a fan of either the
novels or the show then you’ll enjoy The Hit/Boy Nobody. It’s fast paced,
energetic and haunting. Much like most young adult novels it’s a quick read,
but unlike most young adults there’s this lingering feeling that will stick
around after you’ve read it. Most are quickly forgettable, but that’s not the
case with The Hit, because Allen Zadoff has crafted a very powerful character
and we get some great insight into his mind and what makes the seemingly
cold-hearted teenager tick.
Having
been trained as an assassin since he was sixteen, this is very different from
your usual young adult novel. Most books feature the main character being
thrown into circumstances with their normal life upended. However, with The Hit, it’s the other way around. Boy
Nobody, the assassin, is blending into the normal environment in a way that most
normal kids don’t notice him. He won’t stand out. You won’t notice him and you
won’t care much when he’s gone. Even those who do get to know more about him
than his name will probably not remember much about him in the weeks
afterwards. He’s a ghost. Chameleon. It’s certainly unlike most young adult
novels that I’ve read before, sharing a lot of similarities to the more adult
thrillers, and with some well written prose that blends some good character
development with some pretty good action that keeps you hooked.
And
the book also has the added benefit of not falling into the standard clichés
that you’d expect from a young adult novel. Even the man female protagonist,
Sam (Samara) is a welcome breath of fresh air when it comes to naive female
protagonists in YA. She’s smart, intelligent and doesn’t let anybody cross her.
And on top that, she’s got secrets of her own, too. It’s an interesting mix of
main characters with both being well rounded with their own strengths and
weaknesses. And if you’re tired of people falling instantly in love, well, good
news. That doesn’t happen here either. So there’s certainly a lot of ticked
boxes that helps this novel rise above the average young adult thriller.
The Hit therefore, is an addictive, compulsory and entertaining
read, with the only real negative thing is that I don’t have the second book on
me to delve into immediately , because this is one of those books that will beg
you to go onto the next one as soon as you’ve finished. It’s just too good not
to read more, and I can see this quickly becoming one of the finer YA novels of
2015, even if it is only February. So if this sounds like your thing (and it
should), then go and check out The Hit. You
won’t be disappointed.
VERDICT: 8.9/10
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