Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera YP FIC PERERA

Khalid is guilty until proven innocent.  A 15 year old British citizen, he is stolen from his family while on vacation in Pakistan.  He is imprisoned without trial, lawyer, or hope in Guantanamo Bay.  The only way to escape the nightmare of loneliness, fear, pain, and torture is to ‘confess’.  

Even though this is a fictional story it is inspired by all too real events.  Anyone that is interested in the War on Terror will find a lot to think about in Guantanamo Boy.  The political message is very direct and many readers may feel differently from the author, but I think people should give the book a chance.  The writing style is very plain and sometimes dialogue is a bit stiff, but the straightforward style makes the horrifying descriptions of torture very effective.  This is a raw and edgy story that never shies away from the ugly truths of ‘enhanced interrogation’.  I won’t say I ‘enjoyed’ this book, but I am glad I read this moving and frightening story of how innocence and freedom can be stolen.

The Invincible Iron Man: World’s Most Wanted by Matt Fraction Art by Salvador Larroca YP FIC FRACTION

Tony Stark is a hunted man. His company is all but destroyed. His armor is functioning way below capacity. And the most powerful man in America is Norman Osborn, a super villain that has everyone convinced he’s a hero and Tony Stark is a traitor and a terrorist. Best of all he has the secret identity of every hero in America hidden in his brain and Osborn wants to scoop it out. Iron Man has to defy the government, keep his friends from being murdered, and keep out of Osborn’s grasp while he ERASES HIS OWN BRAIN!!!

Iron Man written by Matt Fraction is better than he has ever been. If you know of Iron Man from the AWESOME movies starring Robert Downey Jr. then you will feel right at home with this Iron Man. Tony Stark is funny, brilliant, but arrogant and blinded by his pride. It makes for a fun super-hero that can cause as much damage as the villains he fights. Also, this book has plenty of subtext about our own real world government and its war on terror. Like most super hero books that get political it is sometimes a little silly to see caped people being metaphors for current geopolitical unrest, but Fraction’s writing again saves the day. Most Wanted isn’t just a silly book about a man in a robot suit punching and shooting the bad guys. It’s a tense and intelligent thriller with complex characters and great twists and turns ABOUT a man in a robot suit punching and shooting the bad guys! If you liked the movies or enjoy super hero comics jump into the Iron Man books today!

They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti 322.420973 BARTOLET

In 1866 six men decided to form a club to terrorize and harass blacks in the small town of Pulaski, Tennessee. In almost no time at all this group began to grow until it was the largest terrorist group to operate on American soil. Susan Campbell Bartoletti takes a chilling look at the rise of the most notorious hate group in America and how they used terrorism, violence, and murder to try and keep a race of people subjugated for decades.

The principal idea that the KKK were not just a hate group but actually terrorists is a compelling one and Bartoletti does a great job of providing evidence for her argument. This is a easy to read and hard to forget history of how such a racist and violent group could form while law enforcement turned a blind eye. It is important to remember the true history of the KKK because groups like them have always tried to lie about their own history. This book is filled with horrifying and heart wrenching firsthand accounts of what it was like to live as a secondhand citizen in a society that was ruled over by terrorists.

By Royal Command: A James Bond Adventure by Charlie Higson YP FIC HIGSON

The young James Bond is back in his fifth and final adventure. James is finally getting settled into normal life, but danger seems to follow him wherever her goes. He survives a snow storm lost on a mountain only to return to his school, Eton. as he struggles to get used to a normal life of bullies and schoolwork he finds himself deep in a plot to kill the king. Surrounded by unknown enemies, James flees with a beautiful Irish would be terrorist to escape, but soon finds himself in the grips of one of his deadliest old enemies.

This is a great end to a great series. There is plenty of all the action, suspense, double crosses, danger, and romance in any great Bond movie. Higson is great at writing suspenseful books but not neglecting character building. You may remember that I liked his new horror book The Enemy a lot too. It's because he makes unbelievable situations seem real and draws the reader in. The James Bond series of books are all good, but you won't have to have read any of them to jump into this one, but there are returning characters for fans of the series. James doesn't have any fancy gadgets and the book can get pretty gritty, so they are more like the more recent Bond movies than the older more fantastical movies. If you like spy books then take a look at this series.