All sillyness aside, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Rick Yancey is all about Alfred, a "normal" teen boy who has had a run of misfortunes. First his father ran out before he was even born; he's a BIG boy with a BIG head; his mom has died of cancer leaving him alone with his uncle who has big dreams that leave him susceptible to bad men. His uncle has made a deal with a man to retrieve a sword from the office building he guards as its night watchman in exchange for 1 million dollars. Alfred gets involved, even though he thinks something is fishy about the whole thing, but what can he do when his uncle threatens him with foster care?
Little does Alfred know that this one small moment of thievery will cause possibly the world's destruction. The sword is Excalibur--the legendary sword of King Arthur--and whoever uses it can control men and be unbeatable in combat. After his uncle is killed and Alfred is introduced to the descendants of the Knights of the Round Table, he realizes the consequences of his action and feels that he needs to do something to set things right--which include his death (this isn't a spoiler--he tells you in the first paragraph!); high speed chases in amazing sports cars; secret government organizations; and fights against AODs (Agents of Darkness). When I started reading the book, I asked my husband what he thought of the book and he said, that this is the most realistic book of how a normal teen is put into spy/action situations. And he was right. Alfred isn't trained in fighting techniques like Alex Rider; he doesn't have parents who are spies; or is a genius with unusual skills. He's just an ordinary boy who is big for his size and a little slow to comprehend things...And that's what makes this a fun book to read. It's action packed and full of unbelievable scenes that make this a book that should be made into a movie. It would be a great teen action flick!
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