Book Review and Scavenger Hunt Contest: The New Recruit by Jill Williamson

But I had to stay in. My mother had died for this loony organization.
I'd do whatever it took to live up to her sacrifice,
 at least until I found out who "they" were.
And made them pay.

 

Spencer Garamond has been recruited into a super secret spy agency known as the Mission League. You'd think, hey, any fourteen-year-old guy would be thrilled to be a spy-in-training, but Spencer was more or less forced to become spy by none other than his grandmother to keep him out of trouble. It was either join the Mission League--a Christian spy organizaton--or be shipped off to military school. So Spencer joins the Bible geeks, who he thinks are just a little off their rocker, if you know what I mean.

 

But then, his perspective of the Mission League changes when he discovers his parents, whom he never met, were spies, and his mother died for the cause. Combine this revelation with encountering an odd gang of Russian boys and mysterious woman named Anya who's been haunting his dreams for years, and Spencer discovers maybe he should be taking this Mission League thing a bit more seriously.

 

The New Recruit by Jill Williamson is a fresh twist on a spy tale full of intrigue, humor, and touching moments. One of the best aspects of the book for me was the viewpoint of a non-Christian character in a primarily Christian setting. Spencer's view of various characters' beliefs and actions that provoke misunderstandings and Christian culture clashes is eye-opening and I believe important for other Christians to know about. Spencer and the other characters' paths toward understanding each other is slow but believeable. Add in the over-arching, suspenseful mystery in Moscow, and The New Recruit is a fun and thought-provoking read.

 

Genre: Christian/YA/Suspense

Ages: 14 and up

Pages: 399

Publication Date: October 2012

Part of a Series: The Mission League (Book 1)

 

*I would like to thank the author and publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Visit these awesome bloggers who will be reviewing and hosting book giveaways of

The New Recruit all this week:

 

(10/8) Life with a Mission

           Labor Not in Vain 

(10/9) Writings of Rosie

(10/10) Endless Antique

Christian Bookshelf Reviews

(10/11) Life of a Teenage Writer

(10/12) The Ramblings of a Young Author

(10/13) Karen DeBlieck

 

--Check out the website for the Mission League. It has character details, sketches, the book trailer, classified terms, a map of Moscow, and even summaries of the next books in the series.

 

--Read Chapter One of The New Recruit.

 

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 Go Undercover Scavenger Hunt 

 

To celebrate the release of The New Recruit, the author, Jill Williamson, is hosting

a very fun spy contest!

 

--The Grand Prize is a $100 Barnes and Noble gift card--

(Soooo worth it for all of us Nook impulse buyers!)

 

--The 10 runner ups will receive Mission League spy kits--

(Sooo worth it for all of us who duck around corners

while humming the Mission Impossible theme song...

wait, am I the only one who does that?)

 

For more info about the contest just click the banner below:

 

 

And just for grins and giggles, here's Jill--or, ahem, Jill's uncle from some

foreign country that prides itself in growing fantastic mustaches and eyebrows--

explaining the rules of the contest:

 

 

So come join this undercover mission and unleash you inner spy!

 

covertly glances in both directions and ducks around the corner while humming

"duh duh...duh duh duh"