From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up-This work of contemporary suspense is a prequel novel, based on the enormously popular Alias TV series. Brainy but socially inept Sydney Bristow is a freshman at UCLA, where she plans to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a teacher. It's not long, however, before she begins questioning her reasons for wanting to teach. Meanwhile, she strikes out with a cute guy, gets fired the first day on a job, and spends a lot of time pitying herself. Then, a recruiter mysteriously appears from an organization Sydney believes is the CIA. With an offer to become a secret agent, she can move in a different, and far more exciting, direction. She is not quick to give up her old life, however. Half the book is over before she decides to accept the offer. It's understandable: the penalty for deserting, should she want out, is certain death. Also, she is not allowed to tell anyone about the offer. Readers are into the final quarter before Sydney becomes embroiled in heart-stopping danger, but they should feel that the payoff is worth the wait. While the prose and the plot development are workmanlike, the intended audience won't care. Because of its connection to the TV show, even reluctant readers should devour this one.
Catherine Ensley, Latah County Free Library District, Moscow, IDCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the Inside Flap
Terror-filled eyes. Lungs choked with water. A pounding heartbeat.
For Sydney Bristow, it?s a typical day in her not-so-typical after-school job?she?s an agent for SD-6, a top-secret division of the CIA. Or so she thinks.
This prequel is the first in a new series based on the smash ABC show
Alias?it?s Sydney?s life before she discovers she?s working for the bad guys, juxtaposing normal college life against her fabulous exploits as a working spy.
