British writer Anthony Horowitz has been recognized by none other than the Queen of England for his ability to get young people reading, particularly boys of the ‘tween category – those sticky-wicket years in between childhood and official adolescence. His books are action-packed and engaging, and – now translated into 28 languages – are avidly read by kids the world over. Alex Rider is a series about a 14-year-old boy who inadvertently becomes a superspy for the British equivalent of the CIA and manages to get himself into enough predicaments within a year’s time to fill seven novels.
Crocodile Tears is book number 8 in the series, in which Alex is targeted by a hitman and, under threat of his past being exposed by the media, he reluctantly turns to MI6. But the agency’s help doesn’t come cheap. It needs Alex to spy on the activities at a genetically modified crop plant. There he spots Desmond McCain, a high-profile charity organizer, who realizes that Alex is on to him and the real plans for the money that he has raised. Kidnapped and whisked off to Africa, Alex learns the full horror of McCain’s plot: to create an epic disaster that will kill millions – and for which disaster McCain will be able to extort more money from sympathetic donors. Alex finds himself being manipulated in a deadly game that could lead to the destruction of an entire East African country.
Also a prolific writer of adult fiction like the BBC-produced Foyle’s War and many others, Horowitz does extensive geographical and technological research to create realistic possibilities for his juvenile characters. His tales are not science fiction or fantasy, nor does he dumb-down his writing to reach juvenile readers. He says, “I’ve always thought of the books as adult books for kids. And I’ve taken a great deal of care with the language. I love language, and although I tend to avoid words that are unnecessarily complicated or constructions that make you read a paragraph twice, I have no particular idea of an audience in mind. The worst thing a writer can do is to draw a deep breath and say, ‘This is for children,’ and write down for them.”
As for the nearly universal appeal of Alex Rider, Horowitz reckons that young people all over the world are closer than they might think, cultural differences apart. “There is something about childhood, an abstract quality of childhood, that the same story will appeal to people in many, many different countries. These stories are about adventure and growing up, discovering yourself and about empowerment very much – and these are universal themes.”
Stormbreaker, the first novel in the series, was released in 2000 and adapted into a movie in 2006. Also released are: three graphic novels, two short stories, a supplementary book and a video game, plus a line of action figures based on Alex Rider. Horowitz explains that the film is a completely separate entity from the book, and that certain aspects of plot are totally different (an alteration with which some English readers were quite annoyed). But then he says, “I think kids are sophisticated and wise enough to understand that when producers and filmmakers get involved, things change.”
After Crocodile Tears, Horowitz will write one more novel with Alex Rider as the central character, by which time he will have turned 15. He always planned to end the series at that point, not wanting to continue producing formula stories that might go downhill. “There are only a certain number of adventures he could have had. And…he has changed. He’s grown up pretty quickly; he’s matured. He’s darker; he’s a slightly deeper thinker. And as I write the books I’m very aware that after all the things that have happened to him, there’s no way he could stay the same. I have to sort of take on board all the traumas he’s gone through.”
The tenth book will deal with Yassen Gregorovich, the assassin who appears in three of the books. “In a sense, it finishes the series by taking it back to the beginning again. It looks at what turns a 14-year-old boy bad. It’s the other side of Alex. I’m looking forward to writing it; it’s going to be a very interesting book to do.”
A hero to parents and teachers on both sides of the Pond for his ability to engage young minds in literature, Horowitz admits, “I wasn’t a strong reader to start with. The first books I loved were Tintin – now being filmed by Spielberg, I understand – and Marvel comics, too.” And then he read the Canadian-born Willard Price, who wrote a series of adventure novels depicting the exploits of teenage zoologists Hal and Roger Hunt. The emulation is apparent; Price would be pleased.
In celebration of the release of Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Novel, Penguin Young Readers’ Group is sponsoring an in-store event at the Kingston Barnes & Noble that gives kids a chance to “Be Alex Rider!” Using a green-screen setup in the store, Alex Rider fans can place themselves in their own treacherous scenario from the book and then download the image at home by entering their secret code at AlexRiderPhotos.com. There will be two autographed copies of Crocodile Tears raffled off, and lots of time to meet the author and pick his brain. And about the title (this is from Horowitz’s blog, which, once you’ve heard his voice, you read with a proper British accent): “Crocodile tears are fake or hypocritical tears, named from the belief that crocodiles will pretend to cry in order to attract their victims…and will then cry for real as they devour them. That’s sorted that out.” Indeed.
Anthony Horowitz will meet with Alex Rider fans at Barnes & Noble on Ulster Avenue in Kingston on Tuesday, November 17 at 6:30 p.m. Community Relations manager Carol Scalzo encourages you to sign up for this event by calling Customer Service at (845) 336-0590.