LitPick Review
Alexandras Secret Missiles, betrayals, and spies, oh my! You'll get all that and more in Annie Laura Smith's new novel, Alexandra's Secret. Set in the mid-1940's, right when World War II is just heating up, eighteen year-old Alexandra Cockrell has just graduated from the American Office of Strategic Services (it would take a couple days training just to be able to say the name) otherwise known as the OSS. Graduating youngest in her class, Alexandra doesn't expect to be assigned to a high-profile mission until the OSS discovers that an important military document has been lost. If the manuscript falls into the hands of the enemy, the entire war could be compromised. With older, more experienced agents otherwise occupied, the OSS chooses Alexandra to carry out this vital mission, due to her impeccable memory, glowing physical record, and bilingual abilities. As she sets out to Belgium to try and recover the text with nothing more than a hint of where it might be, Alexandra is putting herself and everyone who helps her along the way into mortal peril. With the outcome of the war on her shoulders, will Alexandra be successful in her quest for the article? Or will she even make it out alive?
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Jason Norris is in quiet a situation himself. Just shot down by enemy planes, Jason is in the middle of nowhere, lost, hungry, dirty, and would really like a to use a decent bathroom. If that doesnt seem bad enough, while he was busy trying to parachute safely out of his flaming fighter jet, he somehow misplaced a key file that his superiors said should never EVER be lost. In a nutshell, he's having quite a day. With the manuscript now lost, he can only hope that it doesn't fall in the wrong hands. As Jason travels across who-knows- where, can he find a source of safety before the Germans find him instead?
Opinion:
Ok, so when I first read the back cover of this book, I was super excited. War, danger, intrigue, and a boy and a girl, which practically screams ROMANCE! Sadly, everything in this book was the exact opposite of what I had hoped it to be. I know I like a story to be fast- paced and thrilling, but the book moved a little too fast, which completely buried the sense of anticipation. There characters would be in a new place every few pages, which didn't give the plot time to elaborate on the setting or individual emotions. I also didn't connect with the novel all. It was just like Smith was going through the motions of writing a book, plot, setting, problem, and solution. It was really hard for me to get immersed in the novel and actually feel like I was there. And, for all you lovers of the romantic side of reading, there was some romance. Some. I just felt like that was kind of rushed, too. One thing I did like about this book was all the information I collected about World War II. Smith definitely did her research. All in all, I was a little disappointed in this book, and certainly felt like Smith could do better.
