Ryan Quinn and the Rebel's Escape by Ron McGee

McGee does an excellent job keeping the plot moving at a fast clip, while still immersing the reader in the world of spies. This was more violent than I expected it to be, but I think it appropriately raises the stakes of everything Ryan and his friends are doing. spies, gadgets, a motley crew of teammates, kidnappings, shootouts and so much more. I read most of this book in one sitting, it was that exciting! In many ways this read like the plot of a teenage James Bond movie. This is the first book in a trilogy and I can't wait to read the rest. Kasey isn't a Bond girl but is a smart, competent character who becomes one of the team. This story was action-packed an exciting with Ryan playing the James Bond role with Danny serving as his Q. Meanwhile, Danny and Kasey are back home in New York trying to track down Ryan's mother. They have all sorts of adventures as they travel. With his father injured, it is up to Ryan to get Lan to safety. There he meet Myat Kaw and learns that she is a young girl about his own age named Lan. He tracks his father to a hidden temple with soldiers chasing him the whole way. With help from Danny who is doing his computer tricks at home, Ryan breaks into a military post to find his first clue. Ryan finds himself in Andakar, a military dictatorship near China, searching for his father and Myat Kaw.

When a young woman whose face is on one of those cards shows up, Ryan is determined to go with her to find his father. He discovers a hidden room on the first floor of his house that has a variety of forged passports and credit cards.

Ryan has never heard of Myat Kaw but he'll do anything to get his mother back. They want to know where his father is and where Myat Kaw is. Strangers break in and kidnap his mother. Ryan's father goes off on an assignment and drops out of contact. Ryan also has a crush on Kasey but finds himself strangely tongue-tied whenever he is around her. He is a hacker, inventor, and believes himself to be a gift to the ladies. Danny is his best friend and an interesting character. Now settled in New York and in eighth grade, Ryan is at an international school and making friends. His mother convinced his father that they needed to settle down so that Ryan could finally find a place to fit in and make friends. Then it became harder and harder to fit in and he began spending a lot of time alone. He learned to eat strange foods, adapt strange customs, and make friends wherever he was - until he got to be a teenager. Ryan Quinn grew up all over the world and he and his mother followed his father from one diplomatic assignment to another.

Ryan Quinn and the Rebel's Escape by Ron McGee