The Boxer and the Spy

by Robert B. Parker Narrated by Scott Brick

Overview

His name was Jason Green and he was dead. When a shy high school student's body is found washed up on the shore of a quiet New England beach town-an alleged suicide linked to steroids-fifteen-year-old boxer-in-training Terry Novak isn't quite sure what to think. Something just doesn't add up. Artsy and withdrawn, Jason wasn't exactly the type to be doing 'roids.

So Terry, with the help of his friend Abby, decides to do some investigating of his own. It doesn't take long, though, before they learn that asking questions puts them in grave danger and that survival is going to be a fight.

Fortunately, Terry has learned a thing or two about fighting.

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 9-11- Parker makes his second foray into YA literature with this tale of a 15-year-old aspiring boxer trying to solve the murder of one of his classmates, deemed a suicide by the authorities. As in his adult "Spenser" books, the question is not so much who committed the crime as how the protagonist will catch him (it is apparent pretty early on who the bad guys are). Terry Novak battles a group of powerful, evil individuals with only his wits, toughness, and a few loyal friends to help him. He has a personal code that requires him to avenge wrongdoing against innocents and will use violence only when forced to. In many ways it is Terry himself rather than the solving of the crime that is the main focus of the novel: haltingly, and often inarticulately, he begins to explore what it means to live honorably, with moral purpose. In this he is aided by George, the wise, elderly black man who is teaching him to fight, and by Abby, the sassy beauty whom Terry hopes to make his girlfriend. As in any Parker novel, the dialogue is delightful. Character is revealed in a word, a phrase, or sometimes even a gesture. (Has any writer ever conveyed more meaning through a shrug?) While some may object that the fight scenes are a little too graphic or the resolution a little too neat, few could question either the quality of the writing or the book's undeniable appeal to teen readers.-Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT

Kirkus Reviews

This conventional mystery from the prolific adult author features standard villains with some spice thrown in by the boxing leitmotif. Despite an official conclusion of suicide, 15-year-old Terry remains sure that his shy friend Jason did not kill himself. Determined to uncover the real reason Jason died, he gets help from his almost-girlfriend Abby, who sets up a network of friends to spy on the typically arrogant adults who run the town and the school. Threatened by school bullies, Terry relies on his newfound boxing skills and his wise trainer George to get out of scrapes. The resolution relies on confessions, but one nice twist regarding a villain adds some interest at the end. Not much new here, but Parker provides some nice action scenes and whodunit clues. High-school intrigue written simply enough to satisfy budding mystery fans in the middle-school crowd as well. (Fiction. 10-16)

From the Publisher

[U]ndeniable appeal to teen readers. School Library Journal

JUNE 2009 - AudioFile

THE BOXER AND THE SPY, the second juvenile fiction title by veteran mystery novelist Parker, taps into many of the first-time feelings experienced by adolescents trying to find out who they are. Narrator Scott Brick plays each part with an emotional gravity that forces listeners to care and root for the characters. The shy, poetic boy's death by suicide just doesn't feel right to wannabe boxer Terry Novak and his could-be girlfriend, Abby, so they start to dig deeper into the illegal steroids trade in their small town, ruffling feathers and falling in love. Brick matches Parker's perfect pacing and pressure-packed action scenes, proving once again he's a "golden voice" to follow. R.O. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169325249
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	04/28/2009
Edition description:	Unabridged

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