Fresh Meat: Double Vision by F.T. Bradley

Double Vision by F.T. Bradley
Double Vision by F.T. Bradley
Double Vision by F.T. Bradley is a middle grade spy thriller (available October 16, 2012).

One’s a Secret Agent, One’s Not.

Twelve-year-old Linc is a troublemaker with a dilemma. His antics on a recent school field trip went way overboard, landing his already poor family with a serious lawsuit. So when two secret agents show up at his house, Linc is eager to take them up on their offer to make the lawsuit disappear. They just need one tiny favor.

Turns out Linc looks exactly like one of their top kid agents—an agent who vanished during a vitally important mission. But no debriefing can prepare Linc for how dangerous the mission really is. It’s too bad he isn’t a black belt, a math genius, or a distance runner like his agent double. He’ll need all those skills and more if he hopes to make it out of this mission alive. . . .

Lincoln Baker is a typical twelve-year-old boy. He likes to skateboard. He has good friends. He is an okay student. Well, until his lack of impulse control kicks in, usually during field trips.

“Can I count on you to behave?” She gave me one of those death-ray looks. Mrs. Valdez had reason to be worried. On the last field trip when a kid from another school called Daryl a name I won’t repeat, I started a tomato food fight. It was loads of fun, but my parents had to pay for the lost fruit (apparently tomatoes are a fruit, not a veggie) and cleanup. At the grocery store field trip, I set off the Code Adam alert when we couldn’t find my other friend Sam, so customers were trapped for an hour (the Code Adam alert thing works great, in case you’re wondering). As it turned out, Sam was just taking a bathroom break, so he wasn’t actually kidnapped. But he could’ve been! So anyway, I’m Mrs. Valdez’s field trip nightmare.

“I’ll be good,” I said, and I really wanted to be.

After another field trip fiasco—setting free a barn full of chickens—Linc is in deep trouble. He is facing suspension, or even expulsion, from school. And his parents are caught in the fallout. The farmer is suing the Bakers for the damage Linc did, and then some.

Two agents show up on Lincoln’s doorstep. And they offer him a way out. All he has to do is pretend to be Benjamin Green, a top kid agent who has gone missing. A kid agent who looks just like Linc.

Agent Fullerton looked at his partner, then stepped closer. “You do this, we’ll take care of your chicken farm business. Our intel is that this Farmer Johnson has hired Zachary Quinn.”

“What?” I felt sick. So that was the lawyer Mom was meeting tonight. Zachary Quinn is one of those slick guys you always see on TV, ready to sue the pants off anyone he thinks he can get money from. I thought about how we Bakers wouldn’t survive a lawsuit, since we could barely afford the groceries, let alone a lawyer. How we might even lose the house because that’s all we owned.

With a clever ruse on the part of the agents, Mr. and Mrs. Baker agree to let Linc go with them. He is plunged into an immersion course on all things Benjamin Green so he can pass for the super kid agent on one quick mission.

At this point, Agent Fullerton started telling me all about this fantastic Benjamin Green. How he had a black belt in karate and could run five miles at Olympic record speed. How he knew Mandarin (apparently, that’s Chinese), aced every test at school, and could lift a hundred pounds with his pinkie.

All right, so I made that last part up, but you get the idea. The guy was a superhero, and I was Linc the Chicken Boy. By the time we exited the freeway just north of LA, I hated Benjamin Green.

Of course, nothing goes as planned, and Linc embarks on a race through Paris, deciphering codes and trying to stay ahead of the bad guys. He may not have the skills Benjamin Green has, but he brings his own special abilities—and some cool gadgets made just for him—to the party.

F.T. Bradley captures the voice of this twelve-year-old perfectly. He’s a funny, smart, and caring kid who may not always do the right thing, but whose heart is always in the right place.

The book’s target audience of middle grade reluctant boy readers should devour this thrill ride while solving the puzzles along with Linc. Avid middle grade readers will also like it, even plenty of girls. And I think more than a few parents will have fun reading the book, too. I’m certainly looking forward to Linc’s next adventure.

Attention true spy fans! Here’s a prize pack put together by author F.T. Bradley especially for you! Just leave a comment below and enter for a chance to win.

This sweepstakes has ended.

To enter for a chance to win a Double Vision prize pack including a hardcover copy of F.T. Bradley’s Double Vision, a poster of the book, and a DVD of Spy Kids: All the Time in the World make sure you’re a registered member of the site, then simply leave a comment below.

TIP: Since only comments from registered users will be tabulated, if your user name appears in red above your comment—STOP—go log in, then try commenting again. If your user name appears in black above your comment, You’re In!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 or older. To enter, fill out entry at https://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/10/fresh-meat-double-vision-by-f-t-bradley-debbie-meldrum-thriller-espionage-international-crime-kid-friendly  beginning at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) October 11, 2012. Sweepstakes ends at 11:59 a.m. ET on October 16, 2012 (the “Promotion Period”). Void outside of the 50 US and DC and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules at https://www.criminalelement.com/page/official-rules-double-vision-prize-pack-comment-sweepstakes. Sponsor: Macmillan, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010

See more coverage of new releases with our Fresh Meat series.


Debbie Meldrum reads just about everything she can get her hands on. She was the short fiction editor for Apollo’s Lyre and the Editor in Chief of the Pikes Peak Writers NewsMag. She’s currently putting the finishing touches on her first novel. You can follow her progress on Twitter at @debmeldrum.

Read all posts by Debbie Meldrum for Criminal Element.

Comments

  1. Jenny N

    sounds like a fun read and would be nice to win

  2. Heather B

    Sounds like the kind of thing my brother would have actually read in school growing up. I think I know a few boys now who would be interested!

  3. Amy P.

    Forget giving this to a young person. I wanna read it!

  4. Lara Britt

    I’m with Amy. Who says YA is for the young of years only.

  5. Linda Hatton

    Sounds like a great story! Congrats!

  6. Andrea Wickman

    want this bad

  7. nana

    My 11-year-old grandson will love this book! I think I will, too.

  8. Andrew Gordon

    my son would love this

  9. Bob Keck

    How fun! Thanks for offering this.

  10. Jennifer Jenkins

    definately educational and exciting for girls or boys!

  11. Bonnie Sullivan

    This looks very interesting.

  12. Laura K. Curtis

    DON’T FORGET! You must be logged into the site to be entered into the contest! Your name above your comment should appear in BLACK. If it doesn’t, go up to the top of the page and log in (register first if you haven’t already) and then log in before commenting!

  13. DARLA KIDDER

    If only life could be that simple when you get into trouble , just have secret agents show up at your door to make all of your problems disappear.

  14. Michelle Bryan

    It sounds very interestind and my kids would love this.

  15. Daniel Morrell

    great bunch of goodies, thanks for the giveaway!

  16. Travis Johnson

    sounds like a good read

  17. Karl Stenger

    Sounds great

  18. Laura McDonald

    My son really needs this right now.

  19. Erin Hartshorn

    What a fun-sounding book. Love to read about people out of their element, and this would be a great one to share with my son.

  20. Christina Oseland

    My nephew would love this pack.
    Thanks!

  21. Aaron Robbins

    Nice looking prize pack.

  22. Scott Knight

    I could recommend this to my students.

  23. Debbie

    My son would love this book! (I’m sure he’d enjoy the rest of the prize pack too.) It looks very cute!

  24. Allison Moyer

    If I wasn’t a librarian, I’d either be a spy or a ninja. Spies always have the best gadgets!

  25. CATHARINE RIEHL

    I’d love to give this to my nephew for Christmas!

  26. Joanna Hernandez

    I would love to win this!

  27. fay234

    sounds like a fun read.

  28. Patricia Hill

    My grandson would so love this book.

  29. lasvegasnv

    Sounds good.

  30. Joyce Benzing

    Looks interesting.

  31. Heather Martin

    This looks fun!

  32. Tayloruu

    HEYY YAY!

  33. AmyR

    Sounds like an awesome plot!

  34. Dianne

    Sounds like a fun read, and a great addition to my daughter’s reading class library

  35. Peter W. Horton Jr.

    A spy-Yes!

  36. vicki wurgler

    my grandson would enjoy this

  37. Robert Banning

    Looks to be a great read for kids and adults!

  38. Beth Talmage

    This would make a great Christmas gift for my nephew. I’m putting it on my shopping list–but hoping to win your great prize pack.

  39. Kim Adsit

    This would be great for my two teens and myself, it sounds great!

  40. Ed Nemmers

    I would like to read F. T. Bradley!

  41. Erica C.

    Great giveaway 🙂

  42. Dawn Schultz

    I would read this, it looks like fun!

  43. Cheryl English

    I will put this book on my to read list.

  44. Susan Smith

    Sounds great!

  45. LeAnn Voyer

    Sounds like a great book that my 6th grader would love to read.

  46. Leslie Stanziani

    My 10 year old loves spy stories but detests reading.He goes as far as to act like he can not read.I have found that if the subject is one he likes then he will actually read it.I would love this for him as I know he would read it.I also am retty sure my 12 yr old daughter would also like it.

  47. Tricha Leary

    my nephew would love it

  48. Kellie Conklin

    This looks like a great book to keep the interest of reading for those middle age boys! It also looks like a story I would enjoy 🙂 Lots of adventure and excitement. Thanks for the review!

  49. Buddy Garrett

    Sounds like a great book and DVD. Thanks.

  50. Sand Lopez

    I would love to win this!

  51. kathy pease

    Thank you for the great giveaway please count me in 🙂

  52. Jenny Q

    My son would love this. It looks loke a good read!

  53. Susan Smoaks

    oh we would totally enjoy this!

  54. Star Miranda

    I do reading club with my son’s school and I know the kids would love to have this as their next adventure and I have to addmit to wanting to read it myself 🙂

  55. Gina Ferrell

    I love reading and my kids do too. I think we would enjoy reading the
    copy of Double Vision by F. T. Bradley and the kids would enjoy the
    Spy Kids: All the Time in the World DVD and the Spy School Secret Codes 101: Making and Breaking Hidden Messages spy kit.

  56. Cheryl Reinhardt

    Thank you for the Contest !!! This looks like A GREAT WIN !!! I would love to have this…………..Boys need reading material too……….. great package !!!
    [url=mailto:californiapoppys@yahoo.com]californiapoppys@yahoo.com[/url]

  57. Jennifer Peaslee

    Sounds like a fun book!

  58. Steve Hamilton

    would love it

  59. Cindi Hoppes

    My great-nephew would love this prize pack…
    Many thanks, Cindi
    jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

  60. barbara studer

    looks like a good book to have here when my kids come. thanks for the draw

  61. Jessica Ellibee

    I’m definitely going to be looking into this series. Thanks!

  62. Andrea Wickman

    Wow seemed interesting!

Comments are closed.

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