Code of Honor by Alan Gratz
Adventure, Terrorism, Brothers, Loyalty, Prejudice,
Stereotypes, Young Adult
Age 11-13
Grade 6-8
293 pages
c. 2015
c. 2015
Brothers Kamran and Darius Smith are very
close and loyal to one another. Darius is in the army having graduated from
West Point and Kamran is the star of the high school football team and dating
the most popular girl at school. Their family is from Iran but they feel 100%
American and Kamran hopes to follow in his brother’s footsteps.
Everything changes when Darius is accused of
being a terrorist. He is shown in several videos making threats against
America. Suddenly Kamran is also being accused of being a terrorist and
abandoned by all his friends. He continues to believe in his brother even when
the family is interrogated by Homeland Security and he is taken to be a “guest”
of the government.
When they were younger Darius and Kamran
created a “Code of Honor” and also made up games based on Persian mythology,
books like Harry Potter and movies like star Wars. Studying the videos, Kamran
believes that Darius is sending him clues about upcoming terrorist plots. He
manages to convince agent Mickey Hagerty to help him escape from the government
facility in hopes of finding his brother and stopping bombs going off at the
Super Bowl.
An intense read
that deals with death, violence, prejudice, but also love and loyalty between
brothers, patriotism and the willingness to sacrifice for what you believe. Hard
to put down once you start reading it. A thought provoking read on the war
against terrorism. Readers who like Anthony Horowitz’s Aleck Rider books will
probably like this one.
The Code of Honor is
1. Be the strongest of the strong
2. Be the bravest of the brave
3. Help the helpless
4. Always tell the truth
5. Be loyal
6. Never give up
7. Kill all monsters
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