Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Nadia Riley is delighted to earn a spot at an elite, government-funded boarding school. Nothing sounds better than leaving behind her fraught relationship with her ex-boyfriend and moving to faraway Arizona for a spot at Desert Mountain Academy. But the Academy is more than Nadia bargained for: it’s a covert CIA program training high-achieving students for the Black-Ops. Nadia struggles to keep up in her new classes while gaining the trust of her assigned teammates. Things get worse when news leaks that there is a double agent on campus, and someone is framing Nadia. Nadia discovers dark secrets about her fellow teammates and learns one of them is the deserter. With a setting that is Hogwarts meets The Bourne Identity, this debut YA thriller will make readers mad with suspense.
Rating: 5 stars
Review:
Desert Dark by Sonja Stone is brilliantly stunning. Her novel is set for YA; however, adults like myself will lose themselves inside this incredible read. I found it enticing, suspenseful and packed with action. There’s also, a mystery surrounding the events that keep readers intrigued from the beginning and until the ending. This new title in YA is exciting, hot, and carries a lot of themes such as family, loyalty, and friendships. I absolutely loved reading this new novel by a very talented writer. Desert Dark is the first novel I have read by this writer and I am now looking forward to book two. Hopefully, there is one. These characters are funny, unpredictable, and sweet. They are also, realistic, smart, and can kick butt.
Inside this suspenseful spy covert mission book, readers will follow a young girl as she is being sent to a private school that she has never signed up for…it gives her a chance to start over rather than staying home having to face her cheating boyfriend and ex best friend. Desert Dark totally fits in with the overall story. As the new girl, Nadia finds herself in the middle of a dessert with a top security governmental school, she finds there are indeed dark things going on…Nadia is smart and a tough student. She soon realizes how far behind she is and works daily to bring herself up to standards with her four-man team. Her roommate has a southern accent and is a little OCD when it comes to keeping things clean…but their friendship blooms despite that…but Nadia soon finds out each member of her team is holding onto a secret. Especially their hot team leader whose secret may crush what they both feel towards one another…then there’s a diary Nadia finds…and it’s after that her whole life gets messier than she ever expected. I loved reading this spy thriller. Desert Dark is not just for teens but can also be for adults. The plot, characters, and the pace were amazing. I couldn’t stop reading it. Overall, this is definitely a novel to read by all.
Urban Book Reviews 