Independence Hall

Fame has arrived for rockers Blaze and Roger! Just married, leaving Los Angeles, and touring the United States with teenagers Q (Quest) and Angela in tow, the excitement heightens in Philadelphia when Angela realizes she's being followed. Q soon learns the secret about Angela's real mother - a former Secret Service agent. Readers are thrust into current issues affecting the world in this edge-of- your-seat, modern-day mystery adventure. I, Q readers will be immersed in the work of U.S. Secret Service, the Mossad, and the MI5. But who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? What happens to this newly formed family if Angela's mom is not dead? Roland is the author of many award-winning books for children including Journey of the Red Wolf; The Captain's Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe; and Thunder Cave, which was a 1996 Notable Children's Trade Book in the field of Social Studies. Penned with his wife, Roland's books with Sleeping Bear Press include W is for Waves: An Ocean Alphabet; Z is for Zookeeper: A Zoo Alphabet; and N is for our Nation's Capital: A Washington, DC Alphabet. Roland lives near Portland, Oregon.Children's LiteratureQuest (Q) Munoz, 13-year-old amateur magician, and Angela Tucker, 15-year-old Tae Kwon Do expert and amateur spy, have just become step-siblings. It's a good thing they get along, because only days after their folks tie the knot, they are pursued by Israeli (Mossad) spies. Speaking of spies, Angela's mom, who died in the line of duty four years earlier, was one of the best... or was she? Boone, the roadie/spy looking after them, tells Angela there is a 50/50 chance her mom is still alive! The plot thickens when they learn that Angela's mom had (has?) an identical twin who may (or may not) be terrorists! What's a girl to do? If it's Angela, the answer is risk her (and her stepbrother's) life to find the truth. To give away more would be criminal. This one is a humdinger! As with Jack's Run and Zach's Lie, Roland Smith has created an exciting page-turner, but he's outdone himself this time. Angela and Q make a terrific team, each using her and his respective talents in clever ways. First-person narrator Q also has a wonderful, dry sense of humor: I think I'm walking through a dead zone,' I said, hoping I wasn't being literal. This first entry in the cleverly named I, Q series leads right into the sequel. Let's hope it comes out soon. Reviewer: Naomi Milliner