Another title on this season's OBOB list for middle school! Gonzalez is the author of Red Umbrella, which I have seen, always wanted to read, but haven't gotten to yet. Like many books, it's on my "want to read" list! Perhaps you have one, too? Moving Targets is book 1 to Return Fire, which came out in 2016, the year after Moving Target did. So it's not a super-new book, but being an OBOB selection puts it on my radar.
And...meh. I tried to love it, but only liked it. And only liked it a little. It wanted to be a good action/adventure book, and almost got there a couple of times, but then the writing got really predictable, the characters never turned into people I cared about, and the next plot twist was handed to the reader on a platter, as if we couldn't figure some of it out on our own, if allowed to. This might be a good mystery for a younger reader, maybe 4th or 5th grade? But for most middle graders, there are SO many other good action/adventure/mysteries out there, you could skip this one and not really miss out on anything. Try Alex Rider, or Ranger's Apprentice, or authors Blue Balliett, Caroline Cooney, or Shannon Messenger. Life's too short to read a mediocre book. Read this if you want, but you were warned... 3 paws (and only because it is an OBOB book).
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