Scott McEwen

Hof Williams

Fourteen-year-old Wyatt avoids a prison sentence by agreeing to spend three months in a secret government training camp for teenage agents, but when enemies try to root out Camp Valor's secrets, Wyatt and his friends have to put their training into practice to protect their country.

Camp Valor

Lynn Braden

Wyatt finds himself running from the police when his friend, Derrick calls him for a ride, only to find out that Derrick's ride is actually a getaway from a robbery and assault. When Wyatt is thrown in jail for the crime, he thinks that his life is over, but he is suddenly whisked away by a stranger who says he can make all of Wyatt's troubles go away. It sounds too good to be true, and before long, Wyatt finds out that it isn't going to be that simple. To rid himself of the charges, he must survive Camp Valor which trains young men and women to be operatives for the government. Meanwhile, a powerful figure who believes that he has been betrayed by a graduate of Camp Valor vows to find the traitor, kill him, and destroy the program that made him into the weapon that was used against him.

Camp Valor's plot is not unique - a young person wronged by the system that should have protected him is given another chance to prove himself. What makes it intriguing are the many twists, turns, and surprises that are woven into a story filled with action, adventure, and a little romance. Character development is somewhat lacking mostly due to the number of secondary characters who have minor roles in the story. One issue I had with the book is that it is shelved as a middle grade story, but two of the villains are cannibals, eating body parts and gruesomely murdering their victims, making this story a little too violent for the middle grade age group. Overall, however, this is a very good action adventure.

Camp Valor

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