Let's Hear It for the Boys - Invasion by Jon S Lewis

Published: January 2011

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 321

Copy: Bought

Summary: Goodreads

Colt McAllister is drawn into a war against things he thought only existed in comic books.


After a car wreck takes the lives of his parents, Colt moves to Arizona to stay with his grandfather. There, an informant tells him that his parents were actually murdered because his mom, a journalist, was getting ready to write a story exposing Trident Industries.


Along with Oz and Danielle, his new comrades at Chandler High, Colt vows to uncover the truth. But the more they learn, the more bizarre reality becomes. Mind control, jet packs, and flying motorcycles only scratch the surface of what they discover.


Colt is recruited by a secret organization called the Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural. But the battle isn't just against an out-of-control giant corporation. A gateway to another world is opening, and the invasion has already begun.


I really enjoyed reading this title - it was lots of fun and fairly quick to read.  It was a bit like reading a comic book, without the pictures!  The story references comics about the 'Phantom Flyer' and through the course of the story, we discover that the stories are based on the truth. Cue the nasty aliens and the huge corporation run by bad guys trying to over take the world - which is only one of twelve that can be reached through portals.

The protagonists are Colt McAllister - I just love that name - Danielle and Oz, with a little bit of Lily thrown in, and the adults in the story are really just bad guys or background noise.  There is some romance, but just a very little - no triangles in sight! Colt and Oz are the children of CHAOS operatives - think otherworldly spies with amazing James Bond type gadgets - and are recruited to become the next generation of operatives.  There's lots of car chases, wild weapons, explosions and killing of aliens. It was just so much fun.  Everything ties up very nicely, and the whole story was a wonderful introduction into the world of CHAOS.  It looks as though there's more fun to come with a second volume due out in January 2012.

This was a very clean read, that is more than suitable for younger teens.  It's violent, but not on a really nasty scale, and the romance really is quite minimal.  A great title for guys, and for any girls who like comic books or video games - or just good books.