Brett Armstrong's Reviews > Frozen Secrets

Thanks to my wife being a middle school teacher, I've been reading more middle grade fiction lately. From what I've seen via book fair catalogs and out on the shelves of stores, I get the impression that sci-fi like Frozen Secrets is a comparative a rarity. Secret agencies and exploring Europa--I had to check this out.
The short of it is I really enjoyed Mr. Christenson's debut novel. There was tension, high stakes danger, and the secret org villains weren't cookie-cutter bad guys. The characterization was excellent. A diverse cast in terms of nationality, age, and gender that read very naturally and believably. Among the most impressive things Mr. Christenson was able to accomplish was telling a story through the eyes of middle schoolers that felt like real middle school kids. There's soft romance and teen drama you'd expect from middle grade story. Again, Frozen Secrets seems to have found a way to toe the line on getting it's high stakes dangers and interpersonal drama to exist naturally beside each other without raising the question of how one was upstaging the other at any given moment.
There are some predictable moments, but also a few surprises. Overall, this was a great read and I'd recommend it for any middle schooler (or anyone who reads middle grade books) and especially sci-fi and adventure fans. It's book 1 in the Europa Academy series so I'm looking forward to where the story goes next.