Praise for Code of Honor:"Readers will be swept up by both the intrigue and the rapid pacing... Kamran is a smart and sympathetic narrator, and readers will be happy to spend time with him in this action-packed thriller." — Kirkus Reviews"Exciting, at times ripped from the headlines, and scary, this cinematic work has layers of intrigue and danger in each scene... will appeal to a variety of readers and will raise questions about patriotism, loyalty, and trust... A winner." — School Library Journal"Vivid characters and timely topics, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, contribute to making Code of Honor a first-rate novel." — VOYAPraise for Prisoner B-3087:A Junior Library Guild SelectionGolden Sower Award, 2014-2015 Winner NebraskaIsinglass Teen Read Award, 2014-2015 Winner New HampshirePennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award, 2014-2015 Winner PennsylvaniaJunior Book Award, 2015-2016 Winner South CarolinaGrand Canyon Reader Award, 2015-2016 Winner ArizonaTruman Readers Award, 2015-2016 Winner MissouriReaders Choice Awards, Winner 2015-2016 Virginia Volunteer State Book Award Winner, 2015-2016 Tennessee"A powerful story, well told." — School Library Journal"A bone-chilling tale not to be ignored." — Kirkus Reviews"[A] remarkable survival story." — Booklist"Gratz ably conveys . . . fatalism, yearning, and determination in the face of the unimaginable." — Publishers Weekly"Heartbreaking, gripping, raw, and emotional . . . storytelling at its finest." — VOYA

★ 01/01/2016
Gr 8 Up—Seventeen-year-old Kamran Smith is a typical American high school student. He plays football, has a girlfriend and friends, plans to attend West Point after he graduates, and has an older brother he idolizes, Darius, a U.S. Army Ranger. But when Darius is captured in Afghanistan and is then seen on television appearing to work alongside terrorists, Kamran and his family are viewed with suspicion. People, including all of Kamran's friends, begin to distance themselves from the family. Fear, discrimination, and prejudice begin to rear their heads, as well as anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment. Homeland Security eventually detains the family. And Kamran still has to deal with his own questions and doubts about his brother's loyalty. As more footage airs, Kamran begins to believe that Darius may be trying to send coded messages to him. Determined to prove that his brother is not a traitor, Kamran enlists the help of a CIA operative. This riveting work, narrated by Dan Bittner, moves at a furious and intense pace. Because the story deals with events taken from today's headlines, it takes on a gritty and frightening plausibility. VERDICT A fast-paced, relevant, and well-crafted story that will keep listeners guessing whether Darius is or is not a traitor. ["A winner for independent reading and deeper discussion with its timely topic, strong writing, and appealing characters": SLJ 7/15 review of the Scholastic book.]—Mary Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

07/01/2015
Gr 8 Up—An Arab American teen, Kamran has always considered himself fully American—a high school star football player who dates one of the most popular girls and a homecoming king contender. He plans to attend West Point for college, like his army officer brother, Darius. All of this changes when authorities identify his brother as a deserter and terrorist, responsible for the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Turkey and the deaths of 53 people. Life takes on nightmarish proportions when Kamran is first ostracized by his friends and classmates and then taken into custody and held as a prisoner by the U.S. government. Despite days of questioning and watching videos of Darius, the teen refuses to acknowledge that his brother is a terrorist. As he pays closer attention to the videos, he realizes that his brother is trying to give him information about terrorist plans by using scenarios from games the two used to play and the Code of Honor they signed when they were children. With help from surprising sources, Kamran escapes and heads out to find his sibling. Exciting, at times ripped from the headlines, and scary, this cinematic work has layers of intrigue and danger in each scene. The well-developed protagonist reacts in typical teen fashion, with anger, doubt, rage, and faith in his brother. This action-packed novel will appeal to a variety of readers and will raise questions about patriotism, loyalty, and trust. VERDICT A winner for independent reading and deeper discussion with its timely topic, strong writing, and appealing characters.—Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas

2015-04-29
An Iranian-American teen's faith in his beloved brother is pushed to the limit when it appears that he may be involved in a terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Turkey. High school senior Kamran and his parents are stunned when his brother, Darius, a U.S. Army Ranger, appears in a video following the embassy bombing, disheveled and rambling, claiming responsibility for the attack. The family's descent into a constantly monitored nightmare of confusion is believably horrific. When Kamran notices that Darius seems to be slipping references into his posted videos about imaginary games they used to play as children, his parents don't believe it could be a clue that all is not as it seems. Only when Kamran is wrested from his home by Homeland Security, bound, drugged, and spirited away to an unknown detention facility, does he meet an ally. Readers will be swept up by both the intrigue of puzzling out the truth behind Darius' presumed guilt and by the rapid pacing. Short, intricately plotted chapters spur the story forward, and the audience will be constantly unsure about who can be trusted. Action sequences are a little unlikely; readers may find it hard to believe that one teen can take on so many militarily trained adults. Quibbles aside, Kamran is a smart and sympathetic narrator, and readers will be happy to spend time with him in this action-packed thriller. (Adventure. 14-18)