Eagle Strike Horowitz, Anthony

Alex Rider is fourteen, orphaned, and somehow keeps getting dragged back into MI6's deadliest missions. This time, it's personal. A shadowy assassin named Yassen Gregorovich — the man who killed Alex's uncle — resurfaces, and Alex follows the trail from the south of France to a pop star's private compound. What he uncovers is a conspiracy involving a billionaire with a twisted vision and a plan that could kill thousands. Anthony Horowitz writes teen spy thrillers with genuine stakes: no one's safe, the gadgets are cool but won't save you, and Alex bleeds. The action is relentless, the villains are genuinely sinister, and the emotional weight is real. This is the fourth in the Alex Rider series, but it works as a standalone if you like your Young Adult fiction with actual bite. Perfect for middle-grade readers ready to graduate from Percy Jackson, or anyone who misses when spy stories had real tension.