Review by Booklist Review
Five orphans Jack, Charlie, Wren, Obi, and Slink have made a home for themselves in a WWII bunker under the London subway. They are skilled in various ways technological savvy, surveillance, and physical prowess in particular and work together as the Urban Outlaws, using their knowledge to play Robin Hood against local criminals and sharing the benefits of their activities with those less fortunate than themselves. But they hit the big time when they inadvertently discover Proteus, a genius supercomputer, and find themselves in the crosshairs of both the underworld and the British government. The five youth need all their wits and a good bit of luck to come out alive. Black's debut reads like a screenplay, loaded with nonstop action, and the technical gadgets reflect a resourceful James Bond (minus Q). The characters are warm and well developed and will appeal to reluctant readers across middle school. This new series will be an excellent choice for younger fans of Alex Rider.--Moore, Melissa Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Heads up, fans of Alex Rider: here's the next thing! Five British tweens use their advanced skills in hacking, thievery, and deception to take from the powerful and give to those in need. In this first book of the series, the Urban Outlaws (Jack, Charlie, Obi, Slink, and Wren) investigate a villian who uses a supercomputer for nefarious purposes. The gripping plot twists through underground lairs, rooftop break-ins, shadowy government interrogations, and more-almost all at night-with all the fancy tech gadgetry, disguises, and awesomely dangerous athletic skills readers could want. Characters, while distinguished primarily by their independent skills, show off their individual personalities with ready-for-television snappy dialogue. The narrative primarily follows the thoughts of Jack, the mastermind, allowing glimpses into the backstory of these orphans-turned-Merry Men but doesn't get bogged down in set-up or uneccessary description. A fun, fast pick worthy of every middle-grade collection, this may even catch the attention of older reluctant readers.-Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Living in an abandoned bunker beneath London, five talented, tech-savvy orphans take it upon themselves to play Robin Hood to their community. Trouble appears in the forms of a supercomputer (Urban) and a destructive virus (Blackout) that the Urban Outlaws must quash. The breathless, delightfully implausible plots move at the speed of a relentless action movie in these first two series books. [Review covers these Urban Outlaws titles: Urban Outlaws and Blackout.] (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A group of teenage misfits takes on the world of government conspiracy and digital terrorism in this series opener. Jack, Charlie, Obi, Slink and Wren are lucky to have one another. Escapees from various types of social service trauma, they've formed a makeshift family that lives under the London streets. They thrive on stealing from the rich, both to fund their independent lifestyle and improve the lives of others through secret donations to nonprofits, and RAKing (performing anonymous Randoms Acts of Kindness). Their harmonious existence is threatened, however, when they discover the whereabouts of the world's only quantum computer, named Proteus, which has the ability to render secrets, barriers and privacy obsolete. The government wants Proteus, as does Del Sarto, a ruthless criminal. Can the Urban Outlaws save the world before they end up in jailor worse? This debut novel packs in a lot of action that kids will gobble up with gusto. Young readers won't be bothered by the occasional cheesy moment: "Jack wouldn't rest until Proteus was dead." More typical are the many chapters filled with exhilarating drama, clever dialogue, descriptions of cool gadgets, and characters who may be young but who display strong senses of social responsibility. A thrilling tale of a Robin Hood for the iPod generation. (Adventure. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
