Phoenix Island

WINNER OF THE BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL John Dixon's critically acclaimed Phoenix Island reads like ';Lord of the Flies meets Wolverine and Cool Hand Luke' (F. Paul Wilson, creator of Repairman Jack). For fans of The Bourne Identity, Alex Rider, and Melissa Marr.The judge told Carl that one day hed have to decide exactly what kind of person he would become. But on Phoenix Island, the choice will be made for him. A champion boxer with a sharp hook and a short temper, sixteen-year-old Carl Freeman has been shuffled from foster home to foster home. He cant seem to stay out of troubleusing his fists to defend weaker classmates from bullies. His latest incident sends his opponent to the emergency room, and now the court is sending Carl to the worst place on earth: Phoenix Island. Classified as a terminal facility, its the end of the line for delinquents who have no home, no family, and no future. Located somewhere far off the coast of the United Statesand immune to its lawsthe island is a grueling Spartan-style boot camp run by sadistic drill sergeants who show no mercy to their young, orphan trainees. Sentenced to stay until his eighteenth birthday, Carl plans to play by the rules, so he makes friends with his wisecracking bunkmate, Ross, and a mysterious gray-eyed girl named Octavia. But he makes enemies, too, and after a few rough scrapes, he earns himself the nickname Hollywood as well as a string of punishments, including a brutal night in the sweatbox. But thats nothing compared to what awaits him in the Chop Shopa secret government lab where Carl is given something he never dreamed of. A new lifeA new body. A new brain. Gifts from the fatherly Old Man, who wants to transform Carl into something hes not sure he wants to become. For this is no ordinary government project. Phoenix Island is ground zero for the future of combat intelligence. And for Carl, its just the beginning