Codename Zero

The Codename Conspiracy #1

by Chris Rylander

From Chris Rylander, author of the breakout hit Fourth Stall saga, comes an incredibly funny and clever mash-up of middle grade school story and spy adventure. There are places in the world where heroes are born. There are places where brave men and women fight a never-ending battle against evil in order to keep our country and all other countries safe. There are places where the fate of our planet is being decided, even at this very moment, the consequences of which will echo through history. None of these places is in North Dakota. Carson Fender, seventh grader and notorious prankster, knows this. He's lived in North Dakota for his entire life, going to the same boring school every day, the same boring movie theater every week, the same boring state fair every year. Nothing ever changes, and nothing ever happens. That is, until today. Because today a desperate man hands him a package with a dire set of instructions. And that package is going to lead Carson to discover that there's a secret government agency operating in his small, quiet North Dakota hometown. And that this agency needs his help.

Genres: Middle Grade, Mystery, Adventure, Fiction, Young Adult, Action, Thriller

368 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2014

Reviews

[Jenni Arndt · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s nothing better to cleanse the reader’s pallet than a good ol’ middle grade novel. No cliche romance, no chance of a love triangle and just piles of fun! Codename Zero was such a fantastic read, one that I took in in a single day and one that I could have devoured much more of if given the chance.

Carson Fender is a prankster. He lives in a small town in North Dakota and is quite frankly bored with the every day small town life. He likes to spice things up with his pranks, take people by surprise and uproot the daily routine. One afternoon while carrying out an epic prank involving fainting goats and super glue a sweaty man in a suit rushes up to him and hands him a package. The only instructions this man gives Carson is to pass the package off to Mr. Jenson and not open it up under any circumstance. Of course curiosity gets the better of Carson and he opens the package which sets off a 48-hour auto destruct feature because he was not authorized to open it. He is then tasked with finding out which Mr. Jenson the package was meant for (there are two teaching at his school) and is ultimately sucked into working for a secret agency and protecting one boys life.

It all seems incredibly far-fetched and fantastical, I know, but suspend your mind just a tad and go along with the story and Codename Zero proves to be one fun ride. I loved pretty much everything about this story. The pacing was break-neck, I didn’t find that it let up at all and because of this I couldn’t put it down. Also lending to this must-keep-reading feeling was the intricate mystery that is weaved throughout. I can honestly say that I didn’t pin point exactly what was going on until Carson did, but once all the little threads revealed throughout were brought to light everything came together expertly. I did manage to pinpoint the leader of the bad guys fairly easily but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story at all.

Helping Carson along the way are his best friends, twins, Danielle and Dillon. These three had been life-long friends and you could tell by their dialogue and the way that they understood one another. Danielle was the more level-headed of the group, keeping the boys in check but she still had a wild side to her as well. Dillon was quite the character! He was a conspiracy theorist and was constantly revealing new plots that he felt were taking place in town with the most wild evidence to support his claims that you could ever imagine. Rounding out the group is the newest addition, Olek. He’s new at school and has just come over to America from (as Carson so eloquently puts it) “some country that ends in ia.” This guy was so funny! He was so innocently sweet and his foreign translation of well-known American sayings had me chuckling out loud on numerous occasions. Olek was addicted to playing “Furious Ostrich” (Angry Birds) and he had an intense love for all things Jimmy Buffet.

Codename Zero was equal parts intense and funny. I had such a fantastic time reading this one and will definitely be picking up Rylander’s previous series The Fourth Stall.

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[Hazel (and Nutsy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it very much. I really enjoyed the ending, especially the clever fighting scene, and the suspense of "will they get out alive?"

Complaints: I think they played up the friendship with olek, how funny olek was, and how much he misunderstood american phrases a bit to much. I think there was a bit of false gender stereotyping like that men are the only ones who hunt, and all the bad guys and people who work for the agency were men. Also, there was only one female character in the whole book, and the author made her the only one nervous about risking their lives which made me clench in anger for a few seconds. Also, there was some false rumors about hamster care, but I won't bore you with that.

Overall, I liked it a lot, and even if I didn't completely understand all the agency stuff at first, It was still a page turner. I think it's greatest strength was just being suspenseful, interesting, enjoyable, and I kept turning the pages especially at the end. And that cliffhanger too! I definitely recommend this for anyone who likes the Spy School series, or any other mysterious organization mysteries like that.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas liked the story. I found it a bit violent and the writing style kind of annoying. How many times can you say "or something" in one book? I'll probably be forced to read more of these or something. Oh well. Or something.

[Matt. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I thought it took too long to get to the juicy parts but it was an overall good book

[alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

[Ella_C1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drama. Heartache. Boredom. The protagonist Carson, Thinks that North Dakota is the most boring place in the world. Or so he thought, He soon learned that was not true as there was secret service shenanigans going on beneath his known. I think the theme of this book is to not judge a book by the cover because carson thought that life was really boring but he didn't look closer like his friend Dillion so he couldn't see what Dillion saw.

[Charlie Nordby · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion this book deserves a 9.5/10. It was action packed and kept my attention and I wanted to keep reading it. One example that I wanted to keep reading was when he went into the tent in the circus. It was very suspenseful and I did not know what was going to happen which kept me on the edge of my seat. I continued to read and I couldn't put the book down. The author put in a mix of times when it was extremely suspenseful and other times when it was just calm which kept me on an emotional roller coaster. The one thing that I didn’t really like about this book was that the main character wasn't really happy about what he was doing and he was kind of doubting the spies. I didn’t really like this and that is why I gave the book of 9.5 instead of a 10.

[AZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was about a twelve-year-old kid in North Dakota who was recruited to a secret crime-fighting organization. Although there were some clichés in there, the overall plot and story were rather intriguing. Carson, the main character, appears to be quite impulsive, as shown when he opens the package despite the man telling him not to, and when he decides to let out all the animals in the circus as a distraction. This book was very interesting, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes light, not-very-violent action/spy stories.

[Linnea Nowlen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the power went out for 5 days I looked around on my bookshelf and found a book that I got a really long time ago, but had never read. Codename Zero follows a middle school boy who is given a package and the instructions to NOT OPEN! Of course, being the school prankster, he opened it. Inside was a robotic voice activated box, that would go off in 24 hours! Join Carson in all of his epic adventures including bubblegum flavored milk, weird kids from Russia, and an evil organization posed as a harmless fun house. I really enjoyed his book and recommend it to anyone that has extra time on their hands.

[Melissa Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 🌟

Totally something I plan on recommending to my young boy students, but not my personal cup of tea. The idea was interesting, and I’m glad Dillon was finally heard in the end for all his conspiracy nonsense, but I’m just not the intended audience and that’s perfectly okay by me. 👍🏼

[Janet Hutchinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable secret agent story - set in North Dakota and involving 13 year kids. Pretty entertaining middle school stuff!

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy spy books that can take place in modern times, this quick paced book captured me and I read it in under a day.

[Max Woodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty Gucci boi...
The main character dies

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carson Fender is extremely bored with his life in North Dakota. Nothing exciting ever happens in his small town, so he has taken on the role of prankster in his middle school to liven things up a bit. But in the midst of his latest prank, a strange man runs up to him, hands him a package, tells him to deliver it to Mr. Jensen and runs off. Suddenly his school pranks don't seem so exciting.

Codename Zero by Chris Rylander is a spy adventure for middle-grade readers. There's lots of action throughout the whole book. Carson ends up involved with a secret government agency that operates right in his town, and he becomes responsible for protecting a boy in his school who is in a witness protection program by helping him to fit in with the other kids.

The story is fast-paced, exciting and fun. The content is perfect for older elementary kids and should hold their attention well. My 10 year old loved it. There is some violence since they are on a spy mission and there are bad guys, but it was minimal and mostly toward the end of the book.

I really enjoyed Codename Zero and would highly recommend it for middle-grade readers looking for a bit of adventure. I would think it would appeal to reluctant readers as well, since the character of Carson is very relatable and the storyline moves quickly and includes plenty of fun as well as action.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a perfectly fine silly middle grade adventure novel. Kind of forgettable. I liked that there was a milk bar, that made me laugh. But mostly it was just kind of blah for my taste. Heavy on silly plot points, light on character development. Quite Solid, but nothing special.

Recommended: I'd give it to about 5th grade and up that like fast-paced spy mystery novels, but also like a laugh or two. I'd give it to fans of Alibi Junior High, Turn Left at the Cow, or Zombie Baseball Beatdown.

[Jason F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carson is an ordinary seventh grade boy in the lonely state of North Dakota. What could happen in North Dakota I mean the only bad things are carsons pranks and principle Gomez. Until one day a strange man hands carsons a package and then Bolts away. Carson takes the package home and examines it opens it and pressed a button. All of a sudden Carson hears the worst words of his life. This package with self destruct in fourth eight hours. Barely able to sleep Carson starts to plot of what to do with the package. Will the clock reach zero read the book to find out. I recommend this to people that love suspense, mystery, and adventure. I personally loved this book and I hope you do to.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. It made burst out laughing and also had me feeling like it was my life on the line instead of Carson's. I would recommend this book to anybody who liked suspense and comedy.

[Colby]

One of my favorite books in a long time! I have to check more Chris Rylander books!

[Sadie-jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Battle of the Books - This was fine but I just couldn’t get into it.

[Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is SO GOOD. I would definitely recommend it. It involves lots of high-tech gadgets and has lots of action as well as mystery!

[Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amesome, Great, fun, and cool
On my list it’s a MUST read!
The author did a amazing job!
I probably finished it in 2 days!

[Willem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book Codename Zero, by Chris Rylander. This book was an action semi-mystery book and taught me that some things are not what they seem. This cliche theme actually fits very well with this novel because of all of the secret agent stuff. On page 333 and 334 when describing Carson’s first time in Agency headquarters it describes this cliche perfectly. “We must have been close to a mile beneath the surface.” and on page 334 and 345 the book says “Welcome to Agency Headquarters,” Agent Blue said…. The huge room was probably the size of several large gymnasiums...It was exactly what I would have expected the main room of some top secret government agency to look like. ” As these quotes pointed out this top secret agency has a giant base close to a mile underneath the main character's school. If that isn’t cliche I don’t know what is.
This humorous, spy fiction, adventure, mystery novel takes place in North Dakota and is set around our main character Carson Fender, notorious as a prankster at his school him and his best friends the twins Dillon and Danielle are constantly playing jokes and messing with their principal Mr. Gomez. But as Carson and his friends are pulling the fourth biggest prank in Erik Hill Middle School history when a mysterious man in a black suit gives him a doomsday package that will change Carson’s life forever.
Overall I think that this was a fantastic book from a very well known author. One of my favorite things about this book in particular is how easy it was to read quickly. I don’t tend to enjoy books that drawl on for quite a long time with no action or plot. Luckily for me, this book, even during the “boring” parts was an amazing a captivating read. First off, the book is about secret agents! It was so cool to jump into a world that I know I have dreamed about once or twice in my childhood so far. Second, these characters are lovable funny protagonists. In my opinion reading a book where the main characters are deceived and are on the wrong side of a conflict is horrible. With this book I can say that the protagonists are on the right side of the conflict, and are pretty darn awesome. Lastly, The plot is dynamic and surprising. Wo loves a book with no plot twists whatsoever? Not me. I loved this book because of the dynamic style of writing with plot twists and secrets galore. After every chapter you want to keep reading. These reasons are the favorite thing about this amazing book by Chris Rylander.
I think that anyone who enjoys a mystery book with lots of humorous characters and action will enjoy this masterpiece of a novel by Chris Rylander. The book has that sort of ominous feel about the unknown that most mystery books have, so anyone who enjoys that will be happy with this book. As comes with some, but not all mystery books this book is packed with action and is easy to read in one sitting without noticing it. Lastly, and most surprising, is that the main character is a hilarious prankster and it’s not hard to smile at the mischievous pranks he and his friends concoct. He also, is a reliable narrator and stays like that throughout the book.

[Kyle Zhan]

There’s nothing better to cleanse the reader’s pallet than a good ol’ middle-grade novel. No cliche romance, no chance of a love triangle and just piles of fun! Codename Zero was such a fantastic read, one that I took in in a single day and one that I could have devoured much more of if given the chance. Carson Fender is a prankster. He lives in a small town in North Dakota and is quite frankly bored with the every day small-town life. He likes to spice things up with his pranks, take people by surprise and uproot the daily routine. One afternoon, while carrying out an epic prank involving fainting goats and superglue a sweaty man in a suit, rushes up to him and hands him a package. The only instructions this man gives Carson is to pass the package off to Mr. Jenson and not open it up under any circumstance. Of course, curiosity gets the better of Carson and he opens the package which sets off a 48-hour auto-destruct feature because he was not authorized to open it. He is then tasked with finding out which Mr. Jenson the package was meant for (there are two teachings at his school) and is ultimately sucked into working for a secret agency and protecting one boy's life. It all seems incredibly far-fetched and fantastical, I know, but suspend your mind just a tad and go along with the story and Codename Zero proves to be one fun ride. I loved pretty much everything about this story. The pacing was break-neck, I didn’t find that it let up at all and because of this, I couldn’t put it down. Also lending to this must-keep-reading feeling was the intricate mystery that is weaved throughout. I can honestly say that I didn’t pinpoint exactly what was going on until Carson did, but once all the little threads revealed throughout were brought to light everything came together expertly. I did manage to pinpoint the leader of the bad guys fairly easily but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story at all. Helping Carson along the way are his best friends, twins, Danielle and Dillon. These three had been life-long friends and you could tell by their dialogue and the way that they understood one another. Danielle was the more level-headed of the group, keeping the boys in check but she still had a wild side to her as well. Dillon was quite the character! He was a conspiracy theorist and was constantly revealing new plots that he felt were taking place in town with the wildest evidence to support his claims that you could ever imagine. Rounding out the group is the newest addition, Olek. He’s new at school and has just come over to America from (as Carson so eloquently puts it) “some country that ends in it.” This guy was so funny! He was so innocently sweet and his foreign translation of well-known American sayings had me chuckling out loud on numerous occasions. Olek was addicted to playing “Furious Ostrich” (Angry Birds) and he had an intense love for all things Jimmy Buffet.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carson is a prankster. He justifies it this way.

“Someone had to make life interesting around here, to break up the routine of a North Dakota existence. And I guess that someone was me. So, yeah, a day filled with goats and glued doors and staplers and pens would be totally worth it compared to just another day.”

The day he is about to pull off one of his best pranks ever, a mysterious man gives him a package to deliver to Mr. Jensen. He is given direct instructions not to open the package. He opens the package. A voice recording informs him that he has 48 hours to enter a code before the device self-destructs. Betsy, as he names the device, gives a reminder every 15 minutes. This is a problem because anyone within earshot of the device also hears the reminder. He must A) cough, shout, or create some other diversion like peeing in his pants to get out of earshot, and B) figure out which Mr. Jensen is the intended recipient.

This is, without a doubt, my favorite spy book. I love Carson. Rylander has done a fantastic job giving loads of detail to create a fully formed, 3-demensional character. Example:

“Right now in my bag next to my desk was a device that apparently carried information vital to the safety of our whole country. And I was supposed to worry about some test on a book so boring I hadn’t even made it past page four? I mean, hundreds of kids had probably failed this very same test over the past twenty-five years and what had happened to them because of it? Nothing, that’s what. Now those kids were doing the same things that kids who had passed the test were doing.”

I love the absolute candor of this kid. I love his stream of consciousness. It’s hilarious as heck, in a subtle kind of way. Most of the kid spy books I’ve read shove the humor down your throat to the extent you gag. Not Rylander. He’s a pro. Even Carson’s friend, Dillion, is a great character with his off-the-wall conspiracy theories. This book has been way overlooked.

[Hanseung · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Codename Conspiracy" is the first book in the "Codename Zero" series, an action-packed story written by Chris Rylander. This story is about a boy named Carson who lives in North Dakota. According to Carson, life in North Dakota is very boring for Carson until a mysterious man gives Carson a package, and requests him to deliver the package to Mr.Jensen. And before Carson can even realize what happened to him, he is involved in saving the world from an evil organization by protecting a Russian kid named Olek. This story may seem humorous and silly, but later on, many readers will be able to learn a valuable lesson from a character named Dillon. This book is a easy read, therefore, is recommended to anyone who is looking for a fun and enjoyable book.

One of the most memorable parts of the book is the many themes the author has to offer. For example, whenever Carson's best friend Dillon makes conspiracy theories, Carson does not take Dillon seriously. But when all of Dillon's conspiracy theories about the evil organization were confirmed to be true, Carson apologizes to Dillon for being a bad friend. Although the situation may not be as serious in the reader's situation, readers can learn a lesson from Dillon. A theme about friendship can be seen again in the story when Carson decides to infiltrate the enemy base, risking his life, in order to save his friend Olek. When Carson decides puts friendship with Olek over his safety, readers can learn to be responsible for his/her actions and also learn to help friends during danger.

Although the ending of the story is rushed and a bit cliche, the rising actions and climax is well written. In conclusion, I strongly recommend for anyone who needs a good book to read.

[Anne Beardsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started out with a whiny, overprivledged protagonist who was a perpetual prankster because he felt life owed him constant entertainment.

And I kiiiinda hated him. Two stars. This is a popular trope in tween and teen books, but I always want to yell, "So what? Why does your life have to be thrill-a-minute? How about growing up and learning to appreciate what you have when 80 percent or more of the Earth's population would think your life was the kind of life that dreams were made of? How about learning to find meaning not in how much 'fun' and 'excitement' happen to hit you, but from what you strive to do and who you strive to become?"

This one liked his friends ... but mostly for their entertainment value. He hated his hometown...for it's lack of entertainment value.

But guys- he changed! First the protagonist got embroiled in secrets, spies, and danger, then he found someone he wanted to protect, and by the end he was even rethinking some of the things he had taken for granted, like his friend Dillon, and his quiet home.

The story was good and well-paced. Not a lot of dangling plot holes - which is rare in young spy story. Sign me up for the next installment!

[Luke Grundberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Codename Zero is a book written by Chris Rylander. The author wants me to problem solve. This can relate to the world in a couple of ways. For example, playing mini golf. If the whole is on the other side of the wall, you can bank it off the walls to try and get it into the hole.

The genre of Codename Zero is fiction. Carson was in his parking lot planning a prank where goats faint on the school lawn after school in front of everybody and when Carson´s friends try and glue everything in the school down. The action takes place when this random guy comes sprinting up to him in a tuxedo on a 100 degree day. He hands him this package and says ¨whatever you do, do not open it. This needs to get handed to Mr. Jensen.¨ then the guy sprinted off towards the street and go tackled to the ground by these 3 guys with masks and thrown into a van. The author does a great job of making me feel like I am in the action. I feel like I was actually watching it happen. Carson is the main character in the movie. He is the prankster of the school. He also has 4 friends that help him with his pranks named ¨Dillon, Daniel, Ethan, and Zach¨.

Some strengths of the book are making the characters feel believable. I do think that stuff would happen when the guy came running up to Carson and handing a package and getting thrown into a van. I think it is believable because that stuff does happen it our world today. Another strength of this book is making the book very interesting and wanting the reader to read more. The author does a great job of keeping the guys who threw the guy who gave Carson the package int in the story. The author keeps him in the story by him driving by his house a couple of times and making Carson feel nervous and suspicious about the guy.

Overall, this book was very good. It made me look forward to reading the book every night and day. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves good interesting books because this book was very interesting.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Codename 0’ is a really interesting adventure/spy fiction book written by Chris Rylander. It follows the life of a middle schooler named Carson who isn’t exactly thrilled about how his life is. He is often bored with the people and culture of his small town in North Dakota. This has led him to be the school prankster, with his two best friends named Dillan and Danielle. They pull all of these pranks to try and add some light and spice to the town. It’s all fun and games until Carson is roped into a secret mission to save a new friend, and even the world.

This book was definitely very interesting! The story line got a bit predictable at times, and it got very repetitive but as the adventure started to kick in towards the middle of the book, I couldn’t look away from it without knowing what happens next. The concept of this book is nothing I’ve ever seen before. I read this book with my brother who is in 5th grade, and I definitely think that it was more for his age group than mine. I would recommend this book to people who are younger, and like adventure or secret agent type of books.

[debchan · Rating 4 out of 5]

chris rylander ur like the only middle grade author (besides andrew smith if you count him) i will read in big 2024

not to say that they're all bad, but i'm no longer in middle school and somehow rylander has managed to hit all the aspects of friendship and ridiculousness and humor i want in a book.

carson is everything i want in a main character. a little bit silly, a little bit genius. bring back silly main characters! and i don't mean the sassy badass heroine or the amused hunk of muscle - actual funny people. carson jumps right into this scheme and the way he mitigates risk (sorry business major here) and leaps from scheme to scheme was so fun.

the plot twist was actually not something i saw coming. his friendship with olek, dillon, and danielle was peak. if i may use middle school boy terms, it was goated. olek's strange sayings like angry birds turned to furious ostrich. dillon's insane conspiracy theories that hey might have some truth to it. and danielle's levelheadedness and desire for perfection which yeah it is stereotypical, but it didn't feel shoved down my throat here. she just balanced out dillon and he balanced out her.

it was a really fun, short read and it didn't take itself too seriously. this is why i can't do ya anymore sorry. like you think it's a goofy kid book and then it hits you with carson wanting more of his boring life and fearing he will be trapped in normalcy and be just as boring as everyone else in small town north dakota. he wants more in life! and all leading to his realization that maybe normal is ok, that some don't have that privilege to have a stable family, friends, and a normal life. it hits way more than any coming of age story for me tbh.

[Edshara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another book that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Initially I thought this was going to be too juvenile for me to read and it took some time to get settled into the world. Once I did, I really enjoyed the story.

It was action packed and while a little over the top (this is classified as Middle Grade, so some of the more outlandish bits were understandable), it was a fun and fast-paced read. The author was able to weave the importance of friendship and loyalty into the story, as well, which I liked.

Overall this was an enjoyable read and if I can find the other books I will continue the series. This is a good book if you just want something simple and non-complicated to read. It has a few twists and turns in it to keep you interested and engaged, just go in with the understanding that adults were not the target audience and let yourself enjoy it.

*Side-Note: I'm assuming it was because of the cover art, but, I pictured a cartoon playing in my head while I read this. I tried but couldn't picture the characters as "real" people. I don't think I've every done that before.