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Red Cell
Will Conlan is an unconventional thinker. After winning a baseball game with an innovative toss of a rosin bag, he catches the interest of a chief operative of the Homeland Security’s Analytic Red Cell. Employing the creative problem solving of philosophers, futurists, and Hollywood movie writers, this intelligence unit is seeking any original ideas about anticipating terrorist plots. As a recent surge of terrorist activity undermines these fresh insights, the operative banks on the notion that Will’s youthful imagination, unclouded by the premise of “it can’t be done,” may provide the key insight they need and seeks to secretly exploit Will’s unhindered “out of the box” thinking. Unaware of the magnitude of danger surrounding him, Will uncovers something he wasn’t supposed to discover―a connection between a television advertisement and a master terrorist plot. Narrowly surviving, he alone foils a bombing at Wrigley Field. Uncertain about the knowledge he now holds, he has to figure out the terrorists’ next target. Will just doesn’t realize…it’s him.
164 pages, Hardcover
First published March 24, 2010
6 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
October 1, 2012
To update now that I'm finished with this book...
Really focuses on out-of-the box quick thinking. Makes me maybe think that I'm too rigid in my own way of looking at things happening in my life. I definitely see why this book is a Golden Sower Nominee for 2013-14. Somewhat inspiring that the hero can "have it all"--brains, athletic ability, and the love interest. That's what will make this book appealing to all.
If I still taught an English class, I would most certainly use this book to show description, but also voice coming through in the writing. Some great writing here. I think when Kalkowski spoke he said he wrote the book rather quickly, but spent over 8 years editing. By the way, time well spent. Everything flowed nicely together. Somewhat predictable, but what YA novel is not?
Just heard this author speak today. This will be a quick read, as it has high intrigue, deals with terrorism, and includes the Chicago Cubs. Great little book--only 164 pages. First week of October we will have a lunch bunch group. For those who do not know, Lunch Bunch groups come in, listen to the book and/or read along, then when lunch is over, we move on. One book completed in one week's time--plus students will be able to count it as a book read this semester!!!
See the library next week to find out what lunch periods we will be reading.
Really focuses on out-of-the box quick thinking. Makes me maybe think that I'm too rigid in my own way of looking at things happening in my life. I definitely see why this book is a Golden Sower Nominee for 2013-14. Somewhat inspiring that the hero can "have it all"--brains, athletic ability, and the love interest. That's what will make this book appealing to all.
If I still taught an English class, I would most certainly use this book to show description, but also voice coming through in the writing. Some great writing here. I think when Kalkowski spoke he said he wrote the book rather quickly, but spent over 8 years editing. By the way, time well spent. Everything flowed nicely together. Somewhat predictable, but what YA novel is not?
Just heard this author speak today. This will be a quick read, as it has high intrigue, deals with terrorism, and includes the Chicago Cubs. Great little book--only 164 pages. First week of October we will have a lunch bunch group. For those who do not know, Lunch Bunch groups come in, listen to the book and/or read along, then when lunch is over, we move on. One book completed in one week's time--plus students will be able to count it as a book read this semester!!!
See the library next week to find out what lunch periods we will be reading.
October 29, 2012
I really enjoyed this book! I'm usually not really into action type books but I liked this one. I liked the CIA twist the best in the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2023
"Red Cell" by John Kalkowski is an interesting rather short novel aimed mainly at teenage readers, I imagine. A young teen (Will Conlan) makes a great heads-up play in a high school baseball game, throwing a rosin bag to home plate to confuse a runner heading home enough to go back to third base. A top CIA agent reads an article about the play and decides this boy might be able to help stop the terrorist activity occurring across the United States. The agent becomes the boys high school teacher, helping him learn to think outside the box. Will then stops a terrorist attack at Wrigley Field in his home city of Chicago, figures how the terrorist communicate with each other, and later prevents a top terrorist from escaping from a CIA holding area. Meanwhile, Will suffers teenage pressure when his friends (especially his beautiful girlfriend) think he is a bit crazy. His parents are generally supportive, apparently not even upset when Will suffers a knife injury to his side requiring stiches. It is all rather a teenage boy's fantasy, saving the country, winning the heart of a beautiful girl, and seeing his beloved Cubs make the playoffs (the book was written in 2010). A fun read if you do not really take it too seriously. The novel is well written by a fellow Omaha native, which may have helped my rating.
May 23, 2020
Red Cell written by John Kalkowski is the story of an 8th grade boy whose propensity for thinking outside of the box attracts the CIA which sends an undercover agent in as the new language arts teacher to see if Will and his class can brainstorm ideas to bring down terrorists. The storyline is intriguing especially to the intended audience, however the story itself is poorly written and crafted. It jumps around sometimes missing transitions and then lingers with details of Will’s undercover adventure or the Cubs game he is attending. The lack of diversity of characters is a direct result of age of the book. Themes include adventure, terrorism, baseball and romance.
December 2, 2021
Very solid book. Will Conlan is a very sympathetic hero figure, and the action is top notch. The character development is quite good, with a clear depiction of each characters being established in a book that really isn’t that long. It really forced you to think a little deeper about terrorism and creativity. My only criticisms were some random big words thrown in and the baseball action seeming a little forced.
November 2, 2025
thought provoking fiction
I read the YA book to help my son, and I’m glad I did. It may be written for 13-18 year olds, but the serious subject manner was handled perfectly. This story grabbed my attention from the beginning and did not let go until the very end. The descriptions were so clear, you could picture what was happening to the lead characters. This is a great book that should be read in the classroom.
I read the YA book to help my son, and I’m glad I did. It may be written for 13-18 year olds, but the serious subject manner was handled perfectly. This story grabbed my attention from the beginning and did not let go until the very end. The descriptions were so clear, you could picture what was happening to the lead characters. This is a great book that should be read in the classroom.
September 17, 2020
Good Cliff Hhagers And Description
its alright, I'm not mad that I spent my time reading it. the characters are a little bland but there's a lot of action and there's a cliff hanger at the end of every chapter and there's a lot of description so you know everything that's happening. I think that my mom would like this book.
its alright, I'm not mad that I spent my time reading it. the characters are a little bland but there's a lot of action and there's a cliff hanger at the end of every chapter and there's a lot of description so you know everything that's happening. I think that my mom would like this book.
July 10, 2023
This book was an absolute delight insofar as I had a grand old time making fun of it the entire time :) Unrealistic and poorly written, this book has irritating characters, a plot that moves too fast and somehow too slow, and a twist so obvious I knew the entire plot from one word. I thought it was a good chuckle, but I would not recommend it for serious reading.
September 7, 2023
My teacher wrote this book 10/10
October 27, 2025
different than what I've read recently. im.on the fence about whether or not that's a good thing
September 17, 2020
This book is amazing and I couldn't have read a better one in my entire life! 2,000,000,000/10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 2, 2012
Will Conlan is an ordinary 8th grader. Well, he is almost ordinary until he uncovers a very creative method that terrorists are using to communicate with one another. Instead of taking this information to the authorities, Will tries to foil an initial attempt by the terrorists to bomb Wrigley Field. When he gets another message, he turns it over to police, but when he realizes he may have erred, he again decides to try to stop them on his own. A great adventurous plot that will keep readers reading. Kalkowski's style reminds me a great deal of Horowitz's Alex Rider adventures. Recommend this book to those who read him. Overall, well-written. The prologue will be difficult for some readers and there are a few spots where a connection seems to be missing, but overall, I feel it's a great book from a first-time author. I recommend it for middle school libraries and classrooms. It would be a good choice for reluctant readers.
Book Talk: Will Conlan is an ordinary 8th grader. Well, he is almost ordinary until he uncovers a very creative method that terrorists are using to communicate with one another - commercials. He is able to decipher the commercial to determine where terrorists may be planning to strike. Instead of taking this information to the authorities, Will tries to foil an initial attempt by the terrorists to bomb Wrigley Field.
A few days later, Will finds out his teacher is not really a teacher, but a CIA agent who is working as a teacher as a cover. The CIA is convinced that someone can figure out how they are talking, but that it needs to be someone who can think well out of the box. Who better than an 8th Grader. Though Tenepior is willing to help, Will decodes another commercial message, he turns it over to police, but when he realizes he may have erred, he again decides to try to stop them on his own. This time the consequences may be devastating.
Book Talk: Will Conlan is an ordinary 8th grader. Well, he is almost ordinary until he uncovers a very creative method that terrorists are using to communicate with one another - commercials. He is able to decipher the commercial to determine where terrorists may be planning to strike. Instead of taking this information to the authorities, Will tries to foil an initial attempt by the terrorists to bomb Wrigley Field.
A few days later, Will finds out his teacher is not really a teacher, but a CIA agent who is working as a teacher as a cover. The CIA is convinced that someone can figure out how they are talking, but that it needs to be someone who can think well out of the box. Who better than an 8th Grader. Though Tenepior is willing to help, Will decodes another commercial message, he turns it over to police, but when he realizes he may have erred, he again decides to try to stop them on his own. This time the consequences may be devastating.
February 28, 2014
"Red Cell" by John Kalkowski is a book about thinking "outside the box"(Back of book). I loved this book! it had lots of action in it. I would recommend this book for middle schoolers. This book is about a boy named Will. Will is in Mr. Tenepoir's class, his teacher always makes Will work harder then any other of the classmates and he doesn't know why. One day Will is at the Cubs game with his friend Ryan and Ryan's dad . When Will finished watching a Treks shoe commercial when an idea came to him about the terrorist and how they communicated. A few days ago the Sear Towers were bombed by terrorist who put a bomb on a bus that was in front of the Sear Towers. In the Treks commercial it showed a bus with in front of the Sears towers too and somebody giving the thumbs up sign to let the terrorist know where to put the bomb. When Will tells Ryan this Ryan gets his Dad and himself out of the stadium while Will went to the police. The police didn't believe him and Ryan and Stacey were upset at Will for making them leave the stadium. The next day to get back at Will Ryan tells the class that Will thinks the terrorist are communicating through commercials, everybody thinks its not possible, except his teacher. Later Will finds out that his teacher is also working for the Homeland Security's Analytic Red Cell, and that his teacher has been making him work extra because his teacher wanted to know how well Will could think outside the box. Mr.Tenepoir and the rest of the Red Cell need Will's smart thinking to stop the terrorist, and Will agrees. Will they find the Terrorist that bombed the Sears towers? Will there be another bombing? Will the Red Cell and Will stop the terrorist before they make their next move? To find out Read "Red Cell" by John Kalkowski
February 21, 2014
I read all of the golden sowers each year for a school party at the end of the year. Some Golden Sowers like this book I expect to be boring (because I don't like sports very much). When I read "Red Cell by John Kalkowski" I realized that the main focus isn't sports but exciting terroristic attacks. I recommend this book to middle schoolers that like adventure or mystery books. "Red Cell" is a book about Will a Cubs fan that is in love with Stacy a cute 8th grader. Will's english teacher Mr. Tenepior always seems to be on his back about not doing his best, espesialy after he didn't do his homework on terrorism. Mr. Tenepior then assigns Will a twenty page assignment. During this assignment Will under covers a terrorist group's means of communication. One day after school Mr. Mr. Tenepior tells Will what his actual job is, a CIA agent. Will walked home after that and he thought that he saw someone moving behind him. He did, the lead terrorist was walking behind him and stabbed him in the gut. The terrorist went to the woods with Will and was just about to have a slow painful death but then Mr. Tenepior came out of nowhere to save Will. Mr. Tenepior explained more and Will told Mr. Tenepior his new theory the next attack was going to be on the docks. The day of and the day before the attack all of the CIA people went to the docks. But when Will is at a baseball game he realizes that his prediction was wrong, so he went for it. I believe that this quote was going through Wills head when he went for it.
"Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you."
-Satchel Paige
To find out if Will succeeds and ends up living you will have to read "Red Cell by John Kalkowski." Even if Will does survive will Will's life ever be the same.
"Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you."
-Satchel Paige
To find out if Will succeeds and ends up living you will have to read "Red Cell by John Kalkowski." Even if Will does survive will Will's life ever be the same.
August 28, 2016
The story is unique, creative, and timely, if unrealistic. An eighth grade boy is a gifted and unconventional thinker, so a CIA operative is put in place as his English teacher to tap his ideas. Specifically there's terrorism aimed at American targets, and the CIA hasn't been able to get ahead of the terrorists due to not being creative enough - that's believable!
However, the short volume suffers from far too much detail in the writing, particularly in both showing AND telling while simultaneously undercommunicating. E.g.: "To the untrained eye, he was a pillar of composure. His finger smoothly traced the rounded edge of the folder's tab as his left hand held steady the morning's newspaper. Crumpled and smudgy under his grip, the paper had aged under his intense stare and scrutiny - he had been clutching the page for most of the morning. If not for the conscious movements of his right index finger, one would think he had been petrified by what he had read, yet his finger easily enough gave away his thoughts."
Good (and short) enough to force oneself to finish, but not enough to recommend.
However, the short volume suffers from far too much detail in the writing, particularly in both showing AND telling while simultaneously undercommunicating. E.g.: "To the untrained eye, he was a pillar of composure. His finger smoothly traced the rounded edge of the folder's tab as his left hand held steady the morning's newspaper. Crumpled and smudgy under his grip, the paper had aged under his intense stare and scrutiny - he had been clutching the page for most of the morning. If not for the conscious movements of his right index finger, one would think he had been petrified by what he had read, yet his finger easily enough gave away his thoughts."
Good (and short) enough to force oneself to finish, but not enough to recommend.
March 3, 2014
Are you scared of terrorism. Well in Red Cell by John Kalkowski Will an eighth grader figures out how the terrorist are communicating after the Sears Tower is bombed by terrorist. Then he finds out that an teacher in the building works for the CIA and is using the kids to figure out ways that they are communicating. Their plan works when will is at a game with his girlfriend Stacey and his best friend Ryan it hits him. Treks commercials were telling terrorist when where and what. He starts to work with the CIA and the a trek commercial is put out as a trick to help break a fellow terrorist out of the CIA building what will happen to will ,what will happen to the Red Cell division. Read Red Cell by John Kalkowski.
March 6, 2014
This is a book about a kid named Will that really likes baseball and just wants to make the world a better place. Will has a really strange teacher named Mr.Tenepior. Mr.Tenepior wants the class to research on the news as Will's house. But what they actually do is watch the Cubs baseball game. Will sits next to Stacey (His crush) and is nervous but ends up having a good time. The next day Mr. Tenepior finds out that the class didn't just watch the news but mostly watched the baseball game. Will Will and his classmates get in trouble? Why is Mr.Tenepior so creepy? In the end Will captures Es Sayid and Stacey is officially Will's girlfriend. I think this book is really good because it just makes sense.
April 12, 2016
I was surprised to see that this book was chosen as a young adult Nebraska Golden Sower book. I love to see books by Nebraska authors getting published, and I think it is certainly a great book for middle school libraries. However, the book seemed very hard to buy for me with an 8th grader being the one person who is able to figure out the mind of terrorists, and all a little too suddenly and easily. I love the message behind it: that kids are capable of great thinking, and adults certainly need to remember that. I found the plot a little too predictable for my tastes. It is pretty action packed though, and for the right reader this book would be a good fit.
July 9, 2013
Audience: Intermediate
Genre: Thriller/Action
Remembering: List the names of Will's classmates
Understanding: What is so special about Will that the CIA is interested in him?
Applying: Would you have been upset when Will "ruined" the Cubs game?
Analyzing: Describe Will's relationship with his teacher.
Evaluating: Have you ever been pushed by a teacher like Will was? How did it make you feel? Did this story give you a different perspective on why a teacher is "hard" on a student?
Creating: What do you think Will's future will be like? Could you imagine a future story or book with his character?
Genre: Thriller/Action
Remembering: List the names of Will's classmates
Understanding: What is so special about Will that the CIA is interested in him?
Applying: Would you have been upset when Will "ruined" the Cubs game?
Analyzing: Describe Will's relationship with his teacher.
Evaluating: Have you ever been pushed by a teacher like Will was? How did it make you feel? Did this story give you a different perspective on why a teacher is "hard" on a student?
Creating: What do you think Will's future will be like? Could you imagine a future story or book with his character?
Read
February 28, 2014"Red Cell" by John Kalkowski is an amazing book. It is a mix between sports, adventure, and middle school life. After Will makes a genius play no would ever think of, he gets invited to join the Red Cell to help stop terrorists. "In fact, I more than believe you. Truthfully, I think you may have solved the whole mystery." Mr. Tenepior says to Will on page 67. When Will is at the Cubs game, he finds out the terrorists are planning to attack the Red Cell when it is not being watched. Will Will be able to stop a group on terrorists on his own? Can he find a way to get the Red Cell to stop the all of the terrorist attacks? Find out in "Red Cell" by John Kalkowski.
January 31, 2014
Have you ever risked your life to save your country? Would you ever jump in front of a U-Haul just to save Wrigley Field? In the book "Red Cell" Will Conlan finds out Mr. Tenepoir's secret. After watching a commercial about some running shoes Will and his best friend Ryan uncover some way that some terrorists were going to plant a bomb. At the end " Will knew he had finally become a hero." I recommend this book for middle school students because there is bombings and I don't think that would be a good choice for little kids.
February 18, 2014
Will is an average 8th grade student obsessed with baseball, but he continues to be picked on by his English teacher. Mr. Tenepior continues to push Will, and even makes him write a 25 page paper on terrorism when he didn't pay attention to a show he was supposed to watch on the topic. At the same time, he finally asks his crush out. Every thing changes when real terrorists bomb the Sears Tower, and Will is thrown in the middle of it all.
February 27, 2014
The book "Red Cell" By John Kalkowski is outstanding "One of the best books i've ever read" Nebraska Golden sowers comment. Will Conlan is the smartest person in his grade one day he gets in trouble after figuring that a television ad is involved with a master terrorist plot. To find out what the ad is and what the plot is read red cell. Good to ages 7 and up. "What will Will do next"? "How will he move on"?
June 6, 2012
I enjoyed this adventure book. The overall length of the book, the added baseball element, and the adventure plot will hook the boys interested in sports fiction and the Alex Rider/Conspiracy 365 fans. It may be far-fetched that an 8th grader could be helping to solve a terrorist plot against the US, but it kept me hooked and I finished reading the book rather quickly.
November 4, 2012
Are you looking for a book full of suspense? Or perhaps you're looking for a page turner? Red Cell is about a terrorist group being taken down by the CIA. But a young boy's help is needed to think outside the box when it comes to defeating these terrorists. I thought this book was very good and kept one interested for the most part. It has interesting twists that keep one on his or her toes.
July 4, 2012
3+ I liked the writing lessons cleverly disguised as a Conspiracy 365-like adventure. Sports and saving the world from terrorists will definitely draw the reluctant reading boy crowd. I feel a sequel coming on.
June 19, 2013
A good high adventure story that middle and high school students would enjoy. Some of the storyline is unbelievable. Not many 8th graders would find themselves in these situations but it is still a good story.
August 6, 2016
This was not my favorite story -- maybe a bit Jonny Quest (although I liked that series when I was a kid). However, watching those now, makes me feel a bit too imperialistic! Kids who like an action-packed adventure would probably like this book.
September 12, 2013
Another Nebraska author! Loved it.
April 3, 2014
I am currently using it for an 8th grade book club and the students love the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews