Code Name Danger: Unmasking a Villain

By Brian Hawkins and Anthony Pugh

As Will arrives on the Code Name Danger set, he’s eager to jump into filming—and to learn what it means to be a real-life secret agent. The cool gadgets, the flashy moves—Will wants them all. But when a villain from the Code Name Danger book series shows up in real life, threatening to rewrite history, Will is launched into his first mission. Fiction and fact are blurring, and it will take all Will’s training—and the help of partner Fresca, tech whiz Jarvis, and spymaster Ms. Z—to piece together the villain’s identity and stop him.

Will Washington plays a secret agent in the hit kids’ TV show Code Name Danger, based on the bestselling book series. What no one realizes is that he’s also a real-life undercover spy. Juggling filming, spy missions, and—ugh!—schoolwork is tough business. But Agent Danger is up for the task!

• Language: English
• Publisher: North Star Editions
• Release date: Sep 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781631635243

Brian Hawkins

Brian Hawkins is a former educator and English teacher and presently a tech writer. Aside from his daily business writing projects, he also writes and edits comic books, novels, scripts, video games, and content writing on a freelance basis. Additionally, he is an editor for Mad Cave Studios, an independent comic book publishing company based in Florida, and a writer for BlackBox Comics, located in New York. He has a creator-owned comic book titled Black Cotton with Scout Comics. Brian is married with three children and loves family time the most!

Book preview

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Code Name Danger: Unmasking a Villain © 2022 by North Star Editions, Mendota Heights, MN 55120. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including internet usage, without written permission from the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Book design by Jake Slavik

Illustrations by Anthony Pugh

Published in the United States by Jolly Fish Press, an imprint of North Star Editions, Inc.

First Edition

First Printing, 2021

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data (pending)

978-1-63163-523-6 (paperback)

978-1-63163-522-9 (hardcover)

Jolly Fish Press

North Star Editions, Inc.

2297 Waters Drive

Mendota Heights, MN 55120

www.jollyfishpress.com

Printed in the United States of America

Chapter 1: Callback

RING RING RING.

Will Washington gasped and clutched dramatically at his chest. This was it. The call he had been waiting for. 

His mom’s eyes darted from the road ahead of them to the passenger seat as she shot him a look. She was clearly beyond annoyed with him and his antics. When the phone had rung yesterday at home, he’d held his breath until he’d realized the caller was only his aunt Carmen. He had almost passed out in the meantime. His mom had threatened to ground him for a week and make him watch her VHS collection of old 1990s TV shows if he pulled a stunt like that again. Will had shuddered at the thought.

Now, Will quickly placed his hands by his sides and kept his eyes on the road. He didn’t want Juanita Wilhelmina Washington to make good on her threat. 

RING RING RING.

His mom checked her rearview mirror and carefully pulled over to the side of the road.

Then, she finally answered the phone.

Good morning. This is Juanita, she said in her most businesslike voice.

Will thought back to his audition last week. It had been for Agent Danger, the leading role in the new Code Name Danger show. Since then, Will had kept thinking about all the ways he could have delivered a line or performed a gesture differently. He tried to remind himself that he knew Agent Danger. Heck, he was Agent Danger.

Will had read every single one of the Code Name Danger books at least a million times. Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but that’s how much he loved the book series. It was his jam. Everybody knew that Wilson Wesley Washington III was all in when it came to Agent Danger. 

So, when it had been announced that Code Name Danger would be made into the latest Streamflix series, and that there would be an open casting call for the lead role, Will had known that he had to go for it. Never mind that he had never acted before. He had taken tae kwon do for years, which would make doing stunts a lot easier. And aside from his tae kwon do classes and occasional tumbling lessons, Agent Danger had pretty much been Will’s life since the first book in the series, Code Name Danger: Danger’s My Middle Name, came out.

Will figured it was his destiny to play the undercover kid secret agent. But he’d had to beg his mom and dad to let him audition. They hadn’t been too hype on him becoming a kid actor—he was only twelve years old, after all—but he’d worn them down. They, too, knew this was his dream.

And now, Will tried not to hold his breath again as he strained to hear his mom’s conversation.

HE DID?! his mom shrieked.

Will jolted upright in his seat. He started to turn to look at her, but then stopped himself. Maybe this was a trick. Maybe she was trying to lay the smackdown on him. She wouldn’t do that . . . would she? Could this really be happening?

Okay . . . okay . . . okay, his mom said into the phone.

Will listened as his mom took in more information, mm-hmming and uh-huhing until she hung up. Then, she slowly turned to him. This time, he let himself look back at

Reviews for Code Name Danger

[theokester · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this book as a potential gift for my 8-12 year old nephews who aren't much for reading. I felt like they might have fun with the premise....a young tweenage boy gets cast as the amazing "Agent Danger" for a new TV show only to find out that the story is based on real life and the author has cast him not only for the show but also to be the real-life Agent Danger.Reading as an adult, the writing, plot and character development were all fairly simple and high level. But reading from the mindset of a young boy, especially one with a short attention span who loves video game adventures more than reading, I felt like the tone, level and depth of the story is about right.The writing is rather cheesy at some points and the story had some elements that felt overdone but it makes for a comfortable opportunity for young readers to get into the adventure of reading. A lot of the scenes read more like comic books than novels, complete with the *pew pew* sound effects in the text. Couple that with some fun artwork and this seems like a nice step up for helping kids work their way into novels.The last page of the book includes a couple of questions for thoughtful discussion ("how do you think the character felt when this happen", etc.). I seriously doubt my nephews will really want to spend time answering the questions but I think it's a nice thought and a good option, especially for parents or mentors who might be reading this aloud with children. The comic book adventure nature of this book makes it well suited for reading aloud. But the reading level and overall content makes me feel like this is a good book for trying to get kids to read books on their own. Perhaps a hybrid approach would be a good fit (read one or two chapters aloud and then let the kids take off on their own).Personally, I want a little more meat to the story but for the intended audience, this book would hopefully meet the goal and be well accepted. I fondly remember reading books aloud with my kids when they were younger and sometimes chatting about scenes after we finished for the night. Hopefully books like this one will provide new ways to guide new readers into the love of reading.***3 out of 5 stars

[jennyonfire · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My nine year old son read this book and loved it. He said "solid 4 stars." It's full of action and characters that he actually cared about. He's looking forward to more in this series.

[draak_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is such a cute book and a really easy read for children. It has a good plot line with likable characters and the illustrations are really good. My granddaughter is reading it now and is laughing out loud so I would say she is enjoying it very much. If you have children, boys or girls, that enjoy reading get this book. I received this from LibraryThing Early Reviewer for an honest review.