Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff Blog Tour & Giveaway

Welcome to today's Boy Nobody Mission Briefing tour stop. Today's stop features an interview with the author of Boy Nobody, Allen Zadoff and a giveaway!

Thank you Allen for being on Mundie Moms today. I'm excited to talk to you about the technology side of Boy Nobody. What's Boy Nobody's favorite gadget to receive his assignments and why? 

Great to be here, and thanks for having me! Boy Nobody’s main gadget is not really a gadget at all—it’s a regular iPhone bought from the Apple Store. What makes it special is its operating system, because after he buys it, he downloads a secret security suite that runs below the surface of the regular phone.  Boy Nobody puts his phone in “secure mode” by swiping with a unique gesture. That gives him access to a set of apps that do amazing things.  The cool thing is he could switch his phone back to normal mode, hand it to you, and you’d never know it was anything but a regular iPhone.

If you were in Boy Nobody's shoes, what way would you prefer to receive your assignments? Would you go with the more subtle approach or a Mission Impossible style one?

I’m all for Mission Impossible-style. It’s a lot more fun. Soon Boy Nobody might be getting his assignments on Google Glass. Have you read about that?

In what ways could the gadgets that Boy Nobody uses help him find out who he really is, and get the answers he's been looking for?

Interesting that you mention that because I’m working on Boy Nobody 2 right now, and some of those questions of identity that have been plaguing him are beginning to get answered.  In Book 1, we find out that Boy Nobody’s father was killed when he was twelve, and his whole life changed as he was trained to be the boy soldier and assassin he is today.  He doesn’t know why this happened, but he senses there are secrets in his past that need to be uncovered.

They say that once something is on the internet, it’s always on the internet. (Think about that the next time you upload a Facebook photo.) The good news about this from Boy Nobody’s perspective: Maybe some of the answers he seeks are buried deep inside the web…

If we got a hold of Boy Nobody's iPhone, what kind of applications would he have on there? 

You might have Boy Nobody’s phone right now, and you’d never know it!  But let’s say he showed you the secret of how to access the security suite. You’d see apps that allowed you to make secure calls, apps that could call in military forces  to help you in a fight, apps that could turn someone else’s phone into a “zombie” phone so you could use it (or use its camera) without the person ever knowing. And on and on. The hackers of The Program (the organization that Boy Nobody works for) are quite ingenious.

Since technology is a huge thing in the story, and Boy Nobody is a teen, does he have a favorite networking site we'd find him on? If so, what would it be, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter etc?

One of the mottos of The Program is “hide in plain sight”.  Boy Nobody uses social media to read and pass on mission information. For example, his assignments sometimes appear as Facebook profiles, because who will notice one Facebook profile in a sea of millions?  Similarly, there are ways to hide data inside of photos, which makes things like Tumblr blogs and Instagram particularly useful. And Boy Nobody can do a lot of damage in 140 characters. My point is he doesn’t have a favorite. He’s familiar with all of them, he’s savvy at using them, and he and The Program are infinitely creative. So as social media apps change, his approach to using them will change.

That’s all I can say, though you might find out more on http://facebook.com/boynobody.

What's one thing Boy Nobody can't live without 

Love. But he doesn’t know that. At least not yet.

Thank you Allen for stopping by and giving us a glance into Boy Nobody's story and his iPhone.
Want to learn more about Boy Nobody? Check out the info about the book:

They needed the perfect assassin.

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school in a new town under a new name, makes a few friends, and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's family to die-of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, moving on to the next target. 

But when he's assigned to the mayor of New York City, things change. The daughter is unlike anyone he has encountered before; the mayor reminds him of his father. And when memories and questions surface, his handlers at The Program are watching. Because somewhere deep inside, Boy Nobody is somebody: the kid he once was; the teen who wants normal things, like a real home and parents; a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's mission.

In this action-packed series debut, author Allen Zadoff pens a page-turning thriller that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping, introducing an utterly original and unforgettable antihero.

By: Allen Zadoff
Published by: Little Brown
To Be Released on: June 11th, 2013
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads



About The Author

Allen Zadoff is the author of several acclaimed novels including Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have, winner of the Sid Fleischman Humor Award and a YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults. He is a graduate of Cornell University and the Harvard University Institute for Advanced Theatre Training. His training as a super spy, however, has yet to be verified. Visit him on the web at www.allenzadoff.com.

The Giveaway

Thank you to Little Brown I have 5 copies of Boy Nobody to giveaway! One winner per copy. US residents only. To enter, please fill out the form below:

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