Alexandra Benno can instantly summon parallel-dimension versions of herself. But these duplicates are always super-idealized: smart, tough, fast, and often the most beautiful girls in their world – while Alex herself is a clumsy, frizzy-haired wallflower. The Government recruits Alex for top-secret espionage work – or at least they hire her alter egos. Always her alternate gets the action, and consequently receives all the credit. She gows sick of being her own side-kick (so to speak), and makes the move to complete her latest mission all by her self. The only question then is whether she’ll be able to crack the “Vosarak Code,” or is she simply destined to live her life out in her own shadow?

Alex Unlimited: The Vosarak Code is a TOKYOPOP novel (it’s got words only, no pretty pictures in this one to speak of). A few companies that do mostly manga are starting to release these, as well as novels that directly relate to certain popular manga titles. It’s a neat idea!

The book follows the misadventures of Alex; an 18-year-old girl that everyone seems to think is about 14. She hates this. In fact, she dislikes a lot of this about herself – including her hair, her mannerisms, and the fact that all of her summoned alter egos are so much cooler than she is herself. No one pays attention to her, she never gets any credit, and anyone who talks to her seems to only do so to appear polite. What a drag – no kidding.

This story is much like the classic idea of the “ugly duckling.” An individual is not accepted or respected by their peers and/or themselves, and they slowly realize that they themselves must make the moves to improve their standing. For Alex it’s a bit more complicated because her biggest competitors are idealistic versions of herself – kind of hard to complete with. But the fact is, she can be all these alter egos all wrapped into one if she so chooses – she just has to want that bad enough.

Besides being well written and very flowing, Alex Unlimited has some good messages for girls still struggling to figure out who they are, as well as any person young or old who can manage to relate to Alex’s plights. It’s all about being yourself and appreciating what you have to offer the world. Low self-esteem can be rampant in the teen years as it’s such a difficult time for many – a few more books like this might help the youth who read it steer themselves in the right direction. It’s not every book that has potential to teach us something truly relevant about life and how to best live it.
To say much more would ruin the story, so hopefully that gives you a good idea of where this book is going. It’s fairly understandable, enjoyable, and has a lot of great dialogue from Alex to herself. And who doesn’t spend a bit of time each day conversing with themselves? By the way, look for book two coming out soon – this is a series, not just a stand-alone book!

IN SUMMARY:
More than just your run-of-the-mill coming of age story, Alex Unlimited is The Ugly Duckling turned 007. It’s a new twist on some tried but true concepts, with enough originality to allow it to stand atop a pillar of its very own.