I,Q Book One: Independence Hall is a “modern-day mystery adventure” (according to the back of the book) released on August 27, 2008 and written by American author Roland Smith, who is also responsible for Elephant Run, as well as quite a few other books. As the “Book One” in the title implies, Independence Hall is the first entry in a series of six books, the first three of which are written by Roland Smith. The latter three entries in the series are co-authored by Smith and Michael P. Spradlin. CHARACTERS
The protagonist of I,Q is a thirteen-year-old boy named Quest (yes, that’s his actual first name), also known as “Q,” which is what he prefers to go by. He is a talented magician, which helps him a few times throughout the story. The story is told mostly from his perspective. He is very suspicious of people,…show more content… Other than gaining a better understanding of his situation, he doesn’t grow much throughout the story. His stepsister, Angela (age 15), is also a very important character. She knows taekwondo and is decent at being a spy, even before she gets dragged into the incident with the leopard. This is largely because her mother, Malak, worked for the secret service. Malak is also thought to be dead due to a bombing on the Independence Hall, and is also thought to be the terrorist known as leopard. She’s not actually dead, though. Her twin sister Anmar is. She is the leopard, but that’s only because she took over for Anmar after she died. Blaze, Q’s mother and Angela’s stepmother, is a popular rock singer. So is her her husband -- Angela’s father -- Roger. They perform in a duo known as Match, and their tour is the reason the characters end up where they do (more on that in the “PLOT/SETTING” section). A roadie of theirs, Tyrone Boone, is also a major character. He’s a former government spy who’s currently leading a group of other
