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Fledgling Jason Steed
Novel is otherwise known as Fledgling A Jason Steed Adventure, is the first novel in the Jason Steed young adult spy series by British author Mark A. Cooper. The book, about an 11-year-old martial arts expert, is notable for originally being a self-published internet hit. Fledgling and its sequel, Jason Steed: Boudica, were sold to Chicago-based publishing company Sourcebooks in May 2009. The firm is to repackage and republish the first book on September 1, 2010, and the sequel in 2011. In March 2009, Fledgling Jason Steed was voted the Top Young Adult Book for 2009 by Fictionreviewer.com. The book "narrowly beat" the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. The book was also a finalist in the Young Adult Fiction category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

The Books
The original version of Fledgling A Jason Steed Adventure (ISBN-13: 9780741449344) was published in September 2008 by Infinity Publishing. The 214-page novel followed the life of British-born Jason Steed, from his tough babyhood to his adventures as an 11-year-old British Sea Cadet. Cooper originally wrote Jason Steed as an action/adventure story for his son but, after self-publishing the book, he was "stunned" at the positive reaction on the internet.

The fictional father of Jason Steed, Royal Navy officer Raymond Steed, was written as a tribute to a real-life British war hero. Raymond Victor Steed was a galley boy on a Merchant Navy ship when it was blown up after hitting a German mine off the African coast on 26 April, 1943. Raymond, from Newport, was 14 years and 207 days old when he died - just five months after joining up. Raymond has been officially recognised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as the second youngest recorded fatality of the British service war dead.

The original version of Fledgling A Jason Steed Adventure was voted Fictionreviewer.com's Top Young Adult Book for 2009, beating the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer in an internet poll of readers. The award citation read: "The magnetic appeal for most young teens is the simplicity of the book, fast action and drama. The new ‘Text Age’ teens find it easy to read and fast; something fitting for the modern world they now live in." Fledgling was also a finalist in the Young Adult Fiction category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. .

The new version of FLEDGLING JASON STEED (ISBN-13: 9781402239991) is listed as 240 pages long, having been "cut and edited" before republication by Sourcebooks. Mark A. Cooper said in a pre-launch interview: My original version was unedited and longer. Some of the background scenes have been cut in the new version, to make the adventure run faster."

Book 1 FLEDGLING A Jason Steed Adventure was first released in 2008. In 2010 the rights were purchased by Sourcebooks and it's name was shortened to FLEDGLING JASON STEED (ISBN-13: 9781402239991)

Book 2 was ‘REVENGE JASON STEED” was released in March 2012 by Sourcebooks inc. (ISBN-13: 9781402264290)

Book 3 JASON STEED ABSOLUTELY NOTHING was released in November 2013

HRH Prince William declared in May 2011 that “Fledgling Jason Steed” is is favorite book.

Joe Craig, award-winning author of the Jimmy Coates teen spy series, reviewed the new version in July 2010 and wrote: "The pace is unlike any thriller I’ve read before, while the period setting and the backstory built up around the characters mark it out as something different from other action adventure books for a young audience. Basically, you have to check out Fledgling: Jason Steed. He’ll win your heart, then get it pumping with adrenalin. It’s James Bond meets Karate Kid, and if either of them ever met Jason Steed, they’d be in big trouble."

Awards

 * Independent Book Awards Finalist Young Adult (2009)


 * Beverly Hills Book Awards Winner Juvenile Fiction (2013)


 * Young Adult Book of the Year Fictionreviews.com (2009)


 * Iowa Teen Award (2010)

The author
The author of Fledgling A Jason Steed Adventure, Mark A. Cooper, was born in Battersea, South London in 1963, next door to where Enid Blyton was born, he attended Battersea Grammar School. He moved to Launceston, Cornwall, as a teenager, where he attended Torpoint High School. He went on to study at Plymouth University in Devon. Cooper worked in a variety of positions mostly in Antiques after leaving university, before moving to Sarasota, Florida with his wife and son in 2003. He is also the author of Moving to the United States of America and Immigration, as well as A Movement in Time with Breitling & Rolex an Unauthorized History. The second book in the Jason Steed series, Revenge, Jason Steed, was a best seller at WH Smith book stores for two weeks. Cooper signed to a literary agent, the New York City-based Barbara J. Zitwer Agency, in March 2009, and his first two Jason Steed books were bought by Sourcebooks in May 2009. Rumours that Jason Steed was written under a pen name by Alex Rider writer Anthony Horowitz have been denied by Mark A. Cooper.

Controversy
The book was first thought to be written by Anthony Horowitz, many reviews and even on Wikipedia it was mentioned. A variety of pages were made on Wiki by teen fans, all were taken down. When the truth came out that was was in-fact written by a previously unknown author Mark A. Cooper, the items were removed. Goodreads still has a group on the site regarding books written by Anthony Horowitz and controversy still reigns. Wikipedia took steps and banned the novel from the site, stating reviews from Kirkus and articles in the Daily Mail National newspaper, OK! and Star (magazine)magazines, and smaller papers such as Bradenton Times, Launceston Times, as insufficient for a mention. The memorial fund for the stone memorial for Raymond Steed was given $4,000 by Mark A.Cooper and mentioned in the Newport News, all given no credit for inclusion for Wikipedia. Both versions of Fledgling Jason Steed have tribute credits to Raymond Steed. Various sandboxes were made up from fans of the novels, the title has been removed over 12 times and the authors of the pages have been told that  - it's almost a staute of limitations kinda thing by senior editors (EatsShootsAndLeaves) 10/09/2013 The novels continue to sell around the world and are now published in three different languages with the Wikipedia ban in place. No other single novel has had to come with with as much credit for a mention. As a reviewer and editor of many other novels in the young Adult category need as much credit. many are just allowed, the damage caused by teens in 2008 and 2009 seems irreparable. Oliver Spy Fan (talk) 15:08, 12 October 2013 (UTC)