Amazing story about a girl who finds out everything she knew about her life has been apart of a bigger purpose. Her mom is a spy, and she has entered a spy school. Faced with danger and problem solving she is trying to weave her way through new facts and information about life as she knew it.

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I'm a huge fan of fun spy media, such as ALIAS, Veronica Mars (she kinda counts, right?), and I remember liking Gallagher Girls when I was younger. So, when I saw this book pop up on Netgalley, I knew I would have to try it!

It is a fun and quick (for an adult) read. I enjoyed reading this book and the story was fun to follow along with. The relationships with friends and family were sweet and in the midst of becoming more. The spy materials were fun and sneaky, which I always find fun to read.

As much as I really wanted to love this book, because it had so many good elements to love, but the book itself distracted me from truly loving it. I thought it went so fast--which I think is okay in a middle grade novel, but it was abrupt as well in the chapter changes or moving from one scene to the next. There were times when I was confused if I had missed something or if it wasn't mentioned. I was also confused by the timeline.

The book starts "8 months ago" but then mentions that she came to the school 6 months ago-- also it took me a while to understand how she was a 7th grader when she mentioned in the first chapter "8 months ago" that next year she would be an 8th grader. So, I assumed it was summer and she was going into 8th grade...
I really would have preferred more clarification-- more details on these things *gasp!* Me??? Want more details?! I know....

I do think this is a good start to the series, confusion aside, and I can see there is room for growth as the author continues the series, so we can only hope for the best! I will recommend this book to middle schoolers who like adventure and spy novels.

Abigail’s mother unexpectedly sends her to boarding school — only to go missing. That’s when Abigail leaves school to search. When Abigail is brought back to the school, she learns that the school is a secret spy school for girls. The school starts her training so Abigail can be bait for her mother but is the school trying to help or hurt her mom? A fun adventure!

Finding books for my 8 year old daughter is almost impossible. Summer start May 31st as of July 4th she has finished 5 books. Little House In the Big Woods, Dork Diaries, Nancy Drew and so much more.
As soon as I find books I think she might like I grab them right away.

8 Year Old Review
Mom listen this book is like the one my brother has about the boys spies school ( Stuart Gibbs's Spy School) So the popular girl at the boarding school goes missing and Abby decides to find out why only to discover wait for it mom! Its a spy school. It was awesome I loved the book so much and I want to read more. Please. Please!
Beth McMullen please write another book and quickly my daughter can't wait.
My review
I enjoyed reading this book and found it really fun for kids 8-11 year of age. The kids get into trouble, the parents are parents not some funny side kick or stupid parent. The kids also have to figure out a way to solve the case.
The story keep a good pace for kids and parents will enjoy reading this story out loud to their kids.
The story is a traditional spy story but for kids who need a little more adult theme with about adult writing.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance Copy.

Whenever I get books like this I try to imagine one of my girls reading them, usually my youngest, who is the target age for this book, and really loves fantastical stories. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me. It had its fun moments for sure, but I don't know, something was just off.

I read this with my oldest daughter who is my go to authority on books like this and we both loved it!

She thought Abby was exciting and loved the adventure; of course she was hoping spy schools like this really exist and begged me to enroll her. I liked that it gave a female character the chance to show strength in the face of adversity and learn important lessons while having a fun time with lots of cool tech.

There are some really great characters that aid in keeping the storyline fast paced, suspenseful and intriguing. In a lot of ways it captures that same fun and magic as the Spy Kids movie series but with more focus on the girl power aspects. The changing settings make you feel like you’re traveling along with them as they undergo spy missions which of course can only be solved by spy kids.

It’s a great start to a new series which parent will be happy with their kids’ reading, kids will love the spy missions and librarians will enjoy having in stock.