Mabel was born on Halloween and is a staring contest champion. Her parents, Fred and Jane, are “Cleaners”, top secret agents.

“They would go into really bad situations around the world to clean up messes made by other spies.”

When they’re at home, Fred maintains old telephone lines and repairs cell phone towers, while Jane is the curator of the family’s private museum, Le Petit Musée of Antique Silver Spoons.

Living in a town of only 267 people, you’d think it would be especially difficult to keep her parents’ secret from getting out but Mabel has her 36 Rules for a Successful Life as an Undercover Secret Agent to guide her.

In the lead up to her eleventh birthday, Mabel gets a lot of opportunities to practice her undercover agent skills. Her parents are out of town on a secret mission and her Aunt Gertie, who needs to make a batch of her famous cinnamon buns for me, has been arrested.

Frankenstella (her aunt and uncle) and her least favourite cousin, Victoria, show up and start eating all of Mabel’s food and bossing her around. Her aunt and uncle seem to have an unusual interest in spoons and a red suitcase that may or may not exist.

“I will not sugarcoat the truth. This situation is a big deal.”

Mabel is absolutely adorable but I doubt she’d like me describing her that way. She doesn’t know who she can trust but she’s resourceful and doesn’t give up.

Mabel’s best friend, Stanley, was my favourite character. He a photographer who doesn’t give spoiler alerts, so make sure you’re careful around him if he finishes your current read first. I wish he had more page time.

I have an unanswered question, the same one Mabel has at the end of the book.

Given there are 36 Rules for a Successful Life as an Undercover Secret Agent, it would have been pretty perfect if this book had 36 chapters. It has 35, although there’s also a preamble to the rules before the first chapter, so I’m counting it. I liked all of the rules but my favourite was 14.

“Most people believe what they want to believe, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Don’t be most people.”

Favourite no context quote: “If I had any more luck, a big black hole would pop up in the living room, suck me in, and crush me until my eyeballs exploded and my bones turned to gelatinous goo.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Capstone Young Readers, an imprint of Capstone, for the opportunity to read this book.

Amanda Hosch’s delightful middle-grade debut, MABEL OPAL PEAR AND THE RULES FOR SPYING, tells the story of the eponymous Mabel Opal Pear, a plucky almost-11-year-old whose parents are international spies. While Mabel’s parents are away on a top-secret spy mission, young Mabel is cared for by her beloved, cinnamon-bun-baking aunt Gertie. But when Gertie is falsely arrested for smuggling and is sent to jail, Mabel smells a rat - namely, evil Uncle Frank and his equally evil wife, Stella. To solve the mystery, Mabel does what any young spy-in-training would do: She grabs her self-authored Rules for Spying handbook and gets to work. A fun, action-packed tale!

What a fun book! I love middle grade with kid spies and this story was a great read. She's smart, clever, and definitely won my heart. Kids (and adults) will love this one.

This may be the best kids mystery I have read all year. I absolutely adored the characters and the story. The mystery is fantastic. When there is a sequel - and I hope it is SOON - I will buy it as soon as I am able. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

I thought Mabel Opal Pear and the Rules for Spying was such a good story! I think it will appeal to kids of all ages and genders, and it will have them wanting more!!

A great concept, but the first few chapters just didn't grab me.

Mabel Opal Pear A.K.A MOP A.K.A. Moppett A.K.A. Sunflower!!

What a fun read! Great story for kids in middle school.

What could be better than a girl who teaches you about being a spy? Great story for kids.

Even though this book is recommended for children aged 9-12, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story has an interesting assortment of characters which include: the resilient and clever Mabel, AKA Moppet; her conniving cousin Victoria; a group of 9 close school friends; missing parents and an aunt in trouble with the law. Moppet is on her own, as the adults in the book are either out to take advantage of her or aren’t paying attention to what is really going on.

This is a wonderful book for young readers. It has a strong female lead and Stanley, her resourceful male friend. Stanley ends up being a big help even though he was clueless for much of the story since Moppet wasn’t sharing anything with him about what all was going on.

By the end of the book, the loose ends were neatly tied up, and one of the not-so-nice characters grew into a likable person. I’d love to see this become a series with Moppet and Stanley as the protagonists since I am sure it would appeal to young boys and girls.

Mabel Opal Pear is not your ordinary almost-11-year-old. For one thing, her parents are spies. For another, she's a spy-in-training. She knows immediately that something is wrong when her parents disappear and her Aunt Stella, Uncle Frank, and Cousin Victoria show up. Victoria is mean, Frank is clueless and Stella is something else. Normally Aunt Gertie takes care of Mabel but she's in jail. So it's up to Mabel to not only run the family spoon museum but also figure out the mystery.
I couldn't quite get into Mabel's world. I'm not sure where the connection was missing. It seemed like a serviceable story with some interesting world-building but... not for me.

Three stars
This book comes out August 1

As a debut novel, I found this was well written and entertaining. The story flowed well and I enjoyed this introduction to Mable. I’m hoping that there are more adventures to come from this author.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley for my honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. You're never too old for a middle grade novel and this one delivered. I was intrigued from the beginning.Mable Opal Pear is a spy in training. Her parents are special agents who disappear right when she needs them most. Enemies invade her home and it's up to her to protect her families business, a spoon museum. Once I got started, I couldn't put it down. I needed to know what was going to happen. It was action and adventure all wrapped up in a family that is there for each other.

Loved this super fun spy book for middle grades! Can't wait for my niece to read this

Unable to read the book, but interested enough to go find it in the local library!

The title, cover, and synopsis of this book drew me in immediately. A little ten year old named Mabel -- come on! How cute is that! I think my galley was missing a few pages in front and back, but I got most of the rest of the novel and ADORE it. I cannot wait for this to come out and for my 9 year old daughter and 10 year old son to be able to read it. I know they will both love it too. I think the inner child in all of us once wanted to be a spy and this book definitely brought me back to my childhood and how much I loved following clues and figuring out whodunit. Mabel is an absolutely strong character. She's brilliant and likeable. I would want to be friends with Mabel. I would want my kids to be friends with Mabel. I loved all the little spy nuances that her parents left behind to keep Mabel in the loop. The attention to detail that Hosch put into this book was just superb. The characters and plot were just so rich and strong. I cannot say enough good things about this book.

Thank you for this book. Unfortunately, since it is not in kindle format, I am unable to read it.

Sorry I am unable to read this book in pdf format. The text is way too small to read on my e-reader. I am really sorry, i didn't realize this was a pdf only when I requested.