Fun story about a girl in foster care being whisked away from her terrible foster parents, and given the opportunity to become a spy using her awesome hacker skills.
I definitely would have been in love with this series as a young reader, it was enjoyable even as an adult! Love a found-family trope!

Back in my day, it was Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? And this had that same nostalgic feel to it.

I read this aloud to 2 of my kids (ages 8 & 3), and they really enjoyed it. It was fast-paced with funny characters. Perfect for middle grade or younger bookworms who can sit through longer stories :)

This entire book was unbelievably fun. I haven’t smiled like that all the way through a book in a very long time. Even when things were getting intense and serious, I was smiling because of how good the writing was.

If you’re a middle grade book fan, or if you have any littles in your life who want to go on a grand adventure, then buy this book.

I wish City Spies had been around when I was 10 or so. I would have made all of my friends read it and then we’d play by recreating scenes; which is obviously the highest compliment a kid can give a book.

And on a slightly unrelated note: fully imagine Mother being David Tennant with his Doctor Who hair... you’re welcome.

Thank you NetGalley for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

City Spies
By: James Ponti

REVIEW ☆☆☆☆
I read City Spies with my eleven year old son. He enjoyed it very much. He said it was exciting, fun and great. He liked all of the characters and how smart and cool they were. He wants all of his friends to read the book, too. I enjoyed the story as well. It's perfect for middle grade readers.

If I could give City Spies more than 5 stars here, I would. City Spies is one of the best books I have read in a while. Firstly, the plot twists make this book exciting and a page turner. There are several and they all fit together very well without confusion. Secondly, the characters are really interesting with different in personalities and backgrounds, this goes for the kids and adults. There is a character for everyone to like. The book gets into the background of each of the characters but leaves room for more to be explored as this book is the first in a series. Mother is probably my favourite character, there is definitely more to Mother than what is presented, and I cannot wait to find out more in the next installment. Needless to say I will be following this series, I am hooked.

A solid middle grade mystery and adventure novel! Fun, action packed, and full of drama and heart, City Spies was very enjoyable, I loved all the young spies, as well as their leader, Mother, and I would definitely read more adventures with this group. A good one for fans of Spy School, James Bond, and general action / adventure stories.

This one was so, so, so good. Combining the best parts of my favourite movies growing up; a little bit of the Oceans movies, along with Cody Banks and Spy Kids, I just couldn't put it down! Brooklyn is one of my new fave protagonists, and I want to see so much more of this team. They work well together, in an odd sort of way; you can tell there's more here than just people working together, there's a family deep down underneath it all. And believe me, I'm an absolute nerd for found family stories, especially in kids media.

The story was challenging in a good way. It could've been another one of those generic "save the world from the bad guys" kind of things, but it felt like it fit more to the fact that these are, despite all else, kids. They're not going for life or death here, though scaling a building was definitely something I wasn't expecting, the stakes were high but the actual implementation made sense considering the age of the characters.

All in all, a great book. I want more from this world and these characters, I hope there's a sequel and if there isn't I at least hope we get more content in general.

Love! Love! Love! What a fun, exciting, and intriguing story! I absolutely love spy stories and middle grade spy stories never fail to be entertaining!
I love the variety of characters. Following a small group of pre-teen and teen spies (and their bosses), i loved getting to know the background of each character and how they came to be a part of this group. The situations they find themselves in, the smarts and abilities they hold, and the adventure! Oh, the adventure!
I cannot wait to read more of this series! The possibilities are endless for where the series can go and who knows, maybe more kids will be added to the spy group! I highly recommend!!!!

ARC Copy...the kids may find the international, and techno intrigue well intriguing and fun with multi-national cast but I felt it was too similar to what is already out there on the market.

Soooooooooo good.
Just finished reading and wish I had about a dozen sequels lined up to devour.
This book grabbed me from the first page and took me for a wild ride. It’s the kind of book where writing, plot, characters, setting, everything really, works together so perfectly that the words I read convert to a movie in my head.
This is a pure joy to read at any age, and I’ll be looking for more books by this author.