↠ | two stars

um. what the f*** was that?

this was ... not good. if it wasn’t a graphic novel, if it wasn’t something i could finish in an hour, i wouldn’t have finished this. i would’ve stopped around page twenty. minor spoilers will be included because there is absolutely no way for me to get around them.

when you first begin this, it is extremely mundane. then, randomly, it picks up and throws you into this extremely fucked up story. let me preface this by saying i love spy stories and all of the negative trauma that comes along with it. however, this... this was something else. mainly because a child was involved.

our main character (JB? i don’t even remember...), discovers her mother enrolled her into a spy program and has literally controlled every aspect of her life since she was born. that is the main issue i have with this story. this type of abuse made out to be a light hearted subject. on top of that, this was far too fast paced. once you were thrown in, you got whip lash every few pages because something else happened. this took place over the course of... two days? three at most? in that time, this child literally solved a case the CIA couldn’t. it was far too convenient and far too easy.

this lacked details and explanations that would have only enhanced the story—not that i’d want to subject myself to something longer, but adding just a few more pages could have benefited the reader’s understanding of this mess. i think this would have also been benefited from being written as a novel. again, i definitely wouldn’t want to subject myself to it, but i believe it would have more potential to be executed better especially because the art wasn’t that fantastic and the color palette was mediocre.

overall, this was a rapid paced story of glorified child abuse. the authors could have done this exact same story without allowing the mother to abuse her daughter for years. it didn’t have to be like this. it could have been far more enjoyable. it wasn’t an awful read given the fact it took about an hour to finish and it was mainly pictures, but i can assure you, you can skip this. please, skip this. you don’t even need to bother with a summary.

NOTE:thank you to netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this graphic novel. this in no way impacts my decisions. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This graphic novel follows Josie Black, a girl who has unknowingly been trained by her mother to be the ultimate spy. When Josie realizes that she’s been being used by her mother all this time, she runs away and, with the help of her best friend, tries to find a way to defeat her mother and gain total self-autonomy.

I thought that this was a pretty good, light read. It had the potential to really explore abusive parenting and the weight of parent’s expectations on children, but it regally just skimmed the surface. If you want something quick to read, this could be your answer.

Hey, I like spy stuff! Tends to be the more morose Le Carre kind, but I'm in for a good adventure.

This book falls in the crack between the two styles. Josie, a young girl, finds out that her mother is a spy, and was forced by the CIA to have her daughter brainwashed and reprogrammed. She has been using her daughter in all kinds of espionage capers, Josie's memory getting wiped right after. This has led to her mother gaslighting Josie about all the holes in her memory.

I think this is pretty horrific. Josie basically finds out that her identity, and her past are fabricated. Who knows what is real? And not only that, her own mother had a large part in this. Terrifying.

The book does acknowledge this.. a bit. It also wants it to be the start of a fun YA spy adventure. And I just had a real problem getting past the basic horror of the premise.

It doesn't help that the art isn't great. Faces have shifting features, action scenes are bordering on laughable.

In the end I don't know what this is, and I don't think it knows what it wants to be.

This wasn't really my deal! The colors hurt my eyes and I didn't like the illustrations. The story was fun and could have been even better, but I just can't get over the fact that my eyes were not feeling all there with all the reds and oranges. Also, the abusive mom - not my thing.

I received an advanced reader copy of this graphic novel from NetGalley in exchange of this honest review.

UGHHHHH. This one is tough to review, without talking about spoilers! The provided description made it sound like something I could get behind, but the concept was poorly executed. I didn’t even enjoy the artwork – the colours were interesting, but I didn’t like how sloppy the faces appeared. 1 star out of 5, I simply did not like this!

J.B. is a pretty great kid, but so messed up. I didn’t like that the mom turns out to be so evil (can’t say to what extent because of spoilers). I also didn’t like who she works for because it makes no logical sense, nor is it clear what the motives behind the special ops J.B. has been forced to do are.

Instead of leaving me satisfied with at least an entertaining read, this left me wanting for more. What even happens to J.B.? What happens to her dad? What happens to her mother and to her mother’s employer? I am confused at this lack of ending, of closure.

The expected publication date for The Spy Who Raised Me is April 6th, 2021.

Many thanks to Lerner Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story wasn't for me unfortunetly, I didn't like it much, the art was not to my liking also.
I'm not an fan of the art in this graphic novel, it was flimsy and the coloring was annoying, and the story was just a regular YA story.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This graphic novel was about a young girl who finds out she was actually a spy who was being controlled. It was an alright read, but not my favourite. It felt very rushed and was confusing at times. I think a younger reader who is interested in spies and cool female main characters would enjoy this graphic novel more than I did. The art style was interesting though!

3 stars *may change
JB has one problem: she's painfully, terribly, boring. That and the fact that her mom is a bit cooky. Okay, a lot cooky. Turns out it runs in the family, which is quite splendid since I almost thought I was going to have to read about this ordinary girl. (I really should read book blurbs before I start them...)
It's not a surprise to anybody that I'm not necessarily the target audience for this book, as immature as I may be. Still, I thought it was a cute enough story to read between classes.
The art style is charming along with a sort of autumn color palette that feels homely. The story was, obviously, written for children. It's paced very quickly and explains everything neatly.
In terms of a children's graphic novel, well, that's what this is. A simple-to-understand comic with nice pictures. The plot itself wasn't anything crazy, although I was taken aback a bit by the mother-daughter dynamic. I'm glad it went in the direction that it did at the end. The mother's actions can only really be compared to child abuse, and I really thought this book would pull one of those annoying turns where the child forgives the parents because "Oh, I was doing what was best for you!" Thank God that didn't happen. Really, it's the bare minimum.
If I was, say, 7 years younger I think I would have really enjoyed this. That being said, I am not 7 years younger. Though I'm sure that to a kid this is a wonderful story.
Thanks to the publishers and to Netgalley for providing an arc.

3 stars.

This was a fun graphic novel. But also kinda bad in parts. This is a story essentially about child abuse but written in a funny tone. I also wasn't a huge fan of the color palette used throughout the book, nor was I a fan of the way the characters were drawn in a "human but slightly off" style.

However things i did love? I loved them a lot. There was a lot of good one liners and the plot moved at a consistent place. The little funny plot reveals were cute and adorable. The plot twist about the mom volunteering her up for this came at the right point and the author did a good job at dehumanizing the mom further and further as time went on. Big Sugar being the evil company was very apt.


The ARC of this graphic novel was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for a free copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.
Oh am I ever torn on this one. On the one hand, JB was a kick ass kid.
On the other- her relationship with her mother leaves me feeling deeply unsettled.
The art style wasn't all that pleasing.
Unfortunately this didn't do it for me.

A seemingly below-average teen finds out her mother programmed her as a sleeper spy and has been controlling her actions for years. This was a fun little graphic novel with lots of action and a fun premise. I could definitely see this being appealing to a lot of young readers out there.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lerner Publishing Group, and Graphic Universe for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are entirely my own. The Spy Who Raised Me is a graphic novel all about a girl who realizes her mother is a spy and that she has super spy powers as well. I thought this book was pretty entertaining and had a decent art style. I liked how the story was fast-paced. I liked the storyline, but the writing and progression of the story seemed a bit choppy. The book was very cheesy but I think it was still a decent graphic novel. I would give it a 2.5 or 2 star rating. It wasn't really bad but it wasn't the best either.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

“The Spy Who Raised Me” is a respectable debut teenage spy graphic novel. The protagonist, Josie Black, finds her life turned upside down when she discovers that she is actually a trained secret agent, and that her life so far has been mostly a lie.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. Josie’s predicaments, while rather outlandish, echo themes and problems that many teens struggle with in their daily lives, including low self-esteem, and the need to show that they are both independent and capable of taking care of themselves. The twists are very unexpected and well-balanced. The heart-breaking moments are countered with hilariously ridiculous reveals, making it suitable for a younger teen audience, and relatable to many older children and teenagers.

My only problem with the story is that while the main theme is redemption for the protagonist and showing the world what she is really made of, the author does not give the other characters the same treatment, nor allow them to have any real redeeming qualities. I hope these characters are given the chance for redemption in a follow-up story. I definitely want to read more about Josie and her adventures.

I would recommend this graphic novel to those who enjoy the likes of the Alex Rider series, and are looking for something that does not take itself quite as seriously.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book on NetGalley and have provided an honest review.*

I thought the description of this graphic novel sounded very interesting & fun. But sadly this didn’t quite end up being my cup of tea.

The art was something I really enjoyed, it was fun & quirky. But the story itself lacked a bit for me. I feel like Josie’s mother’s motives for doing what she did was a bit vague and I wish we’d seen more of her father as well. The ending of the book left me with so many questions. Did she even end up staying with her father?

If there will be a sequel I would probably pick it up anyways. Like I said I feel like some things where left unanswered and I would’ve liked to get less of an “open ending”.

This ARC was given to me for free from Net Galley but my opinions are still mine.

⭐️ “The Spy Who Raised Me” gets 1/5 stars from me!

*I received this book thanks to Netgalley and the publisher in exchange of honest reivew*

The story begins with a very strange fact for the young protagonist of this story. Josie is at school with her friend and when her mother picks her up from school she has a sudden blackout and can't remember what happened to her. When she then asks her mother for explanations, she realizes that she was duped by the same mother, because she was hired as a spy for a large company. Her mother seems to block her with orders and control her but will she be able to rebel? Will she be able to unseat her mother and get rid of this thing that is robbing her of freedom and everything possible? The graphic novel in the style of the drawings is certainly not one of my favorites, nor of the best: the standard color goes from light red to dark red and remains so for the same volume but the type of drawing seems so little decided and clear. The story even worse. Let's pass the mother's abuses of subjecting her to this kind of weird and sadistic thing of turning her into a spy and hiring her for this company she doesn't remember anything about ... and I don't like that at all. But I still don't like it when the story doesn't take on something meaningful. Josie fights for her freedom and ok but the story has a really lacking and non-engaging plot. I did not particularly appreciate this reading, I admit it and I believe that a change of gear is decisive, at least in enhancing the plot of the story, which is somewhat disappointing. Two stars for this.

3 Josie Black stars!

I’m always on the lookout for graphic novels, especially those with strong heroines. But I must admit that this one wasn't what I expected. I didn't really like the idea of the story and how Josie's mother kind of ruined her life. I always look for things that would fit in one of my lessons but I don't think I can add this one to any of them. But I did enjoy it as a reader and srptill think that Jodie was a badass.

I unfortunately decided to DNF this book. I thought the concept was intriguing, but in execution it seemed extremely unrealistic, I got about a third of the way into the book and a plot point got introduced that seemed a bit ridiculous and I knew that I wouldn’t like the rest of the story if I kept reading. I also was not a big plan of the art style, I’m not sure if the art will change much from the arc to the finished copy so maybe that will be improved in the final version.

I think younger readers would be able to suspend disbelief better and possibly enjoy the story more,

4.5/5

The Spy Who Raised Me, written by Ted Anderson and illustrated by Gianna Meola, is an action-packed graphic novel filled with agents, companies, and bad ass girls. J.B. has spent her whole life being average at everything. It isn’t until one day when her moms says things she isn’t supposed to hear, that J.B. realizes that there’s more to meets the eye about her mother and her self. On a road to self-discovery, J.B. must also battle against all that comes her way while also discovering who she really is.

This was a really fun read! I always enjoy graphic novels and this was no different.

The art style is great, the dialogue is excellent, and the pacing is wonderful. Truly I loved everything.

Some graphic novels have the problem of all the panels and pages looking the same, but the dialogue is well placed throughout the book. And the panels themselves are shuffled enough that I don’t feel too much repetition in layout.

Zoe is my favourite character. I appreciated all the slang and how the characters spoke, especially the girls. I believe Anderson has a firm grasp of how young teens talk and I’m here for it, my dude.

The only reason I took half a star away (I’m really nitpicking here) is because of the colour pink. At first I loved the colour scheme but after a bit it was hard to look at. However! I did read this on an electronic, so once I get my hands on a physical copy, I’ll flip through it again and maybe then I’ll rethink that half star :P

For an adolescent is normal to have conflicts with parents. But this time is the parent who has conflicts with Josie: she has hidden a lot from her daughter and she is determined to uncover them!
Perhaps the story is told a bit too quickly with some details lost in the gutter between panels leaving the reader to guess too much and with a plot twist or two in excess, but in the end this is a charming and funny book to read in an afternoon.

The Spy Who Raised Me, by Ted Anderson and Gianna Meola, is about J.B. and Zoe, best friends since early childhood. They embark on a fun and exciting spy mystery adventure. J.B. is an operative, but for who? Who is controlling her and why is she learning about this only now? A fast paced graphic adventure that will delight graphic comic book readers who enjoy spy adventures and good old fashion action. Highly recommended.