Playing with Fire (School for Spies Novel, A)
Gr 4-8–Thirteen-year-old Max Segredo is accused of starting a fire, which gets him displaced from yet another foster home. His caseworker takes him to live in Merry Sunshine Orphanage and, in just a few hours, Max begins to see that this is no ordinary home. With classes in lock picking and mixed martial arts, he soon discovers that it is a training school for spies. Someone slips him a cryptic message stating that his father is still alive and another one saying that his father needs help. Max meets a variety of characters at the institution and, living in close quarters, they develop a bond, giving him a family. Nevertheless he wants to find his father even at the risk of betraying everyone at Merry Sunshine. The book has nonstop action, clear detailed descriptions, and a plot that's easy to follow. Readers who enjoy spy and espionage novels might find this one too simplistic in techniques used and missions taken, but it is a good introduction to the genre.–Denise Moore, O'Gorman Junior High School, Sioux Falls, SDα(c) Copyright 2013.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.