Spy Camp (Spy School)
Ben Ripley, a 12-year-old CIA spy-in-training who was first introduced in Spy School (2012), returns in another lighthearted action adventure. This one finds him—to his disgust—required to attend summer spy camp. Dreary, yes? But then something astonishing happens; he is approached by an agent of the supersecret evil organization Spyder, which is trying to recruit him to join the dark side. It seems Spyder hopes to capitalize on a unique talent that Ben doesn’t even know he possesses. What’s going on here? Whatever it is, it will involve superspy Alexander Hale and his equally talented daughter Erica, on whom Ben has a serious crush. Spies, counterspies, moles, and a Civil War reenactment (don’t ask) speed the brisk action. There are too many plot conveniences, but the characters are both comic and convincing (no mean feat), and the story boasts some nifty surprises. Fans of the genre will be pleased and will look forward to the next volume in this series. Grades 6-9. --Michael Cart--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.