Dog Pug

Book Review (OT): Spy School (junior high, spy school)

 tháng 5 28, 2017     No comments   

Spy School, by Stuart Gibbs (Simon & Schuster, 25.00$, 2012, 291 pp, ages 8-12 and adults)

Spy School is the first in a series of exciting books for both boys and girls, and adults. For boys because the hero is a boy. For girls because a girl always saves the day. For adults who want a quick very entertaining read.

The second book, Spy Camp, was reviewed earlier in DogEvals: read the review here.


The Adventure Begins

Spy School explains how our friend Ben is accepted into the super secret academy of spies, the Academy of Espionage, a fortress somewhere in the Washington, DC, area, behind impenetrable walls, guarded by “real” CIA agents – a spy school for kids from grades 7-12 (shades of Hogwarts, eh?). 

The time is mid-year, with snow on the ground. All the 300 students know each other, except the new kid, Ben, who fails his initiation test royally: nobody tells him it’s a test!

There are underground bunkers and miles of tunnels (and why is there a bomb in one?), but who is who? Who are the good guys? And who are the attendees at the conference called ”Who’s Who in Espionage?“

How would you like to study – and starting in Junior High to boot -  instead of English and Algebra and Geography and Biology, subjects like Psychological Warfare, Arms and Armaments, Information Acquisition (Interrogation), Self- Preservation, Self Defense, Enemy Subjugation and Apprehension, Cryptology, Cryptography, Counterespionage, Disguise, Chemistry 102: Poisons and Explosives (my Chem 102 was titled More Inorganic Chemistry), Chemistry 105: Constructing Weapons from Cleaning Supplies, Explosive Destruction and Defusion?

How would like two of your text books to be Peachin’s Field Guide to Bombs and Other Incendiary Devices and Driscoll’s User’s Guide to Southeast Asian Artillery?

Yes, the students even play war –paintball war – but they are graded on capturing the flag.

What is Pinwheel? Scorpio? Jackhammer? Jackrabbit? Klondike?

Who’s the mole? Who’s the bait? Who’s the patsy? Who’s codenamed Smokescreen? What is the nefarious SPYDER?

Sounds like an American Harry Potter?

What’s it like to have a junior high school crush on a girl two years older who smells of lilac and gunpowder?

Could our young hero Ben Ripley be another Gracie Allen – “. . . so clever he’s extremely good at appearing not clever at all”? Did he really foil an assassin with a tennis racket?

“Back in public school, if someone told you something like “Say one word about what you saw down there and you’re dead,” you could assume it was an exaggeration. At spy school, they actually taught you how to back those words up – and gave you the weapons to do it.” No wonder the CIA school does not tell the parents about the true identity (or location) of the school. [sic]

PS - Even the chapter titles are intriguing:
Initiation
Confrontation
Intimidation
Information
Dissemination
Provocation
Abduction
Impersonation
Interrogation
Revelation
Bomb defusion
Apprehension

Highly Recommended

The Spy School series is an incredible set of plots starring nerds that even adults will be engrossed in. Each page is a surprise and the plot escalates towards the end of each book but, in retrospect, all makes sense and keeps you wanting the next installment. The reader will even learn a thing or two but as to the pragmaticality of what he learns – that is a different matter.


(This book is available at the Howard County, MD, public library.)
  • Share This:  
  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Google+
  •  Stumble
  •  Digg
Gửi email bài đăng nàyBlogThis!Chia sẻ lên XChia sẻ lên Facebook
Bài đăng Mới hơn Bài đăng Cũ hơn Trang chủ

0 nhận xét:

Đăng nhận xét

Popular Posts

  • Movie Review: The Adventures of Pepper and Paula (trick dog, horse, cowgirl)
    The Adventures of Pepper and Paula (Vertical Studio, Rated PG, 2015, 90 minutes, $9.97) Remember co-hits? If you are old enough, when ...
  • May 31, 2019
    White Dog had a touch of pride in her voice when she observed, "You know Zsofia embodies the mastery of the best of both worlds. She wa...
  • Goodbye to Elephant Butte State Park
    Here's a photo of our site at South Monticello, where I got all the photos of the lizards.  It was getting really hot, and even though w...
  • Over the Moon!
    I am over-the-moon proud of my boy Vinny this month!  He and I were away from home for three weeks this month, visiting new places, doing ne...
  • Book Review: Maxi 's Secrets (deaf puppy, middle school, boy, blind friend, bullying)
    Maxi’s Secrets (Or, What You Can Learn From a Dog) , by Lynn Plourde (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2016, 263 pages, $18.99, grades 4-6) A Sleep...
  • Some thoughts on The Palms - to sell or not to sell
    I've been thinking a lot about The Palms lately. At this point I'm pretty settled in my new house. It's furnished, warm and comf...
  • Movie Review: A Fish Called Wanda (heist, comedy, London, Yorkies, Jamie Lee Curtis)
    A Fish Called Wanda (MGM, 108 minutes, rated R, 1988 – with Kevin Kline, John Cleese, and Jamie Lee Curtis) Question : Why is DogEvals writ...
  • Book Review: Buddy (dog, Katrina, New Orleans)
    Buddy, by M.H. Herlong (Puffin Books, 2012, 304 pages, $7.99 Kindle, ages 9 and up) “How Far Will a Boy go for a Dog He Loves?” (And the que...
  • Book Review: A Dog Called Hope (Labrador Retriever service dog, Texas, Air Force veteran)
    A Dog Called Hope: A Wounded Warrior and the Service Dog Who Saved Him,  by Jason Morgan and Damien Lewis* (Simon and Schuster, 2017, 324 pa...
  • Lake Havasu - Part 1 - Our Camp
    Okay, we're back, finally!  I have lots to post about and tons of photos.  When Katie and I left Quartzsite, we headed to Lake Havasu to...

Bài đăng nổi bật

May 31, 2019

White Dog had a touch of pride in her voice when she observed, "You know Zsofia embodies the mastery of the best of both worlds. She wa...

  • Trang chủ

Tìm kiếm Blog này

Được tạo bởi Blogger.

Copyright © Dog Pug | Powered by Blogger
Design by Hardeep Asrani | Blogger Theme by NewBloggerThemes.com | Distributed By Gooyaabi Templates