About This Book:
In the twelfth book in Stuart Gibbs’s New York Times bestselling Spy School series, superspy middle schooler Ben Ripley gets lost on a perilous mission with one of his greatest enemies.
Ben Ripley is recruited for a top secret mission to bring down his nemesis, Murray Hill, once and for all. But when things go horribly wrong, Ben ends up lost in an extremely dangerous wilderness with Murray—and confronting a new, devious enemy—with none of his friends to help him. Now, Ben must figure out how to survive and deduce what evil plan his new enemy is plotting in time to thwart it.
*Review Contributed By Connie Reid, Staff Reviewer*
That Elephant Scene!
Spy School Goes Wild sees Ben and his teammates emerging as competent agents in training after being forged in the icy boot camp of Alaska under Cyrus Hale’s tutelage. This allows Ben to survive a harrowing solo mission of staying alive when old nemesis and the family of old nemesis collude to kidnap him and whisk him off to the wilds of Africa.
Stuart Gibbs nails a truly disgusting scene when Ben and Murray Hill are faced with the decision to use fresh elephant poop to stay hydrated. Further research shows that is a real way to survive but good luck listening or reading the description without struggling! Sprinkled throughout are interesting details about the local wildlife, poaching, diamond mines, and the dependency on tourism to fuel local economies to make this story educational as well as entertaining.
The ending is nicely wrapped up which could feel like a series ending. However, the last redacted letter and Murray Hill’s propensity to escape allow a credible possibility of another book coming. This time with a highly competent team of young spies that are more than ready to face whatever happens next.
Gibb’s blend of facts and fiction, humor, and disgusting scenarios involving poop is on point for this latest addition to the Spy School series. I highly recommend it to Middle-Grade audiences and fans of action and adventure spy stories.
