Review Detail

Bridget Wilder #3: Live Free, Spy Hard (Bridget Wilder Series)

Middle Grade Fiction 178

Protect the Presidents' Children

June 18, 2017 (Updated: July 01, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Bridget irrepressibly goes from catastrophe to catastrophe, utilizing nanomarbles, deep fried Mars bars and Cheerminators to further her goals. Since Bridget has been learning spy techniques, she doesn't have to rely on the gadgets quite as much, although it never hurts to have an Uber account.

Carter Strike and Irina don't play as large a role in this volume, except that Bridget's mother remains very irritated by Irina's dashing, exotic style. Carter does save the day from time to time, and is always helpful is smoothing things over with Bridget's family. Jamie and the presidential family are an interesting addition, and adds Bridget Wilder to the list of children who are secret agents protecting the presidents' children, just like Bradford's Connor Reeves, and Jones' Clayton Stone.

This walks the line between humorous and goofy beautifully, and should be a popular choice with both fans of Carter's Gallagher Girls and Rylander's Codename Zero.

Good Points

Bridget really tries to be more like her perfect cheerleader sister, Natalie, but it's hard when you are secretly working as a spy and occasionally have to step out without explanation to, say, save a lot of restaurant patrons from being poisoned. When Natalie is chosen to be the face of a new campaign by the president's wife, Bridget manages to save people from a mutant insect attack... but also get fire extinguisher foam all over the first lady. Jocelyn Brennan isn't pleased when (using her suspension as an excuse to her unaware parents) Bridget is assigned to impersonate the Jamie, the presidential daughter, who has been uncooperative with the campaign. Using nanomask technology and a wig, Bridget is a convincing Jamie. She is almost too convincing when she manages to slip and take a tumble just like the first daughter has done in the past. This infuriates Jamie, but Bridget manages to not only repair her reputation by staging a spontaneous dance routine at another event, but even bonds with Jamie over their love of the boy band L4E. When Jamie goes missing, Bridget is easy to blame. With the help of new annoyance Adam Pacific (and even DaleTookey), she sets out to uncover a major national scandal that involves presidential candidate Morgan Font without her parents realizing why she is gone.