Spy High: Mission One

Reader reviewed by Dominique

Potential spies are ‘collected’ and sent to Spy High to be trained in stealth, hand-to-hand combat, weapons training, and other skills used by spies. Bond team consists of several different kids—varying from a computer wiz, to a jester, a girl with a mysterious past, and more! However skilled they are, they must work together to complete the Stromfeld program, or be casts out, after a memory-wipe. With arguments and rivalries, Bond team fails the first few tries, and soon ends up to be the only team that hasn’t passed the program yet. They have gone through and adventure or two together, and the Stormfeld program is upon them for one last time—can they do it?

This is the first book to a great series! Adventure, suspense, action, teamwork, and friendship all come together in this book, bringing Spy High alive!

Reader reviewed by librariane

Imagine being snatched out of a crummy life and being given a new start. Imagine having your skills watched, analyzed and evaluated, and then imagine it being determined that you would be perfect for Deveraux Academy. This is exactly what happened for the six members of Bond TeamSenior Tutor Grant handpicked the members of this team to attend Spy High, where they learn to become undercover agents and save the world. Problems arise, though, as member personalities clash and personal struggles affect the outcome of the entire team. But Mr. Deveraux, founder of the Academy, decides what the team needs is more than a simulation, and sends them to what could be their death.

This is the first book of a rather cheesy series, but it is a nice change of pace from all those fantasy novels being published. The character development felt stilted and unrealespecially since it is a series and they dont have to like each other by the end of the book. The training was neat, but not explored in depth enough for my liking, and the author pairs everyone up in the end, which is also a bit cliché. The plot line wasnt anything new, but there were a few nice twists on the obvious; for example, the school is located underground, while above ground is a hologram of a more usual school for the public to see. Overall, I was disappointed with this novel, but do think it will continue to be popular with teens.