The Squad: Killer Spirit

Reader reviewed by ReggieWrites

Three words: I LOVE TOBY. She is my idol. I admire her strong-willed,
sarcastic-snapping, down-to-earth self. The second book in The Squad, for me, is better than the first. I loved all the action and how Barnes made it totally unpredictable.
And this is coming from a spy junkie that can usually anticipate what
happens next. It was just so capricious and witty at the same time. I
loved it. It's cheerleading and espionage put together.

Killer Spirit
never got boring. Barnes did a fantastic job keeping it exciting and
fast-paced for the entire book. Even when The Squad wasn't on a
mission, there was usually some interesting conflict between Toby and
Jack, or Toby and a Squad member. I always looked forward to the
constant bickering of Jack and Toby.

Although I loved the writing and some
of the characters in this book, it still has it's weaker points. For
instance, I don't think that this would be a memorable read. It isn't a
book I'd remember two months from now. I didn't find it as unique or as
significant as the other books I've read. I found some of the
characters unoriginal and frustrating. Lots of them were common
stereotypes that one would expect from a YA book.


The Bottom
Line: Loved the action. Hated the stereotypes. It's Charlie's Angels
meet Bring it On. A good action and mystery thriller but not enough to
be distinctly significant. B+ :-)

Reader reviewed by Julie M. Prince

Bubbles is back and better than ever! Okay, so the ditzy cheerleader only makes a few cameos compared to the rest of the crew on The Squad, but she remains one of my favorite characters. Whats better than a stealthy contortionist when it comes to super-sleuthing?

Perhaps the martial arts black belt, computer hacking main character, Toby Klein.

No less funny than the first book in THE SQUAD series, Killer Spirit is everything that Perfect Cover promised it would be: a continuation of Tobys fantastic tale of cheerleader super-spies, told in the same sarcastically witty voice.

This time around, the stakes have been raised. Its up to The Squad to tail several suspicious figures who have appeared in Bayport. The mission, to see what these suspects are up to, takes a wrong turn and Toby finds herself on the wrong end of a devious, life-threatening plan that must be contained at all costs.

As if bullet-proof bras and lethal iPods werent enough, the newest items added to the squads arsenal include blow-dart spirit sticks and throwing star spirit pins. This is what happens when authors let imaginations roam free and just have fun with their readers. Laughter ensues.

Reader reviewed by Rin

In the second book of the hilarious Squad series, Toby's back and still trying to figure out exactly WHY she's a cheerleader.

Another mission has turned up. The Big Guys have the Squad tracking some certain individuals in Bayport. Except, one of the missions go wrong and some of the team almost dies.

Not to mention, someone may be on to who the Squad really are.

Also, the Squad's "real lives" are dramafilled as well. It's time to pick the Homecoming Queen and it appears as if Toby's actually in the running. It might even take some rigging to ensure that she doesn't win...

Hilarious and fun, this sequel is not to be missed!

Reader reviewed by the book muncher

Killer Spirit continues right where Perfect Cover left off. Only now, there are higher stakes for the mission and more consequences for Toby, especially if she wins Homecoming Queen. Top that off with boy troubles and you're in for one heck of a ride.

I also liked how Jennifer Lynn Barnes kept the story unique. It may be that I have only read a handful of spy books, but I felt that The Squad series was special, which most likely had to do with the cheerleading part as previously stated. I felt that the missions that Toby and the Squad had to go on were fresh and not at all repetitive, and that is saying something for the girl (me) who can usually guess what happens next in spy books. I was totally surprised by the ending in Killer Spirit. Although the action never got dangerous to the point of multiple gunshots and catfights, the plot was exciting the whole way through.

I highly recommend this book for all fans of spy books, especially lover of the Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter and the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz.