Recommended Ages: Gr. 5-7

Plot Summary: Ben is shocked to come home from school one day and find a CIA agent in his living room just waiting for him. It turns out, Ben was accepted to Spy School, which is a surprise because Ben didn't even apply. It takes just a moment for Ben to agree to leave that very day, after a brief explanation to his parents and best friend that he leaves immediately for a special "science and math school." No one can know the truth. From the first moment on campus, Ben has to prove that he can be a spy. He barely passes the first exam, which is a full blown "attack" as he enters the dorm. That night he has a real assassin show up in his locked room and he manages to survive that too. Who can he trust to sort through what is going on? Despite surviving, Erica tells him he's there as a pawn to attract some bad guys to campus. He's not happy about it but now he wants to prove that he really belongs. Will he survive? Will he prove himself?

Setting: Virginia and near DC

Characters:
Benjamin Ripley - exceptionally good at math and can multiple super large numbers immediately in his head and also has an internal clock
Mike Brezinski - Ben's best friend from his old school, not that nice to Ben and teases him about his new school and being a nerd, tries to one-up Ben
Murray Hill - first kid who is friendly to Ben at spy school, saves Ben from Chip
Alexander Hale - CIA agent who brought Ben to spy school
Erica Hale - Alexander's daughter, one of the best in the school, super attractive, sits by herself in the cafeteria reading but is very aware of everything that is happening, can kick some serious butt
Chip Schacter - the bully of the school who picks on Ben right away
Greg Hauser - Chips sidekick

Recurring Themes: life and death, assassin, survival, CIA, intelligence, good vs evil, trust, friendship, surprises

Controversial Issues:
pg 44 hellholes
pg 53 damn
pg 97, 229 ass

Personal Thoughts: This book is very engaging and exciting. I can see why it's often checked out. I don't like the swear words for younger kids and I really don't like that the presumed bad guys speak Arabic because it perpetuates racism. Otherwise, I like that a female kicks butt and there are a lot of surprises.

Genre: action/adventure, mystery

Pacing: fast
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

Spy school is pretty awesome ( )

8 - 12 y/o ( )

My kids (ages almost 11 and 9) loved this book! It was the perfect blend of humour and action. ( )

Little bit too cutesy for my taste although I though the premise was good. ( )