Stuart Gibbs

Twelve-year-old Ben Ripley loves playing spy games on the CIA's website, convinced that one day he'll be recruited, though his parents and even his best friend Mike think it's a waste of time. However, one day, Alexander Hale sweeps in and whisks Ben off to the Academy of Espionage (a.k.a. Spy School), where he's immediately thrown into danger. A bit bumbling and unsure who to trust, he's taken under the wing of brilliant third-year and legacy student Erica Hale, who's much smarter than her show more golden-boy dad. A number of characters employ the "hide in plain sight and pretend to be something else," including an apparently doddering old professor and the secret mole, who's a double agent posing as a careless slacker. I did not read the original text but the graphic novel adaptation is zippy, clever, quick, and high-stakes - very appealing and fun! show less

Shark infested waters, rock monsters, and blood-thirsty minotaurs are only a glimpse at the danger awaiting a not-so-talented knight (who still tries his best because being a simple peasant stinks).

Note: This is the second book in the series but works very well as a stand-alone.

After his first adventure as a knight (although he's only a knight-in-training), Tim is kind of settling down into the usual training, but it's rough, which is mostly not his fault. When he accidentally falls asleep show more during guard duty, the enemy sneaks in with evil plans of revenge. Soon, Princess Grace is in danger, again, and only Tim and his friends can save her...or supposedly, since the dangers are greater than even a trained knight could deal with.

This is an enjoyable, silly, danger-filled, and easy read. Told from Tim's point of view, every moment comes across in an honest and open manner with loads of sarcasm, self-doubt, hesitation, and yet, massive amounts of bravery. Tim speaks to the reader, not only connecting the emotions and adventures with personal flair, but 'knows' the reader's modern life and explains things along the way...in a humorous manner. In this way, Tim draws into his world, comes across as an average kid who's doing the best he can, and will have readers feeling as if they are right there with him (I'd say wanting to join him, but I'm pretty sure none want to face the dangers he does).

Illustrations are sprinkled through-out the story, breaking up the text and adding to the fun of the tale. Reluctant readers won't find it overwhelming and will also enjoy the slightly larger font and spacing to help reading ease. Still, the author does build in heavier vocabulary. Tim is more than happy to explain the meaning of the words as he battles monsters or faces the villain, and while it might break the story flow, that's exactly the point, since it melds right in with the humor and snark.

This is a fun tale with tons of humor and even heart. It teaches a bit about knighthood and the time period, builds word knowledge, holds a nice message, and all of that with non-stop humor, tense and dangerous scenes, and oodles-and-gobs of imagination. show less

Adventure meets animals, mystery, zoology, and even ecological themes as well as enough tension to make it fun.

Teddy's parents work and live at FunJungle. When fireworks and a kangaroo collide, the entire surrounding forest and employee housing goes down in flames, although the park remains fine. While his parents will sleep and live in the office until new homes are built, Teddy takes his friend up on the offer to spend time at her mother's friend's house in California along with the head show more doctor of FunJungle. While there, a whale explodes all over the beach...and the mystery begins.

While this is the 8th book in the series, it's the first one I've picked up. And that wasn't a problem. The tale can be read as a stand-alone.

This was a nice balance of adventure, fun, friendship, mystery, and information, too. Teddy and Summer work well together, but as with real friends, do have moments where they understand each other better than others. It creates a natural relationship and makes the two easy to root for as they solve the mystery and deal with other issues.

I do enjoy the animal twist and added information this series includes. Teddy and Summer know their way around creatures/animals, which allows a smooth addition of facts and information without ever feeling as if it's being purposely pushed into the tale. It just flows right in. The ecology side isn't any different. Modern concerns about the environment weave into the mystery and experiences smoothly...like Teddy collecting trash while walking through exploded whale guts along the beach (sounds a little strange but it works).

While there is this learning goodness, it's the quick-paced adventure, which makes this enjoyable to read. Something is always happening, and it's hard to see what's coming next. Not only does Teddy have to figure out what's happening with the whale and the disappearing beach, but even the other characters have their own personalities and problems. There's family, relationships and friendship, too. The villain was also well-placed, and while not carrying quite as much depth, offered a worthy adventure for Teddy to work with.

It's a smooth read packed with information and excitement, and I'm looking forward to see what will come next (and I'll be heading back to see what other adventures Teddy has already had). I received an ARC and really enjoyed this tale. show less

A spy school tale, where 12-year-old Ben Ripley is invited to a CIA training academy. Things are not what they seem, and he is soon involved in continuous danger, in the company of a girl who is far ahead of him in spying skills.

It has a lot of action and twists, although we do not get much chance to enjoy everyday life at the spy school and bonding with other students. Everything it's fast-paced. The writing is quite good, and Gibbs have a tongue-in-cheek way of telling the story, in first show more person from Ben's point of view, that is occasionally rather funny. I also liked how Ben is always out of his depth, although he is not at all stupid.

I enjoyed the humor, and you could argue that it's a good thing that a story with such an outlandish premise doesn't take itself too seriously, but perhaps that's something that didn't work so well for me. It's just a matter of taste, but that kind of thing lowers the stakes for me, and makes it seem more unrealistic. An example of a series with a similar premise that nevertheless manages to seem relatively realistic and serious is the CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore, which I recommend.

Nevertheless, this is a quick, entertaining, well-written story. show less