City Spies is go-to reading for middle school and up

On average we read one book a year that runs. This is the descriptor we use when the book can’t be put down. The story that the author has put forth literally runs off of the page and into your imagination as fuel for what could be a perfect movie. Having said that, the book is almost always better, so be ahead of the curve and read City Spies by James Ponti. From the first two pages the book’s story runs into your mind with a credible, fun plot that has early teenagers as the main characters.  

It’s like Adventures In Babysitting, but with a worldwide spy association as the source of employment. If you didn’t like that film then it’s akin to the book that you always wanted to read as a middle school student, but could never find.  

If you’re unsure if the book is for you or your middle grade reader just take 30 seconds to read this snippet that’s on the back cover of City Spies. 

Boom. I read that blurb and was hooked. The book picks up on the promise of those paragraphs and is half a mile down the road with your imagination before you realize that you have to be up early the next morning.  

Brooklyn is a tween who has just been given that name by a mysterious man named Mother. He’s posing as her attorney in order to get her out of a hot family court issue. She’s a highly skilled computer hacker and he’s not your average charlatan.  

The first three chapters crackle with humor, fast dialogue, intrigue, adventure and wonder. It does all of this while merely setting up most of the main characters. There are minor introductions to the players and we get to know them as the book moves on. This is one of those books where it starts fast and you’re not sure what’s going on. However, rather than wonder about what you don’t know, you simply follow along and let the book connect the dots for you.  

The reading level for City Spies is upper elementary and up. Our 10 year-old read the book and loved it. My wife and I both read the book and loved it. It’s one of those rare books that’s age appropriate realism, while at the same time making readers want to believe in everything that our heroes do.

City Spies is fiction, but it takes place in real cities and has a very real feel to the book, at least from the perspective of middle school fans of adventure. The book will be done before you know it and you’ll be asking yourself when the next one comes out. This is great reading that fans of Spy School, Mrs. Smith’s Spy School or The Dark Deep will instantly love.