SPY GODDESS

This first in a new series introduces 15-year-old Rachel Buchanan, Beverly Hills princess gone bad, who turns to fighting evil. The first half of the story simply follows Rachel’s rebellion against her uncaring parents, which leads her into minor criminal activity. Then a judge sentences her to attend a strange school in Pennsylvania, where the school’s enigmatic principal, Mr. Kim, requires every student to learn Tae Kwan Do and take criminology classes. When Mr. Kim disappears, Rachel discovers a hidden, high-tech lair behind a secret door in his office. She enlists three other students to find him and uncovers an evil madman’s plot to rule the world. Though this begins as an interesting exploration of adolescent rebellion, it morphs into a trite fantasy. Despite the title, no shopping occurs in this installment. Catchy and designed to pull in the chick-lit (and Bond?) crowd, it’s a deceit of sorts; perhaps the ritual will emerge in later episodes, though by then it may be too late. (Fiction. 12-14)