This clever spy adventure features a likable hero and bursts with enough film references to satisfy all but the most...
When 16-year-old Spencer’s cousins decide to investigate their mysterious grandfather, Spencer is not sure he wants any part of it. But when his brother, Bunny, is kidnapped by a radical political faction from the tiny backward nation of Pianvia, he quickly finds he is involved, like it or not.
For Spencer, a budding filmmaker who harbors a secret desire to be James Bond, the cloak-and-dagger spy world is a perfect fit. However, he quickly finds out that being a spy is a lot harder than he thought. With his parents away, it is up to Spencer, his crush-worthy friend, AmberLea, and her infuriatingly perfect friend Toby to find the missing Pianvian anthem, save a teeny-bopper pop star from a would-be assassin and rescue Bunny, all while trying not to get arrested or even killed. Spencer’s story is one of seven linked tales, each following a different cousin on his quest to find the truth about their grandfather. Part 007 and part Mr. Bean, Spencer is the perfect combination of nerdy secret agent and bumbling, lovesick teen. Surprising twists, dangerous foes and a generous helping of mac ’n’ cheese make for a suspenseful mystery with a hint of romance.
This clever spy adventure features a likable hero and bursts with enough film references to satisfy all but the most hard-core movie buffs. (Mystery. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4598-0549-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
If it were a Golden Age comic, this tale of ridiculous science, space dogs and humanoid aliens with flashlights in their hands might not be bad. Alas... Number Four is a fugitive from the planet Lorien, which is sloppily described as both "hundreds of lightyears away" and "billions of miles away." Along with eight other children and their caretakers, Number Four escaped from the Mogadorian invasion of Lorien ten years ago. Now the nine children are scattered on Earth, hiding. Luckily and fairly nonsensically, the planet's Elders cast a charm on them so they could only be killed in numerical order, but children one through three are dead, and Number Four is next. Too bad he's finally gained a friend and a girlfriend and doesn't want to run. At least his newly developing alien powers means there will be screen-ready combat and explosions. Perhaps most idiotic, "author" Pittacus Lore is a character in this fiction—but the first-person narrator is someone else entirely. Maybe this is a natural extension of lightly hidden actual author James Frey's drive to fictionalize his life, but literature it ain't. (Science fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-196955-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
