City Spies Series by James Ponti

City Spies is a fun, middle grades mystery series featuring undercover teen spies from around the world, each with a special talent.

City Spies Series by James Ponti. Aladdin.

• City Spies (2020). 378 pages.
• Golden Gate (2021). 432 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended For: Middle grades and up

When Sara is rescued from her trial—and her horrible foster family situation—she doesn’t ask too many questions of her rescuers. Anything is better than her previous living situation. But when she arrives in Scotland, at a castle, and learns that she really is in a school for undercover teen spies… well, that is something new. Even MI6 doesn’t know of their existence. Only “Mother,” the man in charge, and a handful of select operatives know that the teens are actually working for the government and not merely for the weather research station (the cover for the huge, old manor house). As City Spies progresses, the five kids must learn to work together and leverage their unique gifts to help stop the villain. Like many fun movies and TV shows of recent years (Ocean’s Eleven, Leverage to name two), this team features a hacker, a lock-pick, a master puzzle solver, and more, each of whom is critical to the team’s success.

In book 2, Golden Gate, Sara and her team are on a more personal mission: helping Mother recover his children and perhaps even his wife. His wife was also a British spy, but she’s been deep undercover for years, along with his children. The team helps defeat another nefarious plot along the way, and the ending of this book is truly touching.

City Spies is light, humorous, and fast-paced. It’s a great summer read option or recreational read for kids who love spy stories, mysteries, and teamwork. The interpersonal dynamics are a bit predictable, but the characters are each unique, from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and lovable in their own ways.

Considerations

• Readers: note the comments section for where this series seems to be heading; as always, we can only speak to the ones in a series that we’ve actually read.

Overall Rating: 3.25 out of 5

• Worldview/Moral Rating: 3.25 out of 5
• Literary/Artistic Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Read more about our ratings here.

Related Reading From Redeemed Reader

• A Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society is a similar story, although more complex in both plotting and reading level.
• A Resource: More Series Fiction for Tweens and Teens, perfect for curling up on a hot summer afternoon!
• A Resource: Have kids who love mysteries? Check out our most popular book list ever: Mystery Book List for Elementary, Tweens, and Teens

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