Dear TBR,
Shh! Yes, I know this isn’t horror! I’m taking a breather and moving into mystery-suspense for a day since the James Ponti book that I’ve had on hold with the library finally came in. Mr. Ponti’s debut middle grade was called DEAD CITY, and is about a girl who is part of a force policing the undead. However, I don’t consider zombies actually horror, (though this is a technicality based on my own inability to take them seriously), so I thought I’d dip in a toe into Ponti’s oeuvre beginning with City Spies. It was a great choice, but now that I’ve read it, I KNOW I’ll be back for those zombies…
CITY SPIES begins with Sara Martinez meeting with her lawyer. She’s about to go to court, and has a sinking feeling that the full juvenile hall sentence she fears is going to be handed down to her. She hadn’t intended to do something as bad as everything thinks she did – she was trying to help one of the other foster kids in her home, but now it’s too late – her court-appointed lawyer thinks she’s a lowlife, and she’s in big, big trouble…
…until the door opens and in steps a nattily dressed man in a patterned tie who says HE’S her lawyer, and that there’s been a mistake. Before Sara knows what hit her, she’s trusting this stranger who says to call him “Mother,” and driving away from the courthouse – in a limo, no less. Soon, Sara’s being given choices she’s never had before. It turns out that her skills with hacking computers might be useful – vital – to Mother and his crew. Sara has three weeks to get herself up to speed so she can help them – and MI6 – out with an actual mission.
This being a first spy novel, it’s not all rainbows and happily-ever-afters. Sara’s not a trusting person, and it turns out, neither are the other kids who work with Mother, and it takes a bit of adjustment for them and for her to get along. Additionally, being a spy requires a lot more of Sara than just sitting at the computer and hacking companies. It’s hard work – running, climbing – ugh – and trying to learn to use sleight-of-hand, self-defense, and logic. And people come with their own baggage and emotions – especially the spy who was once a part of their crew, and then abruptly left them, but Sara is determined to use this chance she’s been given to do better – if not just for Mother, to whom she owes her freedom, but for herself.
What I loved most about this book is that it’s SMART. It’s so tightly plotted that James Ponti might be forgiven for not weighing in as heavily with the social-emotional side of the characters, yet the emotional resonance is really there. We’re taken back in time in a few chapters to ground us in back story – learning about Mother through the eyes of the other young operatives whom he has recruited. Mother’s story is tragic – and baffling – and the pull of the next case will be enough for readers to continue to want to know what happens next. Now I know why people are James Ponti superfans, and I look forward to reading all of his backlist.
Fresh onto the TBR:
- The Bright and the Blue, Amy Yorke
- Cast in Atonement, Michelle Sagara
Until the next book, 📖
Still A Constant Reader
