Book Review: Spy School British Invasion

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Book received at no charge to facilitate review.

Thirteen-year-old Benjamin Ripley and his friends find themselves regrouping while stranded in Mexico trying to catch the leaders of SPYDER. The plan: To go rogue from the CIA and team up with the British M16. Operation Tiger Shark takes the spies to Britain in search of the elusive Mr. E. But first, their new found key leads them to a storage space under the British Museum. Unfortunately, a mishap during their library search ends up with damage to priceless British artifacts which puts Ben and his group at the top of British enemy list.

For a time, the group hides out in a secret room in the Tower Bridge until they break their way into the estate of the brilliant hacker, Orion, who helps them encrypt the information on a flash drive that gives them the coordinates of Mr. E's secret hideout. Erica's dad, Alexander, pilots Orion's helicopter as a back up plan while the rest of the crew, Erica, her mom, Catherine, Murray, Mike, Zoe and Ben set out through Britain to their final destination of Paris to bust the SPYDER spy ring.

The action never stops with the Spy School kids and grown ups. Be prepared for a wild ride through Britain and Paris as well as some double crossing antics. A fun addition to the Spy School Novels.

Rating ★★★★☆

Publishing Information

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (April 30, 2019)

ISBN:  9781534424708

Ages 8-12

Book Review: The Revenge of Magic by James Riley

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Book received at no charge to facilitate review.

A vacation day visit to Washington, DC by Fort Fitzgerald and his father ends tragically with his father's kidnapping by a monstrous creature who breaks through the earth. 

Fort struggles to make sense of his father's disappearance and vows to avenge his father's death. Six months later, a man named Dr. Opps shows up to his aunt's house and invites him to the Oppenheimer School to learn magic. Fort jumps at the chance with visions of Hogwarts running through his mind. He quickly discovers the school is a government run military school and nothing like Hogwarts with guards everywhere.

The school is full of secrets and Fort wants to solve the mysteries laid at his feet, like why everyone thinks he's trying to destroy the school and who the girl he sees when he sleeps that seems to take over his mind. The only problem is that Fort is given three days to master three spells in three days or he will be sent home. He learns it's nearly an impossible task but is he up to it? Will he be able to find out what's hiding within his new school before attacks? And what is with the books of magic discovered around the world next to bones of dragons? Who will have the power to use the magic and will Fort's friends, Jia, Rachel and Cyrus be able to help Fort?

While the idea of military magic academy is an intriguing take, the book lacks the magic of a strong protagonist that we see in the Harry Potter novels. Since the novel mentions Hogwarts, it's fair to compare the two and the reader will probably not connect as much to Fort as they do Harry. However, older middle grade readers who don't mind wading through the length of the novel, will find some fascinating tidbits of magical information.

Rating ★★★★☆

Publishing Information

Publisher: Aladdin (March 5, 2019)
ISBN: 978148148577
Ages: 8-12
Pages: 416