City Spies

James Ponti — 2020

In this thrilling new series that Stuart Gibbs called “a must-read,” Edgar Award winner James Ponti brings together five kids from all over the world and transforms them into real-life spies—perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls. Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of time. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency. Operating out of a base in Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from various parts of the world. When they’re not attending the local boarding school, they’re honing their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t. Before she knows what she’s doing, Sarah is heading to Paris for an international youth summit, hacking into a rival school’s computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a villain…all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team. No one said saving the world was easy…

Reviews

Stella@els

Feb 7, 2025

city spies is one of the best middle grade series

Carissa @currancm

Mar 27, 2023

Five kids who have experienced rough starts to their lives and different traumas are recruited Sara to move to Scotland and join a secret MI-16 team. The newest team member is an American hacker who was facing time in the Juvenile Justice System but with the help of a MI-16 lead called Mother, her life is instantly changed. In less than 24 hours she is free and in Scotland to begin preparing for her first mission in Paris, Which is for an international youth summit. She will have to hack into someone's computer to prevent them from winning a million euros and Save the world with her new team. Can they do it?

Lynn Braden@ftbooklover

Oct 8, 2021

Sara had just blown the head off of the school statue in order to get back at the headmistress for locking her and another young student out on the roof for an entire night. In her jail cell, she is approached by someone calling himself Mother, telling her he is her lawyer even though he never went to law school or passed the bar. By the time he finishes conning the judge at her arraignment hearing, Sara is released and he gives her some choices including, coming to Scotland to work with his group of young spies attached to MI6. Leaving the series of disasters called foster homes seems like a no-brainer to Sara. City Spies incorporates all of the elements of a teen spy adventure, while making it more accessible to a middle grade audience. Each member of the young spy team is introduced, however briefly, as they chase a possible terrorist attack in Paris. There are some twists and turns, but nothing earth-shattering in this book. However, it is a very good set up for other stories yet to come in this series.