Review Detail

Ben Ripley has survived his semester at spy school after being used as bait to out a mole in the CIA during the events of the first Spy School book. However, the nice summer he expected to have at home with his parents and friend are upended when he learns he must attend a mandatory spy camp to learn survival skills.
His chances of continued survival dwindle further as he learns that the enemy organization, SPYDER, insists he work for them or he will be killed. Luckily, Erica Hale is determined to keep him safe and uncover the plot before his time is up.
Ben knows he isn’t the amazing spy that SPYDER could possibly want so bad, so the whole time he faces self-doubt as to why they would be after him.
Erica’s father, the esteemed Agent Nathan Hale, blunders his way again into putting Ben in more danger. However, Erica has finally had enough and forces her father to acknowledge that she is the better agent and he is a fraud.
In a surprising twist of events, Ben finally realizes why SPYDER wanted him and is left with Nathan and his fellow students as the best hope of saving a legendary agent and Erica. Nathan grows as a character as he works to help Ben save everyone.
Final Verdict: This humorous version of a spy novel for middle-grade readers is fun for the whole family. It kept us up late several nights because it was so hard to put down until the whole plot was uncovered. The main character and I were both wondering why he was important to SPYDER and the reveal was a satisfying plot twist. I am eagerly planning to read the rest of the series soon in anticipation of the tenth book’s publication.