I received this book at no cost from the publisher
City Spies by James PontiISBN: 1534414916
on March 1, 2020
Genres: Action & Adventure, Middle Grade, Mystery
Format: ARC
Goodreads

About The Book:
Title: CITY SPIES
Author: James Ponti
Pub. Date: March 10, 2020
Publisher: Aladdin
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, audiobook
Pages: 384
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
In this new series James Ponti brings together five kids from all over the world and transforms them into real-life spies.
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, Sara 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…
REVIEW
Sara Martinez hacks into the foster care to report her foster parents and comes away as the one in trouble. She ends up in juvenile detention and just when she expects to spend life behind bars (I know, dramatic . . .) when she is told she has a lawyer named Mother, who talks the judge into taking Sara to boarding school in England. Except that the school is actually a training facility for MI6.
The other kids in her group are just as talented as Sara and are training to be elite spies. Their mission is to enter a science competition in Paris and place high enough to stop an attack on the site. Sara proves herself worthy as a hacker and they save the day. This is everything a middle-grade book should be – fun, humorous, quick pacing and an easy to follow plot.
James Ponti was born in Italy, raised in Florida, and went to college in California. After receiving a degree in screenwriting from the USC Film School, he began a career writing and producing television shows for the likes of Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, Spike TV, History Channel, and Golf Channel. James loves writing, travel, and the Boston Red Sox. He lives with his family in Maitland, Florida.
Photo by Elena Seibert Photography.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads
Giveaway Details:
Three lucky winners will receive a finished copy of CITY SPIES, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
3/2/2020 | Little Red Reads | Review |
3/3/2020 | BookHounds YA | Review |
3/4/2020 | Book-Keeping | Review |
3/5/2020 | Nay’s Pink Bookshelf | Review |
3/6/2020 | YA Book Nerd | Review |
Week Two:
3/9/2020 | Wonder Struck | Review |
3/10/2020 | fictitious.fox | Review |
3/11/2020 | momfluenster | Review |
3/12/2020 | Two Points of interest | Review |
3/13/2020 | Savings in Seconds | Review |
I have a niece who would enjoy this one!
From your review, this is a book I will have fun while reading.
sounds like a fun one
This sounds like a book that would be a unique and enjoyable read.
The cover art will attract your young readers. I love a good MG story and this one sounds full of adventure. Thanks for writing and best wishes on the new release.
Love the excerpt of hacking with a twist.