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The S.P.Y. Girl Academy #1
The Truth About the Spy
Double life, double trouble.
Fifteen-year-old Olive is a top-secret agent for the S.P.Y. Academy. She's used to living a double life, juggling her high school studies with dangerous missions. But when she accidentally involves her best friend, Kitty, in one of her assignments, Olive's two worlds collide in the worst possible way.
Desperate to make things right, Olive sets out to fix her mistake and protect Kitty at all costs. But she soon she finds herself caught in a web of lies and deceit. With her agency on her tail and her best friend's trust hanging in the balance, Olive must decide which is more important: her duty as a spy or her loyalty to her friend.
With time running out, can Olive find a way to outsmart her enemies and win back Kitty's trust before it's too late. Or will the smallest mistake cost Olive everything. The Truth About the Spy is a heart-pounding YA tale of espionage, trusting yourself, and the high price of secrets.
Fifteen-year-old Olive is a top-secret agent for the S.P.Y. Academy. She's used to living a double life, juggling her high school studies with dangerous missions. But when she accidentally involves her best friend, Kitty, in one of her assignments, Olive's two worlds collide in the worst possible way.
Desperate to make things right, Olive sets out to fix her mistake and protect Kitty at all costs. But she soon she finds herself caught in a web of lies and deceit. With her agency on her tail and her best friend's trust hanging in the balance, Olive must decide which is more important: her duty as a spy or her loyalty to her friend.
With time running out, can Olive find a way to outsmart her enemies and win back Kitty's trust before it's too late. Or will the smallest mistake cost Olive everything. The Truth About the Spy is a heart-pounding YA tale of espionage, trusting yourself, and the high price of secrets.
168 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 9, 2023
6 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 20, 2023
This was a cute little book about a young spy going through challenges of mixing spy life and real life.
I like the idea of the story; and I enjoyed the characters. As a middle grader or even older elementary I would have plowed through this type of book, just like I plowed through The Babysitters Club.
The only issue I had reading this was that I couldn't identify how old these characters are. At times it seemed like they are middle grade (7-8th) and at other times young high school. I felt this was more related to dialogue and situational conversations than anything else.
The other thing is that the author indicates these girls have curves. Yet if they wear pig-tail braids and a sweater she implies they look younger? Usually that can't hide curves and pig-tails make them more apparent. Again...this contributes to my disconnect on the age of the characters. Same, same for the cover. The cover is a clear teenager....not a skinny mini (which I applaud)....but again once you get those curves you tend to look older not younger. I would have been more on board with the character pretending to act her age...or act dumb...or act older than she was as it implys savvy-ness. But the theory of if I dress cute ...I look younger...it just doesn't work after a certain stage.
Also - cover....someone photo shopped those legs. Try and get your legs in that position. There is no way to get that silhouette. If your feet are far apart like that your thighs have to be in contact....or if you have the thighs apart your feet have to be much closer.
As an adult I definately have some questions on how girls are portrayed here. But similarly, as a middle grader I wouldn't have noticed and would have just swimmed through the story as a break from life.
A solid 3 star read.
Thank you to NetGalley and GCMW publications for an ARC of this book.
I like the idea of the story; and I enjoyed the characters. As a middle grader or even older elementary I would have plowed through this type of book, just like I plowed through The Babysitters Club.
The only issue I had reading this was that I couldn't identify how old these characters are. At times it seemed like they are middle grade (7-8th) and at other times young high school. I felt this was more related to dialogue and situational conversations than anything else.
The other thing is that the author indicates these girls have curves. Yet if they wear pig-tail braids and a sweater she implies they look younger? Usually that can't hide curves and pig-tails make them more apparent. Again...this contributes to my disconnect on the age of the characters. Same, same for the cover. The cover is a clear teenager....not a skinny mini (which I applaud)....but again once you get those curves you tend to look older not younger. I would have been more on board with the character pretending to act her age...or act dumb...or act older than she was as it implys savvy-ness. But the theory of if I dress cute ...I look younger...it just doesn't work after a certain stage.
Also - cover....someone photo shopped those legs. Try and get your legs in that position. There is no way to get that silhouette. If your feet are far apart like that your thighs have to be in contact....or if you have the thighs apart your feet have to be much closer.
As an adult I definately have some questions on how girls are portrayed here. But similarly, as a middle grader I wouldn't have noticed and would have just swimmed through the story as a break from life.
A solid 3 star read.
Thank you to NetGalley and GCMW publications for an ARC of this book.
April 26, 2023
I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was pumped to get this ARC. I love teen spy books that are just so addicting to me. That being said I think I was too excited. I get that this is the uncorrected copy BUT....
So this book I think is a remake of a book she originally wrote for the 11-12-year-old range. That being said she made them all a bit older. The main character is 15 her friend turned 16 in it. But yet she is part of a 5th-grade graduation....pretty sure there is no way she would pass for that age and another agent also. Then at one point, her best friend is making farting noises in the bathroom to make the principal go away....no 16 year old would do that. Oh, and they were doing that so two 3rd graders wouldn't get in trouble regarding playing with paint. I mean the writing is good overall but she needs to go back to the board and correct these major errors in age and things. In another part, she put on a kid sweater and drew on freckles to appear way younger also. Again if the age had been kept the same as the original I would have been more invested.
That being said I really can only give it two and a half stars and will round it down to two just because though the writing was good I only finished it because it was a SUPER quick read and I just wanted to see where it actually played out. Plus the synopsis of this book does not fully match. If I were the publisher/author I would go back and update these inconsistencies to make is such a better book.
I was pumped to get this ARC. I love teen spy books that are just so addicting to me. That being said I think I was too excited. I get that this is the uncorrected copy BUT....
So this book I think is a remake of a book she originally wrote for the 11-12-year-old range. That being said she made them all a bit older. The main character is 15 her friend turned 16 in it. But yet she is part of a 5th-grade graduation....pretty sure there is no way she would pass for that age and another agent also. Then at one point, her best friend is making farting noises in the bathroom to make the principal go away....no 16 year old would do that. Oh, and they were doing that so two 3rd graders wouldn't get in trouble regarding playing with paint. I mean the writing is good overall but she needs to go back to the board and correct these major errors in age and things. In another part, she put on a kid sweater and drew on freckles to appear way younger also. Again if the age had been kept the same as the original I would have been more invested.
That being said I really can only give it two and a half stars and will round it down to two just because though the writing was good I only finished it because it was a SUPER quick read and I just wanted to see where it actually played out. Plus the synopsis of this book does not fully match. If I were the publisher/author I would go back and update these inconsistencies to make is such a better book.
April 21, 2023
2.5 stars (2 stars for the writing/plot + 0.5 stars for being about spies)
i might have some bias rating this just because it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack trying to find a ya spy book 😩 when i saw the opportunity to get an arc for this book, i RAN bc the only thing i like more than teen spies is teen girl spies bc they’re superior 💁🏾♀️
i’m going to be completely honest and say that i was a bit letdown by this book bc the actual spy work began at around 50%. before i finished, i thought that the author making the first book in the series about olive saving her friend was a bit strange since it’s usually a middle book type of plot but by the end i totally understood the decision.
in terms of characters, i’m not sure how to feel about olive and kitty as of now. they both seem very naive to me, but i hope their intelligence becomes more apparent in future books.
also, there were some questionable things that didn’t make sense to me. for example, how did olive get off scoff free for telling her friend that she’s a CIA junior agent? as a reader, i understand why she did it but i’m just confused as to how the Director of the CIA didn’t give af 🫤
overall, i didn’t enjoy this book as much as i expected to but i will be reading the next book
thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an advanced copy!
i might have some bias rating this just because it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack trying to find a ya spy book 😩 when i saw the opportunity to get an arc for this book, i RAN bc the only thing i like more than teen spies is teen girl spies bc they’re superior 💁🏾♀️
i’m going to be completely honest and say that i was a bit letdown by this book bc the actual spy work began at around 50%. before i finished, i thought that the author making the first book in the series about olive saving her friend was a bit strange since it’s usually a middle book type of plot but by the end i totally understood the decision.
in terms of characters, i’m not sure how to feel about olive and kitty as of now. they both seem very naive to me, but i hope their intelligence becomes more apparent in future books.
also, there were some questionable things that didn’t make sense to me. for example, how did olive get off scoff free for telling her friend that she’s a CIA junior agent? as a reader, i understand why she did it but i’m just confused as to how the Director of the CIA didn’t give af 🫤
overall, i didn’t enjoy this book as much as i expected to but i will be reading the next book
thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an advanced copy!
May 7, 2023
The truth about the spy
I've given this 2 stars because I am aware that I am twice the age that this book seems to be meant for. I'm sure 12 year olds would love it. It's a quick read with spy antics and fart jokes, a concept they'll probably enjoy.
I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, Julie Catherine, and the publisher for the opportunity to read the book.
Objectively, though, I've read other young end of YA spy books, and I liked those better. This book features a special prison that child spies are sent to because countries don't want to hurt kids. It's a nice idea but significantly lowers the stakes of any missions.
The spies also clearly aren't trained well. They seem to graduate at 12, then go out on missions, and our main character gets caught. A lot! Plus, she tells her friend about it with no second thought despite being told someone can make her a cover story. If I'm going to read a book about spies, I want them to actually be good at it.
I've given this 2 stars because I am aware that I am twice the age that this book seems to be meant for. I'm sure 12 year olds would love it. It's a quick read with spy antics and fart jokes, a concept they'll probably enjoy.
I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, Julie Catherine, and the publisher for the opportunity to read the book.
Objectively, though, I've read other young end of YA spy books, and I liked those better. This book features a special prison that child spies are sent to because countries don't want to hurt kids. It's a nice idea but significantly lowers the stakes of any missions.
The spies also clearly aren't trained well. They seem to graduate at 12, then go out on missions, and our main character gets caught. A lot! Plus, she tells her friend about it with no second thought despite being told someone can make her a cover story. If I'm going to read a book about spies, I want them to actually be good at it.
April 17, 2023
Loved this book. Am going to buy the whole series. I enjoyed reading this just as much as Shannon Greenland’s books. Great story, great characters, great writing and pace. Highly recommend
I received a free review copy from NetGalley.
I received a free review copy from NetGalley.
August 13, 2023
This was a really cute middle-grade read, perfect for spy loving kids. I wouldn't class it as YA because, to me, that implies a book should be able to appeal to 13 years all the way to 18 years, and this definitely sits right at the bottom of this age bracket. But it would also be suitable for upper primary aged children looking to get into chapters books, so worth it if you're looking for a new series for a year 6/7 student.
This was a NetGalley review.
This was a NetGalley review.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews