Agent Angus

by K.L. Denman

Angus and his best buddy, Shahid, share a love of science and their robot, Gordon. But recently, the artistic Ella Eckles has had a peculiar effect on Angus. When a stink bomb at the school provides a chance for him to talk to her, Angus claims to share her interest in reading facial expressions and declares his ambition to become a crime-solving mentalist. He impresses Ella by identifying the stink bomber, but fails to mention he witnessed the kid setting off the bomb. When Ella's treasured sketchbook is stolen, she asks Angus to find the thief. Shahid thinks Angus should confess that he's not a mentalist, but Angus is certain he can learn to read people and recover Ella's sketchbook. He asks Shahid to help him investigate the suspects and, equipped with rearview sunglasses and an informant who lurks in the washroom, the duo bungles their way through a series of hilarious encounters.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Mystery

121 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

When you accidentally enter a giveaway for a book that's written in Swedish and then win...

Whoops.

[Christina Saad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my life from the start. I have no idea how to describe the emotional roller coaster this book has put me through, From sobbing ,my eyes out on my bathroom floor, to laughing in the middle of class. My mom used to read this to me when i was a kid. I'm 43 and she still reads to me. I love this book, K L Denman is a genius and a master of his craft. Definitely in my top 3 reads. <3 <3 <3

[Deena Abutaha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agent Angus is a cute book and I really enjoyed it. It has a great lesson on being honest with others especially the ones you care about.
For more of my review visit
https://mlinamman.blogspot.com/2021/0...

[Sara Jasinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book... easy to read and a little surprise ending!

[arshiaa]

Erm, this book was interesting. Found it somewhere and began to read it along with three other friends. Overall, nice book. This was the stepping stone for my sister's vocabulary, so yay.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it a very boring book. Did not like it.

[Tyra]

it is an interesting book. But i don't remember it

[Mallory Clawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angus usually spends all of his time with his best friend, Shahid, doing experiments and working on their robot. He has always had a crush on an artsy girl at school named Ella. The book starts with the school being evacuated because of a stink bomb. While outside, Ella finally comes over and talks to Angus. She shows him her sketchbook and tells him how she is interested in drawing people and their expressions. Angus tells Ella a white lie that his hobby is reading people’s faces, too. Then, when Ella loses her sketchbook, she asks Angus for help finding it. Since he can read facial expressions so well, he is sure to find the culprit, right? The story follows Angus and Shahid as they spy and try to find the missing sketchbook.

This book talks about white lies and the consequences that come with telling them. The story follows Angus through his daily struggles with friends, trying to fit in, and the repercussions of telling a lie. I would say that this book is appropriate for fifth graders. It is a little more advance, yet still a quick read. I would imagine that fifth grade boys looking to read a shorter mystery about a boy similar in age would enjoy this book. It would also be appropriate for a whole-class read aloud. The story would keep students engaged. You could incorporate a writing activity where students would predict what they thought was going to happen in the story and guess who stole the sketchbook. I remember my fifth grade teacher reading aloud a similar book to my class. Each day we would have to predict who we thought the culprit was. It was a fun activity that I remember enjoying.

[Sarai]

There were no surprises to be had for this reader, but for the target audience there will be humor and maybe a few surprises.

Book Description
Publication Date: April 1, 2012 | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Orca Currents

Angus and his best buddy, Shahid, share a love of science and their robot, Gordon. But recently, the artistic Ella Eckles has had a peculiar effect on Angus. When a stink bomb at the school provides a chance for him to talk to her, he claims to share her interest in reading facial expressions and declares his ambition to become a crime-solving mentalist. He impresses Ella by identifying the stink bomber, but fails to mention he witnessed a scrawny kid setting off the bomb. When Ella's treasured sketchbook is stolen, she asks Angus to find the thief. Shahid thinks Angus should confess that he's not a mentalist, but Angus is certain he can learn to read people and recover Ella's sketchbook. He asks Shahid to help him investigate the suspects: Gaga Girl; the art teacher, Mr. Wilder; and finally, "scrawny kid." Equipped with rearview sunglasses and an informant who lurks in the washroom, the duo bungles their way through a series of encounters that alarm Shahid and provide Angus with some unfamiliar exercise.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

When fate places Angus next to his crush, Ella Eckles, when the school is evacuated due to a stink bomb, he uses it to his advantage. To try and get closer to Ella, he lies about being interested in facial expressions like her and even says he’d like to be a mentalist, like the detectives on television. This works until Ella’s beloved sketchbook is stolen and she asks Angus to use his abilities to solve the crime. Instead of coming clean to Ella, Angus ropes his best friend Shahid into helping him figure out the guilty culprit. This leads to the two pseudo-detectives bumbling along with comedic results.

Like most Orca novels, reluctant readers will enjoy this fast-paced mystery and interesting characters. This book’s reading level is 2.7. The story is a bit young for my high school students, but will appeal to middle school readers.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angus is thrilled when a stink bomb at school causes an evacuation and he is given an opportunity to talk to Ella – the girl he has liked for eons, at least 5 months... She is an artist and is very interested in facial expressions. Angus, in an attempt to give them common ground, lies and says that he is also very interested in expressions and has hopes to become a mentalist. When Ella's sketchbook is stolen the next day, Ella asks Angus to use his mentalist abilities to figure out who stole it.

An Orca Currents book that should appeal to middle and early high school boys. Funny, but realistic characters with an engaging mystery and a plot twist that savvy readers will see coming.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

High interest, low level, should appeal to boys gr. 5-9. The story opens with the school having been evacuated due to a stink bomb. Angus saw the student who set it off and leads beautiful Ella to believe that he figured out who the culprit was thanks to his mentalist powers. Ella’s sketchbook goes missing, and Angus tells her that he will use his powers to find it. He enlists a friend to help him develop some actual mentalist powers, and manages to solve the crime despite himself. There are no dull moments in this story.

[Christina Saad]

This book changed my life from the start. I have no idea how to describe the emotional roller coaster this book has put me through. From sobbing my eyes out on the bathroom floor, to laughing out loud in the middle of class. My mom used to read this to me when I was a kid. I’m in my 30s and she still reads this to me sometimes. I love this book. K L Denman is a genius and a master of her craft. Definitely in my top 3 reads <3 <3 <3

[Anahit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is alright. There wasn't much to it. The ending was surprising a little bit but everything leading to it was kinda lame. I wouldn't read it again honestly. Half way through I was gonna stop reading but I thought well it's short might as well just finish it. It's good for the younger generation. Too simple for me.

[Katherine Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I found this YA novel. I started reading it over the summer in Canada, and then didn't finish it. I am trying to finish up books today, and I just finished it. It is lovely and sweet and humorous. I recommend it and the series to children/young teens. It does make me think. I've been contemplating for awhile writing chapter books. Hmmm.

[April Suter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angus tells a girls that he is a mentalist and promises to help her with finding her sketchbook. The story line reminds me of the show Psych, a little.

A quick read for struggling readers to make them feel better when they read a complete book.

121 pages

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agent Angus was a quick read and one that I somewhat enjoyed. The "mystery" was pretty predictable to me, but those in the target audience would probably be surprised by it. Still, there were some sweet parts, funny moments, and it was a fast read.

[Shannon Rickert · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was ok but not one of the better orca books.

[Jarynth ♛ · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best book I read :) It's an awesome one!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written hi/lo story.

[Marj Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

No huge surprises, but it's a well-constructed plot none the less, filled with humour, teenage geeky awkwardness, especially suitable for the reluctant reader Year 7 and above.