Recruited by the FBI

A Sneaky Inc. Spy Adventure #1

by Rob Baddorf

When Robin gets in over his head working with the FBI against a suspected terrorist, his trust in God’s goodness is pushed to the limits. Robin and his two best friends, Chad and Anika, have the best after-school job ever--they work for the FBI! The team fire grappling hooks and rappel onto the roof of a bank. This caper is supposed to be quick and easy, in-and-out and nobody gets hurt. The team is there only to spy and find a secret book that reveals the company's true financial records. But when the job escalates, the team needs more help.

Only Robin won’t allow it!

Having lost his own father in the line of duty, Robin won’t let anyone else join his team. Or get too close! Yet, soon enough, Isabella, with her computer hacking skills, works her way into his heart. As their game of cat and mouse with the criminal CEO intensifies, Robin wrestles to keep his team safe. Can Robin do it on his own, or will he have to dig up an old bitterness in order to fully trust God again?

Get your copy of this faith-building action-adventure novel now!

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult, Novels

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 12, 2023

About the author

When Rob Baddorf is not trying to stow away on a uranium expedition or looking to join a jungle team searching for pirate loot, he's stuck in traffic dreaming up a story where he can do these things.
When he's not writing middle-grade fiction, you can find him either doing graphic design or illustration work. Rob lives in Pennsylvania with his amazing wife and three boisterous children.

Reviews

[Landon Wevers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book “Recruited by the FBI” by Rob Baddorf is a very interesting and suspenseful christian book. From the very beginning of the book, it created a sense of action and suspense, how our main character, Robin, who starts on top of a building with a grappling hook with the fear of even using it. One of the most important ideas the author explores is christianity and having trust in it. He uses Robin as his demonstration, starting off with his false belief that he trusted god, to then realizing he didn’t actually fully trust god, and finally asking god to help him trust in him better. The pacing of the story makes the reading experience feel suspenseful, making us wonder if they will get away with completing their mission or get caught before they can finish. This book would appeal most to readers who enjoy action, suspense and learning about god because it checks all of those boxes. The main characters have a suspenseful job of infiltrating a bank without killing or being killed, and extract information from a threat.

I can say that this book doesn’t necessarily relate to my life, but christianity is something I try to practice as much as possible. The character that is most like me in the book is probably Chad, easily distracted by things but able to “lock in” when I really have to. Easily distracted can also go with how I am with christianity because I’m not perfect, I will get distracted with life, but as long as I don’t stray too far from my goal (christ), I can always find a way to regain my grip. This book is definitely its own type of book, I haven’t read any other book like it because it meets all of MY personal preferences in a book. Robin’s character seems to struggle with something we christians all struggle with, which is believing we have a good relationship with God when it might not be that great. This book relates to television because you typically won’t see some of the things they do on a regular basis, but I would say that if it were any movie, it would be based on real beliefs. It's a real belief that God exists, and Isabella is a real example of someone who never met God, but wonders if maybe she herself was wrong about not believing in him.

I really liked this book because of everyone’s different character attitudes. Robin was like the leader of the group, much more serious than everyone, Anika was the brains of the group who acted more skilled and sometimes motherly, Chad was the joker in the group who was easily distracted, but he was very talented with many things like safe cracking, and Isabella who was very computer smart and innovative. I think that what would have made this book even better for me would have been more christian references and chats from God. I did enjoy that there was christianity in there, but I think that there should have been more about it rather than just Robin getting spoken to, like if all of them had separate chats with God, hearing him in other stressful times.

[Alex Aguiar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recruited by The FBI by Rob Baddorf is a fiction action adventure book, the book was published on August 12 of 2023 It's all about a young kid who becomes an FBI recruit after he goes through a difficult selection process and training. I really liked this book because it had lots of action in it. This book also had a very cool plot which made it fun to read because you would keep wondering and wanting to know what is going to happen next from the start of the book all the way to the very end. This book would keep me up at nights sometimes because I just had to know what was going to happen next.
This book takes place in the United States all around the country at the FBI offices, the book takes place in modern time. Its main characters are Jamie (The Recruit), Agent Carter (The Mentor), Sergeant Davis (The Trainer), and Victor Kane (The Antagonist). Some of the biggest themes in this book are teamwork, mentorship, making yourself better, and determination. The Mentor and The Trainer carefully prepare Jamie to become the best FBI agent he can. They work very hard with him to get him to the best he can be. During this time he ends up having to confront many many challenges including a criminal antagonist. By the end The Recruit becomes a very capable and dedicated agent.

[Myth Button · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book claims to be Christian entertainment, but there's really not much of it. It spends a lot of time having the main characters go through joking banter with each other than actually developing a plot concerned with Christianity, beyond using Jesus as a deus ex machina. As well, despite some pretty exciting scenes, the novel is quite a predictable spy story, basically like those movies that were trying to build on the success of Spy Kids (ex. Agent Cody Banks and Catch That Kid), but with a little bit more brainpower. The villain is barely seen and totally lifeless. As well, I'm already through this 270 page book in one day for a reason: the font is large and the chapters can easily be 2 pages long. And many times, the second page will be 1-3 lines. I think the author was intentionally writing short chapters with those short second pages to make chapter books feel easy for kids. Many of these chapters could've been combined into longer ones, and kids could still read 5-10 page chapters, as they do with Jerry Spinelli.

45/100

[Schlabach Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in a new series is always the hardest to write I think, because setting the stage will always be the catalyst that encourages the reader to continue the series.
This first book in the Sneaky Inc hit a home run on all accounts. It was both adventure packed and character building, it was both intense and comic relief. The characters really work well together. As a young teen I would have LOVED these books. The characters are so likable and relatable. Also they are clean which is a rare gem these days. Robin the main character learned to let go of his fears and trust Jesus to help him embrace trust and peace.
I look forward to the next book in this series. Overall rating 4.5 stars.

[Bella Raine · Rating 3 out of 5]

At it's core, the story, plot, and characters were love-able. I stayed up late reading it and was invested in the story.
However, I think the execution wasn't as well done as it could be. The prose was weak, the POV's were a little confusing, and there were some parts that were cliche/rushed/predictable. Though that is just my opinion!
But if you look past all of that, it was a pretty good read! I bought the next book and am looking forward to reading it.

Content Warning's: Bombs/guns/other FBI stuff. But no other CW's besides that, if I remember correctly.

✨ 3.5 Stars ✨

[Alois Rogerio Pauls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dis is pretty good

This book is very adventurous and exiting, and it shows how God takes care of the main characters. There were a few spelling mistakes but other wise it’s really cool

[Melinda Suchland · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting adventure!

Loved the characters and exciting storyline. There wasn't a dull moment. I loved the unique spin on the spy story, as well as the Christian message of trusting God and having a relationship with him.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ran across these books when researching authors that write Christian fiction for teens. The idea of teenagers that can't drive working for the FBI like these ones do is pretty far out, but it IS fiction. I thought it was a pretty decent and entertaining read, and loved the characters.

[Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book ever

This book is so good I've always hated books but this one was just so good so much action funny moments it's just the best book I've read and I've read some good books.

[Kristy Hetzel]

Quite ridiculous. There wasn't one second about this book that was even HALF believable. Clean but zero parental (or any other) oversight of 14-15 year olds.

[Misc.Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fun read! The action wasn't dull, the suspense was thick, and the plotline ran on without any hindrance. Definitely reading more from this series!

[Scarlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really funny with lots of action

[Judah Vallance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book was not what I expected! Thought it was going to be boring but turned out to be a pretty good action spy novel!! HIGHLY recommend! Five stars earned!

[Lance Greenlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a FUN read. It goes very quickly - saying it's a page-turner is an understatement. Lots of action and fun characters (especially Chad).

[Krista Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a kids book this was amazing!!! I was surprised that kids were doing the dirty work but they can get into small spaces. Wow! Cannot wait to start the second book in the series!

[Olivia Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me feel like I could be part of a spy team too. I loved Robin and how brave he is, even when he’s scared. The tech stuff and the action were super cool.

[David Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Slow at the beginning but b really picked up towards the end of the book I would recommend.
Also the ending is my favorite part 😊

[Ethan Mellott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it.

[Graham Neidig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very fun to read. Even though every chapter is only 2-3 pages long, I still enjoyed the characters and the story.

[Myka Schmucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Schlabach Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start of a new series is always the hardest book to write I think, because setting the stage will always be the catalyst that encourages the reader to continue the series.
This first book in the Sneaky Inc hit a home run on all accounts. It was both adventure packed and character building, it was both intense and comic relief. The characters really work well together. As a young teen I would have LOVED these books. The characters are so likable and relatable. Also they are clean which is a rare gem these days. Robin the main character learned to let go of his fears and trust Jesus to help him embrace trust and peace.
I look forward to the next book in this series. Overall rating 4.5 stars.