Spy School Secret Service: The Graphic Novel

Spy School Graphic Novels #5

by Stuart Gibbs, Anjan Sarkar (Illustrator)

The New York Times bestselling Spy School series continues in graphic novel form with the fifth book as Ben Ripley goes undercover in the White House to take on a SPYDER operative determined to assassinate the president.

Thirteen-year-old Ben Ripley has had a lot of field success despite only just beginning his second year at Spy School, something even graduates rarely experience. But he’d never have survived without the help from experienced agents and his friends. Now he’s been called in on a solo mission—and the fate of the United States of America is on his shoulders alone.

The Prevent a presidential assassination by infiltrating the White House and locating the enemy operative.

And when everything goes wrong, Ben must rely on his spy school friends to save his reputation…but even friends can double-cross or be swayed to the enemy’s side.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2026

Reviews

[Jaimes_Mystical_Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great installment of the Spy School graphic novel series. I enjoyed following Ben as he went undercover at the White House in this book. I liked the illustrations and fast paced story of this one and look forward to the next volume in this series.

Thank you to @simonkids for the gifted copy.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read the whole series in chapter books, but still love when a new graphic novel version comes out. I was waiting for this one for months and got one of the first copies at the library. I read it immediately because I was so excited and ignored my grandparents who had come to visit. My favorite part was the whole thing! Now I can't wait for #6.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel adaptation of Gibbs' novel in which Ben goes undercover at the White House posing as a friend of the President's son when Cyrus Hale gets wind of a plot to kill the President. But then someone frames Ben by planting a bomb on him, and he must go on the run to figure out who used him and who he can trust.

I feel like this one cut out some details from the original and made it a touch more streamlined. It still stays true to the main points of the plot, but I felt like the President's daughter had more of a role in the original and she doesn't play much of a role in this graphic novel edition (but quiet possibly I'm remembering wrong). Fans of the series will enjoy revisiting this story in this form.

Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None. Talks about some student having crushes on each other, but most are unrequited.
Violence: There's violence threatened a couple times, and a bomb does go off that injures a couple people, but no one is fatally hurt.
Ethnic diversity: White American, Black American, Asian American
LGBTQ+ content: None specified at this point.
Other: Framing someone for a crime. People turning on someone when it looks like he might be a traitor. The President's son is kind of a jerk.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

The graphic novel adaptation of SPY SCHOOL SECRET SERVICE by Stuart Gibbs finds Ben Ripley at the center of a high stakes investigation at the White House. When things go awry and Ben is framed to look like the culprit, he’ll need to rely on his friends from Spy School to get him out of a sticky situation and point the finger at the real mastermind behind the plot.

The graphic novel adaptation effectively captures the story’s action and fast pace without losing too much of the content from the original text. This series is super popular with my school’s fourth and fifth grade readers and I know this book will generate a lot of excitement in our reading community. Many start with the graphic novel versions, then switch to the original versions once they find how much they enjoy the graphic novel versions. With the current excitement about celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States, the White House/DC setting may draw interest from even more readers.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

The graphic novel adaptations of this series adhere very closely to the original plots, and seem to even preserve some of the prose. I didn't reread the original, but some of the letters are reproduced, and the language seems very familiar. The illustrations are done in a particularly pleasing style, somewhere between Raina Telgemaier's work and a comic book. It's fun to see the school, as well as the locations. I'm not sure I agree with depicting Erica Hale in all black most of the time; she's a good enough spy that I feel like she would be more nuanced. I do enjoy the thumbnail sketches and descriptions of the agents.

These are not as popular in my library as the novels; there's a LOT of text. I've only bought the first two because of budget constraints, but do have additional volumes on my wish list for possible future purchases.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the Arc! My son was so thrilled to receive a copy of the arc. He has read most of not all of the Spy School books. When he learned there was a graphic novel, he was beyond excited.

My son is eight and found that he really enjoyed the overall story. He loves reading in general and graphic novels are his guilty pleasure. Without any spoilers, he had a great time with the story. He read it within a day.

I know for a fact we'll be getting a physical copy to add to our collection when the book is published.

[The Page Ladies Book Club · Rating 5 out of 5]

Switching gears to pure adrenaline! 🕵️‍♂️ Ben Ripley is back, and this time he’s going solo sort of to prevent a presidential assassination at the White House. But when the mission goes south, Ben has to figure out who he can actually trust even among his friends.

▫️The Vibe: Fast-paced, hilarious, and visually stunning.
▫️Why I Loved It: If you’re a fan of the original series, seeing the White House infiltration in graphic novel form is a total game-changer. The action practically jumps off the page!💥

[Katie K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always looking for books my sons might enjoy, and I have no doubt he would enjoy this one. The White House made for an especially interesting setting for this book. I’ll definitely be getting a copy when it’s released.

[Chelsea Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid 4-star adaptation! The illustrations are vibrant and the action sequences are top-notch. My only minor gripe is that some of the clever dialogue from the original book feels a bit trimmed to fit the panels. Still, it’s a high-energy, fun mystery that's impossible to put down.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing book

Amazing book. Will be reading this again in the near future. I won’t give any spoilers, but this was the best graphic novel yet. Thanks Stuart Gibbs, and I hope this review will be helpful to you readers. Enjoy this book!

[BBT · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite series

5 stars amazing book I love all of them and I love the the story telling it makes it come real

[Matthias Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never get tired of this series. This was maybe my least favorite of the first 5, but still really solid.

[Toby Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved all of the books in this series, but this one felt just a bit like it was lacking in plot compared to other one like Evil Spy School, which had layers upon layers. However, it was as always a fun read. My favorite part was the talk that Erica and Ben had ❤️