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Liberty: The Spy Who (Kind of) Liked Me
What is a hero? Paige Nolan knows.
Sean Raynes, the young man who exposed America’s unconstitutional spying techniques, is a hero, even if half the dum-dums in the country think he’s a traitor. And her journalist parents, who were captured by terrorists while telling stories of the endangered and oppressed—they were heroes, too. Or are—no one has ever told Paige if they’re still alive, or dead.
Not heroes? Anyone in the government who abandoned her parents, letting them rot somewhere halfway across the world.
And certainly not Paige herself, who, despite her fluency in five languages and mastery of several obscure martial arts (thanks, Mom!), could do nothing to save them.
Couldn’t, that is, until she’s approached by Madden Carter, an undercover operative who gives her a mission: fly to Russia, find Raynes, and discover what other government secrets he’s stockpiled. In exchange, he’ll reopen the case on her missing parents.
She’s given a code name and a cover as a foreign exchange student.
Who is a hero? Not Paige Nolan, but maybe, just maybe, Liberty is.
Sean Raynes, the young man who exposed America’s unconstitutional spying techniques, is a hero, even if half the dum-dums in the country think he’s a traitor. And her journalist parents, who were captured by terrorists while telling stories of the endangered and oppressed—they were heroes, too. Or are—no one has ever told Paige if they’re still alive, or dead.
Not heroes? Anyone in the government who abandoned her parents, letting them rot somewhere halfway across the world.
And certainly not Paige herself, who, despite her fluency in five languages and mastery of several obscure martial arts (thanks, Mom!), could do nothing to save them.
Couldn’t, that is, until she’s approached by Madden Carter, an undercover operative who gives her a mission: fly to Russia, find Raynes, and discover what other government secrets he’s stockpiled. In exchange, he’ll reopen the case on her missing parents.
She’s given a code name and a cover as a foreign exchange student.
Who is a hero? Not Paige Nolan, but maybe, just maybe, Liberty is.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 6, 2017
11 people are currently reading
1591 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Portes
10 books476 followersAndrea Portes is a bestselling American novelist.
Her novels include HICK, BURY THIS, ANATOMY OF A MISFIT, and THE FALL OF BUTTERFLIES. Portes is also the author of the upcoming LIBERTY book series and the upcoming HENRY & EVA book series. She also published the SUPER RAD graphic novel series for Dark Matter Comics.
Portes was raised in rural Nebraska, outside of Lincoln. She attended Bryn Mawr College on full scholarship and later received her MFA from University of California, San Diego. After graduation, Portes moved to the neighborhood of Echo Park in Los Angeles.
In 2007, Portes published her debut novel HICK that was an instant bestseller. After the book's huge success, the movie adaptation of HICK went into production in 2011. The film, starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Alec Baldwin, Eddie Redmayne, Juliette Lewis, and Blake Lively premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011.
Portes's second novel, BURY THIS, was published in January 2014 by Counterpoint Press's imprint Soft Skull Press to critical acclaim.
In 2012, she wrote SUPER RAD, a sci-fi series for Dark Matter Press.
Portes' third novel, ANATOMY OF A MISFIT, was published in September 2014 by HarperCollins. In July 2014, the book was optioned in a pre-emptive deal by Paramount Pictures, with Allison Shearmur (THE HUNGER GAMES, CINDERELLA) producing.
In Winter 2015, Portes spy thriller series LIBERTY was bought in a three-book deal by HarperCollins. Twentieth Century Fox-Fox 2000 acquired the rights to LIBERTY and will be producing the series with Wyck Godfrey (TWILIGHT, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS).
Her fourth book, THE FALL OF BUTTERFLIES will be out in May 2016 published by HarperCollins.
Portes also chose HarperCollins to publish HENRY & EVA AND THE CASTLE ON THE CLIFF, the first in a middle reader series of HENRY & EVA books. The second release in the series will be HENRY & EVA AND THE FAMOUS PEOPLE GHOSTS.
Portes is currently working on THEY WERE LIKE WOLVES, a work of literary fiction.
Her novels include HICK, BURY THIS, ANATOMY OF A MISFIT, and THE FALL OF BUTTERFLIES. Portes is also the author of the upcoming LIBERTY book series and the upcoming HENRY & EVA book series. She also published the SUPER RAD graphic novel series for Dark Matter Comics.
Portes was raised in rural Nebraska, outside of Lincoln. She attended Bryn Mawr College on full scholarship and later received her MFA from University of California, San Diego. After graduation, Portes moved to the neighborhood of Echo Park in Los Angeles.
In 2007, Portes published her debut novel HICK that was an instant bestseller. After the book's huge success, the movie adaptation of HICK went into production in 2011. The film, starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Alec Baldwin, Eddie Redmayne, Juliette Lewis, and Blake Lively premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011.
Portes's second novel, BURY THIS, was published in January 2014 by Counterpoint Press's imprint Soft Skull Press to critical acclaim.
In 2012, she wrote SUPER RAD, a sci-fi series for Dark Matter Press.
Portes' third novel, ANATOMY OF A MISFIT, was published in September 2014 by HarperCollins. In July 2014, the book was optioned in a pre-emptive deal by Paramount Pictures, with Allison Shearmur (THE HUNGER GAMES, CINDERELLA) producing.
In Winter 2015, Portes spy thriller series LIBERTY was bought in a three-book deal by HarperCollins. Twentieth Century Fox-Fox 2000 acquired the rights to LIBERTY and will be producing the series with Wyck Godfrey (TWILIGHT, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS).
Her fourth book, THE FALL OF BUTTERFLIES will be out in May 2016 published by HarperCollins.
Portes also chose HarperCollins to publish HENRY & EVA AND THE CASTLE ON THE CLIFF, the first in a middle reader series of HENRY & EVA books. The second release in the series will be HENRY & EVA AND THE FAMOUS PEOPLE GHOSTS.
Portes is currently working on THEY WERE LIKE WOLVES, a work of literary fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
May 6, 2017
(I received an advance copy of this book for free. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
This was a story about a teenage spy, whose famous journalist parents had gone missing.
Paige was quite a witty and funny character, and it was hard not to find the things she did amusing, especially when she was going on about how much she hated guns, and pretty much removing them from anyone who had them, even when they were a lot bigger than her.
The storyline in this was initially about Paige’s missing parents, but then became about Paige being recruited as a spy and sent to Russia. There were some amusing moments, and Paige was quite funny, but I just lost interest as the book went along, and really struggled to stay focused, especially when the mystery over Paige’s parent’s disappearance was put on the back burner.
The ending to this was okay, but it seemed like the ending was set up for a sequel in which Paige would actually go after her missing parents.
6.25 out of 10
“She’s alive.
And my father’s alive.
And I will find them.”
This was a story about a teenage spy, whose famous journalist parents had gone missing.
Paige was quite a witty and funny character, and it was hard not to find the things she did amusing, especially when she was going on about how much she hated guns, and pretty much removing them from anyone who had them, even when they were a lot bigger than her.
The storyline in this was initially about Paige’s missing parents, but then became about Paige being recruited as a spy and sent to Russia. There were some amusing moments, and Paige was quite funny, but I just lost interest as the book went along, and really struggled to stay focused, especially when the mystery over Paige’s parent’s disappearance was put on the back burner.
The ending to this was okay, but it seemed like the ending was set up for a sequel in which Paige would actually go after her missing parents.
6.25 out of 10
April 7, 2018
*I received a free ARC from Harper Teen, through Goodreads first to read program, in exchange for an honest review*
Okay I kind of loved this...
To start off, it is important to note that in order to thoroughly enjoy this book you may require some suspension of disbelief. That or you can be a really young, naive pre-teen/teen who thinks that a secret government agency would actually use a freshmen college student as a spy in a top secret undercover mission. You know, whatever works for you.
Secondly, you have to be okay with a character consistently breaking the fourth wall. Honestly though, sometimes Paige felt less like a character and more like a socially awkward friend, who often goes off on tangents, trying to tell the story of what she did last summer.
Third, be ready for a lot of old-school and modern day pop culture references. Like seriously, there were so many mentions of books and movies I have never seen and I was googling a lot. But you know maybe I'm just you not as cultured as Paige, who also happens to speak five languages and be a kick-ass martial artist.
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
So, as long as you can accept those things I mentioned above I think you can truly enjoy this book. It is full of fun, awkward situations, friendship, romance, action, adventure, espionage and plenty of bits of culture. Overall, it was just a fun and easy read which really got me back into the reading mood.
---
I thought this was going to be a series, but I guess I was wrong. Such a shame, since I thought this was a promising start.
Okay I kind of loved this...
To start off, it is important to note that in order to thoroughly enjoy this book you may require some suspension of disbelief. That or you can be a really young, naive pre-teen/teen who thinks that a secret government agency would actually use a freshmen college student as a spy in a top secret undercover mission. You know, whatever works for you.
Secondly, you have to be okay with a character consistently breaking the fourth wall. Honestly though, sometimes Paige felt less like a character and more like a socially awkward friend, who often goes off on tangents, trying to tell the story of what she did last summer.
Third, be ready for a lot of old-school and modern day pop culture references. Like seriously, there were so many mentions of books and movies I have never seen and I was googling a lot. But you know maybe I'm just you not as cultured as Paige, who also happens to speak five languages and be a kick-ass martial artist.
http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
So, as long as you can accept those things I mentioned above I think you can truly enjoy this book. It is full of fun, awkward situations, friendship, romance, action, adventure, espionage and plenty of bits of culture. Overall, it was just a fun and easy read which really got me back into the reading mood.
---
I thought this was going to be a series, but I guess I was wrong. Such a shame, since I thought this was a promising start.
October 24, 2020
Hay dos tres.
He de decir que el personaje de Paige (la protagonista) es muy interesante y bien estructurado, me gusta la personalidad del mismo, pero llegó un punto en la lectura que me hizo pensar ¿en serio? Porque tantas acciones necesarias, además siento que hay huecos en la trama. Y no se resuelve la primicia de esta historia, ¡no, claro que no!.
En cuando al final me gustó, pero me quedé pensando en ¿porqué que leí este libro? Y sobre todo ¿porqué rayos lo compré?
Pero bueno, lo hecho, hecho esta.
He de decir que el personaje de Paige (la protagonista) es muy interesante y bien estructurado, me gusta la personalidad del mismo, pero llegó un punto en la lectura que me hizo pensar ¿en serio? Porque tantas acciones necesarias, además siento que hay huecos en la trama. Y no se resuelve la primicia de esta historia, ¡no, claro que no!.
En cuando al final me gustó, pero me quedé pensando en ¿porqué que leí este libro? Y sobre todo ¿porqué rayos lo compré?
Pero bueno, lo hecho, hecho esta.
October 12, 2018
"It's maddening in a way. How random it is. Like this thing. This life-changing thing. Wanna know what it is? Applebee's. Yup, Applebee's."I don't even know where to begin. There's just so much to unpack and I'm pretty sure I'll end up leaving some out.
[Minor spoilers throughout. Major, marked.]
Oh god.
When I read the first page, I knew I wouldn't like this book. I think the only thing that saved me from DNF-ing is that it was an easy read (literally; the words were big, sentences were short, writing was very straightforward). There was just so many things about it and one of the main things I disliked was the main character Paige.
I get where the author was going with her character. She's a liberal, a feminist, hates guns, shops at organic places, fights for justice, all those personality traits that makes her the "good person." And I think all those things are great. Like yes let's advocate for women's rights, black lives matter, gun control, representation, and climate change. I'm all for it.
But it felt like she was trying too hard to make Paige all these things. It felt a little forced; as if she just took all the things that she knew people would love and put it all in Paige. But the execution just didn't quite work. It probably would've been better if we were looking at a bio with a list of all those personality traits rather than reading about her in a book. Even her dissociative disorder felt a bit lacking in it's depiction. Like here I have this disorder and will only mention it when it's convenient to the story.
I think another reason why it didn't work was because this story is narrated by Paige AFTER the events have already happened. She's telling a story. So it makes sense that as a reader we might feel a disconnect from the character as well as feel like everything was just slapped on so that we'd like her. But I believe the author could've done both: the narration and the traits. Maybe we could've gotten it in snippets rather than plopped into one chapter and occasionally mentioned again.
Another thing about Paige was that she was supposed to be funny (key words "supposed to"). I knew that she was being witty, sarcastic, and all but it just felt forced to me (I know, I know, AGAIN). Madden would try to tell her something serious and she would just make a joke or keep talking or interrupt him and I just found that so annoying. And I know that it was supposed to highlight just how weird and funny she is and I'm supposed to applaud her monologue here but I just wished she'd stop talking.
She doesn't even need to be talking to Madden though, she could be talking to ANYONE and it'd still be annoying. She just went off on supposedly funny tangents and everybody would look at her like she's weird and you would think she'd get the hint but it's a quirk so she'll just continue to do it every time. Sometimes it was funny but most of the time it just wasn't and by the time it got to be funny I just wasn't in the mood to laugh anymore.
I think one of the problems with narrations in the first person is that it makes the character seem arrogant when they're explaining what they can do. It always seemed like Paige was full of it when she talked about the oh so many martial arts moves she learned and how good she is. When she talked about her "boyfriends" and I was supposed to think "wow that's so sad that you have to find distractions from your parents' disappearance by hooking up with guys", instead I thought that she was trying to be cool, was a bit arrogant, and just needed to stop. I felt bad for the three guys in her life even though they knew about each other and probably didn't care anyways. They were just her boy toys that she kept using to pass off the time.
The 'tough' girl character got kind of old tbh.
This has been long but it wasn't just Paige that was the problem:
*Sean Raynes. There's nothing about him other than that he likes Elliott Smith, he's a geeeeniusss, he's a traitor to the government but the people love him, and he likes weird girls.
I just didn't get his romance with Paige. It was insta-love. He asked her out on a date right after seeing her wearing an Elliott Smith t-shirt and met her again at the diner. If all I needed to get a guy was be weird, wear a shirt that shows ONE similar interest, and be American in a foreign country then damn I've been doing this all wrong.
The timeline of their relationship goes from going on a date, to kissing, to having sex, to being boyfriend/girlfriend all within a few chapters. There was no in-between where we get to see more of their developing romance, cause all the developing was done BTS (maybe. Unless you count the two or so dates). We're just supposed to ship it cause love, yay! ugh.
(P.S who describes a kiss as an 'attack'??)
*the amount of stereotypes in this book ! ! ! I've never been to Russia so I can't say whether the stereotypes are right or not, but it definitely felt like each Russian character was a stereotype. Like all these Russians don't smile and all they do is drink blah blah blah. Paige says some nice things about them but anything after that are just generalizations.
*a lot of things didn't make sense. The book's title is "Liberty: The Spy Who (Kind of) Liked Me" and in the summary they talk about how she's given a code name (Liberty), but that name is only said once in the whole entire book. They made it seem like a big deal but nobody calls her that, not even Madden. So I don't get the whole point of the Liberty thing. Was it to make her seem more like a spy? I don't know.
RAITH choosing Paige to go on the mission because she KNOWS Sean Raynes best didn't make any sense either. You're telling me that the information she got using methods accessible by anyone couldn't also be found by RAITH? You're telling me that Madden, who checked out Paige's Twitter account to find out more about her, couldn't do the same for Sean? It just seemed like a flimsy excuse for the plot to get moving.
At first I thought it was because she could pass off as a university student but being in university has nothing to do with getting Sean Raynes. She gets his attention by wearing a shirt, so she didn't even need to be a foreign exchange student in the first place. She could've pretended to be a tourist. And she doesn't even go to class but no one thinks that's suspicious? Y'know, someone like Katerina??
At the end, so what does that mean for her parents?
And for someone who seems to have such a grasp of everything, Paige just called chopsticks 'sticks' in someone's hair as if she had no idea what they were....?? And she talks about being fired as a waitress after just a week because she couldn't remember people's orders. She then says that, that was because she didn't care about it...
Why take a job when you don't even care enough to do the work?? What's the point?? That doesn't seem cool! I'm not going to be all "Oh wow look at you getting fired because you didn't care about doing the basic requirements of your job, good for you!" That just seems like you're an asshole. I'm honestly glad she got fired. Not that she'll ever learn. There's practically no personal growth in this book.
*Paige. explains. everything. And she prefaces it with a "Let me explain..." I get it, she's telling a story but that got annoying really fast. "You didn't know? WELL LET ME TELL YOU" blah blah blah. And I know it's to be funny (honestly this whole book is an attempt at humor but fell way short) but her "Let me explain"'s, "I'm waiting..."'s, and "go ahead I'll wait"'s got tiring to read. It just seemed so condescending, when she'd explain stuff and say a word in a different language and was all "That's _____ for ____" I didn't care for her voice. She seemed like someone who not only felt like she was all that but would also have an attitude because humor.
*there's just too many references in this book that I didn't get. I don't know if it's a me thing or a "tries to cram too many pop culture references in an attempt to seem hip" thing. All the characters say "fucking" or "fuck" all the time and it felt like it was thrown in there to seem young.
*I'm not sure if she mentioned this and I missed it or she didn't, but the timeline for when her parents disappeared sometimes felt like it happened recently and other times felt like it happened many years ago. If it was years ago, it wouldn't have been too long but I wish we could've gotten the timeline for that (if we didn't). I don't think she even tells you where she lives, just the general area near certain schools.
Oh man the more I rant about this book the more I come to hate it.
The thing is, I don't think grief should be an excuse for someone's behavior and/or actions all the time. Besides the writing, it felt like that's how Paige lived her life. She had to be tough, yes. But being tough and feeling like she could act however she'd like and be such a brat because of what she went through is wrong. I can't imagine what it must be like to hear the moment your parents' are attacked and not know if they're dead or alive after. So I get using people as distractions and I get the humor, but I also think it went just a tad bit too far. Like the world owed her these moments for her to be the arrogant, "I'm just going to ignore that you're talking to me and keep trying to be funny", tough cookie person that she is.
Oh god I hated her.
At first I assumed that one of the reasons I didn't like this book was because I sped through it every time I read it that I didn't process the details that I would've liked but no. no. no. I just didn't like it, bordering on hate. It lacked depth and I wish there was more we could've seen than what we got. Even Russia felt like it was only shown through that one paragraph describing it when Paige first arrived and then later on could've been anywhere and still would've worked. Occasionally mentioning the Moskva River can't make up for the lack of details.
It just wasn't for me.
April 10, 2017
Liberty - The Spy Who (Kind of) Liked Me is absolutely hilarious. It is a super fun, caper of a spy novel, with an instantly likeable protagonist.
Paige Nolan's parents, high profile journalists, are missing. They may be dead, Paige was never told. So when Paige is recruited from her (mostly) mundane college life by a spy (handsome, is younger than expected, and wears a suit very nicely), she is at first incredulous, then reluctant, but finally agrees knowing it might be the only chance of finding her parents.
The synopsis for this sounded fantastic, but it wasn't until I started reading that I got an idea of just how awesome this book was going to be. I was captured from the first page and I didn't not want to be released. The book is written in second person. Extremely hard to pull off and yet this book does it flawlessly. Paige is talking directly to the reader, warning them about the story to come, filling in a few details about how the whole thing came to be, and then providing commentary the whole way through the story. It is very well written, the reader is at once both in Paige's head and right amongst the action.
I love her voice!! I love how Paige is so dispassionate, sarcastic, passionate, and ridiculous all at the same time. Hilarious. It is so much fun to read and is wonderfully unique.
Have I mentioned that this book is insanely funny. Like, I just snorted my drink all over my iPad funny. And it's also a bit insane. This story has to be read to be believe. It's like James Bond crossed with Alex Rider series crossed with... I don't know, maybe The Three Stooges.
I could not stop reading this book. Could. Not. Stop.
This story is the perfect mix of young adult and new adult to give the characters some credibility. It reads like a young adult story and yet Paige is in college and acts accordingly, so I'll be recommending this for mature readers. Paige can seriously kick butt. She knows four types of martial arts and can speak five languages. But she is terrible at driving (really, really bad) and gets very distracted when telling her story. Sometimes her tangents are hilarious and other times just weird. So much so that you could skip a few paragraphs and still not be back on topic. At one point she calls herself never-met-a-tangent-she-didn't-follow. So. True.
This book is undeniably American. There are a lot of political and ethical undertones/jabs/jokes/bias. I feel like I could dissect it and analyse it, and read nefarious meaning into so much of it. But instead I chose to read this for pure enjoyment. It would be perfect for a teen book club discussion, though, looking at the perspective and motivation and the time in which it has been written and published. I love a book that sparks discussion but is the very opposite of boring or mundane.
I'm really hoping there will be a second book, because I would love to continue on this wild, funny ride with Paige.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog Madison's Library.
Paige Nolan's parents, high profile journalists, are missing. They may be dead, Paige was never told. So when Paige is recruited from her (mostly) mundane college life by a spy (handsome, is younger than expected, and wears a suit very nicely), she is at first incredulous, then reluctant, but finally agrees knowing it might be the only chance of finding her parents.
The synopsis for this sounded fantastic, but it wasn't until I started reading that I got an idea of just how awesome this book was going to be. I was captured from the first page and I didn't not want to be released. The book is written in second person. Extremely hard to pull off and yet this book does it flawlessly. Paige is talking directly to the reader, warning them about the story to come, filling in a few details about how the whole thing came to be, and then providing commentary the whole way through the story. It is very well written, the reader is at once both in Paige's head and right amongst the action.
I love her voice!! I love how Paige is so dispassionate, sarcastic, passionate, and ridiculous all at the same time. Hilarious. It is so much fun to read and is wonderfully unique.
Have I mentioned that this book is insanely funny. Like, I just snorted my drink all over my iPad funny. And it's also a bit insane. This story has to be read to be believe. It's like James Bond crossed with Alex Rider series crossed with... I don't know, maybe The Three Stooges.
I could not stop reading this book. Could. Not. Stop.
This story is the perfect mix of young adult and new adult to give the characters some credibility. It reads like a young adult story and yet Paige is in college and acts accordingly, so I'll be recommending this for mature readers. Paige can seriously kick butt. She knows four types of martial arts and can speak five languages. But she is terrible at driving (really, really bad) and gets very distracted when telling her story. Sometimes her tangents are hilarious and other times just weird. So much so that you could skip a few paragraphs and still not be back on topic. At one point she calls herself never-met-a-tangent-she-didn't-follow. So. True.
This book is undeniably American. There are a lot of political and ethical undertones/jabs/jokes/bias. I feel like I could dissect it and analyse it, and read nefarious meaning into so much of it. But instead I chose to read this for pure enjoyment. It would be perfect for a teen book club discussion, though, looking at the perspective and motivation and the time in which it has been written and published. I love a book that sparks discussion but is the very opposite of boring or mundane.
I'm really hoping there will be a second book, because I would love to continue on this wild, funny ride with Paige.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog Madison's Library.
August 1, 2018
Tof boek! Ik vind het heel verfrissend dat het een stukje volwassener is dan de meeste YA’s door Paiges kickass-karakter en de politieke issues die centraal staan. De schrijfstijl is vlot en geestig en ik werd aangenaam verrast door de hoeveelheid spanning, romantiek en emotie in het verhaal. Agatha Christie meets Tilly Topspion meets Stephanie Perkins: not your average YA read! Uitgebreide recensie volgt binnenkort...
August 21, 2018
I LOVED this book. It tugged at my heart stings, it was funny and witty! I loved the writing style. I literally flew through the book. I love Paige as a character, she's quirky and at times has no filter. I don't think there was anything I hated about this book!
July 8, 2017
Sarcastic characters that I loved and not so boring leads but I do wish we didn't have that ending
July 3, 2017
Have you ever met someone whose parents have passed away? They don't sound like Paige. Her flippant comments about her parents MAYBE dying in the first few chapters is enough for me to DNF this book. There wasn't any genuine grief or anguish over it. Just some sarcasm and some rants about not feeling sorry for her. I feel no connection to her, I want to punch her in the face, and I will not suffer another page with her POV.
June 19, 2017
3.5 stars
Initial thoughts:
This was a very entertaining and amusing book. I did enjoy some parts of it as the narrative is very fresh and the MC is one sass queen.
Unfortunately, the plot was rather simplistic and there were quite a number of references that were lost to me.
Overall, a fun romp in Russia with some LOL moments.
Full review to come.
Initial thoughts:
This was a very entertaining and amusing book. I did enjoy some parts of it as the narrative is very fresh and the MC is one sass queen.
Unfortunately, the plot was rather simplistic and there were quite a number of references that were lost to me.
Overall, a fun romp in Russia with some LOL moments.
Full review to come.
July 20, 2021
Hm, ik merk nu dat ik op zo’n leeftijd kom waarbij ik echt te oud wordt voor bepaalde dingen in een YA. En dat vond ik eigenlijk best wel een beetje een sneu moment - zeker omdat ik er nog zoveel ongelezen in mijn kast heb liggen.
Maar goed, het boek.
Paige is niet typisch en daar geniet ik van. Ze is niet enorm mooi, ze is sociaal niet erg sterk en ze brabbelt nogal veel over alles wat vooral niet goed is in de wereld. Iemand die velen eigenlijk bloedirritant zouden vinden en toch niet volledig kan loslaten. Perfect voor dit boek dus; want weer een Femme Fatale zou dit boek niet beter hebben gemaakt. Maar tegelijkertijd is ze enorm goed in verschillende vechtsporten, zeer slim en spreekt ze vijf talen. En dat vind ik eigenlijk best cool.
Ook de insteek van het verhaal vind ik heel tof. Haar ouders zijn beiden heel slim, maar op een realistische manier. Nieuwsgierige journalisten/schrijvers manier, en dat vond ik erg fijn. Eens geen gekke wetenschappers of uitvinders, maar gewoon journalisten/schrijvers die hun werk uitstekend doen. Hun ontvoering vond ik ook goed passen bij het verhaal dat je van hen hebt gehoord. Een simpele vorm van realisme, maar zoals jullie weten, ben ik daar erg dol op omdat dat nog steeds niet zo typisch is voor verhalen in het algemeen. Dat Paige (met hoe ze is) dan ook deze kans aangrijpt om de zaak van hun vermissing te heropenen is niet meer dan logisch in mijn ogen.
Wat was dan het ding waardoor ik merkte dat ik te oud begon te worden voor sommige YA?
De manier waarop ze tegen ons, de lezer, direct sprak. Het was grappig, maar op een kinderlijke manier. Op zo’n ‘ik heb de grap van “ik kan hem toch niet declareren!” al honderd keer gehoord, maar omdat ik je wel snoezig sneu vind, moet ik er deze keer wel een beetje om grinniken’.
Begrijp me niet verkeerd, ik vind het perspectief dat de hoofdpersoon meer weet dan jij en dat ook duidelijk maakt een hele toffe insteek (zeker bij dit soort boeken), maar om nou bij alles te doen van “let je nog op?” of “Houd je het nog bij?” vond ik gewoon irritant. Ik ben niet zo extreem vergeetachtig, ik ben verdorie in de twintig, dus laat de hoofdpersoon ook niet doen alsof ze het heeft tegen iemand met een concentratiespan van een kleuter.
En dat was niet het enige. Wat ik zeer vervelend vond was dat er naar vrijwel iedere jongen werd gehint alsof het een nieuwe liefdesinteresse kon zijn. Voor iemand die zegt dat ze zich niet kan binden, kijkt ze naar bijna iedere knul alsof het haar nieuwste verovering moet zijn. En dat vind ik stom. Natuurlijk kan je, als je je vrienden knap vindt, dat ook omarmen, maar dat kan ook op een andere manier dan met hartjesogen.
Wat ik daarnaast jammer vond ik dat dus de hele reden van dit boek - de ontvoering van haar ouders - een beetje naar de achtergrond wordt gedrukt zodra de missie begint. Natuurlijk hoeft ze er niet 24/7 aan te denken, maar voor een groot deel van het boek leek het bijna verdwenen. Het kwam alleen terug als het zo even snel leek uit te komen voor het verhaal, en dat vind ik zonde. Als je na zoveel jaar hoort dat er nog hoop is en dat de enige die iets aan de heropening kan doen jijzelf bent, verwacht je toch dat er iets meer aan wordt gedacht. Maar hey, wie ben ik.
Ik vond de representatie van Moskou enorm tof. Ik zou er nu eigenlijk heel graag direct naartoe willen, maar helaas heb ik verplichting, weinig geld en zit ik in een pandemie waardoor het niet handig is om te reizen. Maar ooit, wie weet. Ook vond ik Katerina en Uri enorm tof. Heerlijke typetjes, maar niet enorm typisch. Ik kon echt om ze lachen. Ik vond het eigenlijk ook wel jammer dat we niet meer over ze leerden, want ik denk dat daar nog heel veel mogelijkheden in hadden kunnen zitten.
Er zit eigenlijk genoeg potentie in voor een tweede deel. Geen idee of die er al is of dat die überhaupt ooit op de planning stond, maar als het zo zou zijn, zou ik hem eigenlijk best willen lezen. Maar tot die tijd, ga ik maar zoeken naar een nieuw boek en mijmeren over Moskou.
Maar goed, het boek.
Paige is niet typisch en daar geniet ik van. Ze is niet enorm mooi, ze is sociaal niet erg sterk en ze brabbelt nogal veel over alles wat vooral niet goed is in de wereld. Iemand die velen eigenlijk bloedirritant zouden vinden en toch niet volledig kan loslaten. Perfect voor dit boek dus; want weer een Femme Fatale zou dit boek niet beter hebben gemaakt. Maar tegelijkertijd is ze enorm goed in verschillende vechtsporten, zeer slim en spreekt ze vijf talen. En dat vind ik eigenlijk best cool.
Ook de insteek van het verhaal vind ik heel tof. Haar ouders zijn beiden heel slim, maar op een realistische manier. Nieuwsgierige journalisten/schrijvers manier, en dat vond ik erg fijn. Eens geen gekke wetenschappers of uitvinders, maar gewoon journalisten/schrijvers die hun werk uitstekend doen. Hun ontvoering vond ik ook goed passen bij het verhaal dat je van hen hebt gehoord. Een simpele vorm van realisme, maar zoals jullie weten, ben ik daar erg dol op omdat dat nog steeds niet zo typisch is voor verhalen in het algemeen. Dat Paige (met hoe ze is) dan ook deze kans aangrijpt om de zaak van hun vermissing te heropenen is niet meer dan logisch in mijn ogen.
Wat was dan het ding waardoor ik merkte dat ik te oud begon te worden voor sommige YA?
De manier waarop ze tegen ons, de lezer, direct sprak. Het was grappig, maar op een kinderlijke manier. Op zo’n ‘ik heb de grap van “ik kan hem toch niet declareren!” al honderd keer gehoord, maar omdat ik je wel snoezig sneu vind, moet ik er deze keer wel een beetje om grinniken’.
Begrijp me niet verkeerd, ik vind het perspectief dat de hoofdpersoon meer weet dan jij en dat ook duidelijk maakt een hele toffe insteek (zeker bij dit soort boeken), maar om nou bij alles te doen van “let je nog op?” of “Houd je het nog bij?” vond ik gewoon irritant. Ik ben niet zo extreem vergeetachtig, ik ben verdorie in de twintig, dus laat de hoofdpersoon ook niet doen alsof ze het heeft tegen iemand met een concentratiespan van een kleuter.
En dat was niet het enige. Wat ik zeer vervelend vond was dat er naar vrijwel iedere jongen werd gehint alsof het een nieuwe liefdesinteresse kon zijn. Voor iemand die zegt dat ze zich niet kan binden, kijkt ze naar bijna iedere knul alsof het haar nieuwste verovering moet zijn. En dat vind ik stom. Natuurlijk kan je, als je je vrienden knap vindt, dat ook omarmen, maar dat kan ook op een andere manier dan met hartjesogen.
Wat ik daarnaast jammer vond ik dat dus de hele reden van dit boek - de ontvoering van haar ouders - een beetje naar de achtergrond wordt gedrukt zodra de missie begint. Natuurlijk hoeft ze er niet 24/7 aan te denken, maar voor een groot deel van het boek leek het bijna verdwenen. Het kwam alleen terug als het zo even snel leek uit te komen voor het verhaal, en dat vind ik zonde. Als je na zoveel jaar hoort dat er nog hoop is en dat de enige die iets aan de heropening kan doen jijzelf bent, verwacht je toch dat er iets meer aan wordt gedacht. Maar hey, wie ben ik.
Ik vond de representatie van Moskou enorm tof. Ik zou er nu eigenlijk heel graag direct naartoe willen, maar helaas heb ik verplichting, weinig geld en zit ik in een pandemie waardoor het niet handig is om te reizen. Maar ooit, wie weet. Ook vond ik Katerina en Uri enorm tof. Heerlijke typetjes, maar niet enorm typisch. Ik kon echt om ze lachen. Ik vond het eigenlijk ook wel jammer dat we niet meer over ze leerden, want ik denk dat daar nog heel veel mogelijkheden in hadden kunnen zitten.
Er zit eigenlijk genoeg potentie in voor een tweede deel. Geen idee of die er al is of dat die überhaupt ooit op de planning stond, maar als het zo zou zijn, zou ik hem eigenlijk best willen lezen. Maar tot die tijd, ga ik maar zoeken naar een nieuw boek en mijmeren over Moskou.
July 1, 2017
Such a different read, but still very fun and enjoyable. I'm in a contemporary YA romance stage, and this was a little off the cusp for the stage I'm in. It's contemporary, there's a bit of romance, but there's so much more. This book gets deep while still being surface level and cute, but it's in a way that's not annoying. I laughed a lot, and I teared up a bit.
I would've cried more if we had the ruin I was expecting, though. Guess I'm reading about the next mission when Andrea Portes gives it to me!
I would've cried more if we had the ruin I was expecting, though. Guess I'm reading about the next mission when Andrea Portes gives it to me!
July 8, 2017
This book is BONKERS but definitely in a good way. I'm so looking forward to the next book in this series and I'll never look at Edward Snowden the same way again ;)
September 10, 2024
It was okay, I don't think I'm the target demographic for this (maybe teenagers who are in their "I'm quirky 😛" phase). I also can't tell if this is Edward Snowden fan fiction.
April 25, 2017
tl;dr: I feel like I should've liked this more than I actually did? It's funny and I really liked the MC and all her snarkiness, yet I just like I read a good but too long and too self-narrative heavy fan fic, which is both complimentary and not.
February 2, 2018
I seem to be in the minority here, but I wasn't overly fond of this book. In fact I almost dnf'ed it a couple of times, but since I am accomplishment motivated and I need to improve my Goodreads challenge number, I pushed ahead and finished it! And you know what? It actually got better right at the end. Not enough better that I will be recommending this to friends, but at least my misery wasn't a 12 on a 10 point scale. (And it is what bumped my rating to a 2 star.)
Basically, I had trouble with the main character Paige. She apparently has "dissociative disorder" so randomly she will see events happening to herself from a third person POV like they were happening to someone else. I don't know if it is because of this or not, but she doesn't have friends, strings along 3 boy toys for the sex, and is a generally unlikable person. She is passionate about liberal ideologies like freedom and justice and equality, but when she goes to Russia all she can think about is high fashion and what other girls are wearing - kind of shallow. And since the entire book revolves around how she can miraculously make friends and get every boy to fall in love with her (as a spy), but still is super deep and ethical in every area of her life, I found it very difficult to believe. And it was really unbelievable.
There were a few points where I laughed. And I actually really liked most of the Russian characters (Katerina and Uri were great)! But mostly this was a drudgery to wade through. It took over halfway through the book for anything exciting to happen, and even then, it was only the last 10th of the book that was very good. I would honestly skip, you're not missing much.
Basically, I had trouble with the main character Paige. She apparently has "dissociative disorder" so randomly she will see events happening to herself from a third person POV like they were happening to someone else. I don't know if it is because of this or not, but she doesn't have friends, strings along 3 boy toys for the sex, and is a generally unlikable person. She is passionate about liberal ideologies like freedom and justice and equality, but when she goes to Russia all she can think about is high fashion and what other girls are wearing - kind of shallow. And since the entire book revolves around how she can miraculously make friends and get every boy to fall in love with her (as a spy), but still is super deep and ethical in every area of her life, I found it very difficult to believe. And it was really unbelievable.
There were a few points where I laughed. And I actually really liked most of the Russian characters (Katerina and Uri were great)! But mostly this was a drudgery to wade through. It took over halfway through the book for anything exciting to happen, and even then, it was only the last 10th of the book that was very good. I would honestly skip, you're not missing much.
January 4, 2020
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
This book immediately appealed to me as soon as I heard about it. Having a teenage character use her skills to become a spy was definitely something I wanted to read, so I was overjoyed to have a copy sent to me to read and review.
Paige has lost her parents - or has she. She doesn't know whether her famous journalist parents are alive or dead after being captured by terrorists, and no one in the government will tell her anything. She believes that something is being kept from her, so when Madden, a spy, comes to her and asks her to help him in a clandestine operation in Russia, she jumps at the chance, as long as he helps her find out what actually happened to her parents.
I so wanted to like this book, but, honestly, it was too unrealistic for me. I never really clicked with Paige's character, and the amount of disbelief and shaking my head I did while reading it just made me want to stop reading the book. I did read through until the end, but I didn't find myself enjoying it any more, and honestly, felt like it was a waste of my time at the end of the day. Not something I would recommend, nor an author I would read from again.
This book immediately appealed to me as soon as I heard about it. Having a teenage character use her skills to become a spy was definitely something I wanted to read, so I was overjoyed to have a copy sent to me to read and review.
Paige has lost her parents - or has she. She doesn't know whether her famous journalist parents are alive or dead after being captured by terrorists, and no one in the government will tell her anything. She believes that something is being kept from her, so when Madden, a spy, comes to her and asks her to help him in a clandestine operation in Russia, she jumps at the chance, as long as he helps her find out what actually happened to her parents.
I so wanted to like this book, but, honestly, it was too unrealistic for me. I never really clicked with Paige's character, and the amount of disbelief and shaking my head I did while reading it just made me want to stop reading the book. I did read through until the end, but I didn't find myself enjoying it any more, and honestly, felt like it was a waste of my time at the end of the day. Not something I would recommend, nor an author I would read from again.
December 12, 2023
- Read for the Medievalathon, prompt "Read an underrated book". Clergy level 1: Altar server. Rank gained: Empress -
This was a super fun, quick read. I was a big fan of the Spy Kids movies in my childhood, so I have a soft spot for any novels involving spying/espionage and actually really enjoyed this!
Our main character Paige is definitely unusual but I grew to like her an enjoy her odd sense of humour. The story moves really fast but it never felt rushed to me. It's a spy novel, so I definitely expected some fast action, and I wasn't disappointed. And all that is seasoned with lots and lots of humour and may lahg-out-loud moments.
Overall, Liberty is a true escapism novel at its best. I breezed through it really fast and my only complain is that it's a stand alone and not a series! :) I'd love for it to have a sequel, because the ending was quite open, but it was still good as a stand alone novel and I had lots of fun with it.
This was a super fun, quick read. I was a big fan of the Spy Kids movies in my childhood, so I have a soft spot for any novels involving spying/espionage and actually really enjoyed this!
Our main character Paige is definitely unusual but I grew to like her an enjoy her odd sense of humour. The story moves really fast but it never felt rushed to me. It's a spy novel, so I definitely expected some fast action, and I wasn't disappointed. And all that is seasoned with lots and lots of humour and may lahg-out-loud moments.
Overall, Liberty is a true escapism novel at its best. I breezed through it really fast and my only complain is that it's a stand alone and not a series! :) I'd love for it to have a sequel, because the ending was quite open, but it was still good as a stand alone novel and I had lots of fun with it.
October 27, 2018
Okay one of favorites of the year. Possibly my book of the year. I am really hoping for sequel!
March 8, 2019
DNF - don't know if it's my thing or not, but the way this book was written was definitely not my cup of tea.
June 24, 2017
The last Portes book I read was her debut YA novel Anatomy of a Misfit. That one was a long wait for me to actually sit down and read it, but when I did, I found myself liking it along with being mixed. I got some great humor, an interesting voice-driven style to move the plot along, and bits of Anika's life that I actually cared about. But at the same time, the plot was very messy, the characters weren't really developed as a whole, and the humor did taper off every once in a while. Even with that, though, I was very curious about Liberty and where this was going to go.
I'll be honest, I was very excited to read this. It sounded very exciting and it was something that I typically don't read very often: a spy novel. Though I heard, again, mixed reviews before diving into my own copy that my grandparents bought me, I was hoping for the best and a fun-filled ride as a bonus.
Good news: that was exactly what I got. Though at times chaotic and messy (in some ways good, in some ways bad), I found myself really enjoying Portes's newest helping. We had an engaging story that was fast-paced and had depth, an interesting cast of characters that actually felt grounded in the plot, more laugh-out-loud humor, and a very distinctive voice that stood out from the page. Not only was I entertained, but I couldn't put this book down at parts because it was just that gripping.
Let me first take about the plot, as Liberty's worked more for me than it did with Portes's first YA. Though there still was a lot going on, more of it actually felt important to Paige's mission or her interactions with other characters than most of the stuff in Anatomy of a Misfit. It's not just stuff brought into the story for filler; there's training, action, sleuthing, and lovely banter. It's incredibly satisfying to see how better constructed this was. It was actually engaging and seemed to happen for a reason more so than when I read from Portes last.
I also found myself liking Paige a lot. She's incredibly sassy and doesn't take any crap, plus she's more likable due to having more exposed vulnerability. Due to her parents being MIA and having a fear of guns, she has some struggles to work around and manages to focus on what she's doing despite being distracted from time to time (thanks, Sean). Her voice is, again, quite strong and gripping, and will make you want to keep reading because she feels incredibly real.
The side characters were also thankfully given a little more depth, though I still think some work could be done to make them better. I think my personal favorites were Madden, Katerina, and Uri, because they related to the mission and played more than just a role on the sidelines. Madden was the snarky head who could combat Paige in terms of snappy factor (ZING) but also had enough with her at points (even though he clearly cares about her and wants her to do well), and Katerina and Uri were relatively entertaining and also had a few secrets of their own. I would have liked Sean Raynes more if he had more to him then Swoon Object #1,000,000. Depth was lacking on his part.
And finally, the humor is what gave this book some good edge. I found myself snorting, giggling, chuckling, and straight-up laughing as I read more and more pages. It does taper off again a bit towards the end, but at least it remains more consistent this time around and doesn't fall flat on its nose by being offensive in a sense. I shared some great lines in my status updates, and I'm definitely thinking of adding some quotes onto Goodreads. It was just that quotable.
So with some of those problems from Anatomy of a Misfit present though better this time around, I do think this book also went a little too far towards the end when s**t hit the fan. It was definitely fun, but there's so much I can take before I start not taking anything seriously. But regardless, this was still a fun book with a great story, intriguing characters plus a great narrator, and lovely humor that made the inner comedian in me very proud. I'm definitely interested to see what Portes will do next, especially if it's another book for Paige (as I've seen that this is going to be a series).
I'll be honest, I was very excited to read this. It sounded very exciting and it was something that I typically don't read very often: a spy novel. Though I heard, again, mixed reviews before diving into my own copy that my grandparents bought me, I was hoping for the best and a fun-filled ride as a bonus.
Good news: that was exactly what I got. Though at times chaotic and messy (in some ways good, in some ways bad), I found myself really enjoying Portes's newest helping. We had an engaging story that was fast-paced and had depth, an interesting cast of characters that actually felt grounded in the plot, more laugh-out-loud humor, and a very distinctive voice that stood out from the page. Not only was I entertained, but I couldn't put this book down at parts because it was just that gripping.
Let me first take about the plot, as Liberty's worked more for me than it did with Portes's first YA. Though there still was a lot going on, more of it actually felt important to Paige's mission or her interactions with other characters than most of the stuff in Anatomy of a Misfit. It's not just stuff brought into the story for filler; there's training, action, sleuthing, and lovely banter. It's incredibly satisfying to see how better constructed this was. It was actually engaging and seemed to happen for a reason more so than when I read from Portes last.
I also found myself liking Paige a lot. She's incredibly sassy and doesn't take any crap, plus she's more likable due to having more exposed vulnerability. Due to her parents being MIA and having a fear of guns, she has some struggles to work around and manages to focus on what she's doing despite being distracted from time to time (thanks, Sean). Her voice is, again, quite strong and gripping, and will make you want to keep reading because she feels incredibly real.
The side characters were also thankfully given a little more depth, though I still think some work could be done to make them better. I think my personal favorites were Madden, Katerina, and Uri, because they related to the mission and played more than just a role on the sidelines. Madden was the snarky head who could combat Paige in terms of snappy factor (ZING) but also had enough with her at points (even though he clearly cares about her and wants her to do well), and Katerina and Uri were relatively entertaining and also had a few secrets of their own. I would have liked Sean Raynes more if he had more to him then Swoon Object #1,000,000. Depth was lacking on his part.
And finally, the humor is what gave this book some good edge. I found myself snorting, giggling, chuckling, and straight-up laughing as I read more and more pages. It does taper off again a bit towards the end, but at least it remains more consistent this time around and doesn't fall flat on its nose by being offensive in a sense. I shared some great lines in my status updates, and I'm definitely thinking of adding some quotes onto Goodreads. It was just that quotable.
So with some of those problems from Anatomy of a Misfit present though better this time around, I do think this book also went a little too far towards the end when s**t hit the fan. It was definitely fun, but there's so much I can take before I start not taking anything seriously. But regardless, this was still a fun book with a great story, intriguing characters plus a great narrator, and lovely humor that made the inner comedian in me very proud. I'm definitely interested to see what Portes will do next, especially if it's another book for Paige (as I've seen that this is going to be a series).
October 17, 2017
I kind of liked this one despite it being completely unrealistic and actually quite silly in many ways. Paige is an awesome, kick-ass heroine who has skills and an attitude any girl can admire. I mean, any girl who can take down a gang of Russian thugs singlehandedly is cool in my book!
Paige is a college freshman. Her parents are journalists who have vanished in the Middle East after following a suspicious lead. Paige will do just about anything to get them back, or just to discover if they are alive or dead.
So when she's recruited for a top-secret government agency with the promise her parents are alive and that they will do what they can to get her back if she comes to work with them, what choice does Paige have?
Before long, Paige is whisked off to Russia, masquerading as an exchange student while she tries to find America's most wanted man, a cyber-criminal who exposed some of America's most unconstitutional secrets. And he's kind of cute too...
As I mentioned before, pretty much everything in this book defies belief. But id does so with such good humour and snark, I enjoyed it anyway. Paige is a fantastic character with her martial arts skill, knowledge of multiple languages and sarcastic wit. She's smart too, but still makes stupid mistakes, just like most teenagers do. Unfortunately her mistakes have far bigger consequences than most.
This is a fast-paced, breezy read and just plain old good fun. I reccommend it, but be prepared to supend your disbelief a lot further than you usually do.
Paige is a college freshman. Her parents are journalists who have vanished in the Middle East after following a suspicious lead. Paige will do just about anything to get them back, or just to discover if they are alive or dead.
So when she's recruited for a top-secret government agency with the promise her parents are alive and that they will do what they can to get her back if she comes to work with them, what choice does Paige have?
Before long, Paige is whisked off to Russia, masquerading as an exchange student while she tries to find America's most wanted man, a cyber-criminal who exposed some of America's most unconstitutional secrets. And he's kind of cute too...
As I mentioned before, pretty much everything in this book defies belief. But id does so with such good humour and snark, I enjoyed it anyway. Paige is a fantastic character with her martial arts skill, knowledge of multiple languages and sarcastic wit. She's smart too, but still makes stupid mistakes, just like most teenagers do. Unfortunately her mistakes have far bigger consequences than most.
This is a fast-paced, breezy read and just plain old good fun. I reccommend it, but be prepared to supend your disbelief a lot further than you usually do.
Read
March 14, 2024This was slated as part of a series but as far as I can tell the sequels never got published.
This type of lighthearted spy book relies on suspension of disbelief that I don't think you can make work with such a politically vocal main character. The intention might be to counteract the inherent military industrial complex propagandaness of the genre by saying some like liberal leftisty things but it doesn't really work because the book is also overtly patriotic and obviously glorifies covert government agents etc so like all you did was turn my brain on and make me start objecting to things or at least questioning them and this book isn't deep enough to hold up to scrutiny in any area really.
It didn't really work to just throw a layer of irony over everything. This extended from the main character being a bit of an insufferable smart alek (although this kind of worked for me) who is constantly breaking the fourth wall (which didn't work for me) to entire plot points and characters just being absurd caricatures. This catches up in the end when the action concludes with a weak climax.
There is also no plausible reason why this random girl is fluent in russian, chinese, french, italian etc just because she has journalist parents, honestly the flimsiest backstory I've heard. (But also she doesn't know arabic despite it being established that the middle east was a place her parents frequently travelled to ok then)
Idk it was kinda fun though. I have low standards
This type of lighthearted spy book relies on suspension of disbelief that I don't think you can make work with such a politically vocal main character. The intention might be to counteract the inherent military industrial complex propagandaness of the genre by saying some like liberal leftisty things but it doesn't really work because the book is also overtly patriotic and obviously glorifies covert government agents etc so like all you did was turn my brain on and make me start objecting to things or at least questioning them and this book isn't deep enough to hold up to scrutiny in any area really.
It didn't really work to just throw a layer of irony over everything. This extended from the main character being a bit of an insufferable smart alek (although this kind of worked for me) who is constantly breaking the fourth wall (which didn't work for me) to entire plot points and characters just being absurd caricatures. This catches up in the end when the action concludes with a weak climax.
There is also no plausible reason why this random girl is fluent in russian, chinese, french, italian etc just because she has journalist parents, honestly the flimsiest backstory I've heard. (But also she doesn't know arabic despite it being established that the middle east was a place her parents frequently travelled to ok then)
Idk it was kinda fun though. I have low standards
November 18, 2017
Yep. I'm actually giving a book I read in 2017 5 stars. I saw this at the library, remembered I liked this author and checked it out. Portes writing style is unique and distinct. Not for everyone, mind you, but I dig it. I think most of the references would go over most young adults. But for me, I got most of them, and if this gets one teen in the world to resurrect Elliott Smith's music, then I am an even bigger fan. Of course our heroine is college aged, and every girl that goes to college should fall in love with Elliott Smith so that checks out.
This book is freaking smart, and clever and just delighted me. I would be into it being a series. It is so hard to find these books that I love since I find myself in the minority, and I sort of feel like this one found me. Also, I don't usually like spy novels...
Not a lot of swearing but when it is there it is the big ones. For me I found the swearing satisfying every single time. It just worked. Talk of sex but no scenes of such nature.
This book is freaking smart, and clever and just delighted me. I would be into it being a series. It is so hard to find these books that I love since I find myself in the minority, and I sort of feel like this one found me. Also, I don't usually like spy novels...
Not a lot of swearing but when it is there it is the big ones. For me I found the swearing satisfying every single time. It just worked. Talk of sex but no scenes of such nature.
July 8, 2023
I don't know why i picked this out (or why it's called what it's called) but i am GLAD I DID. this was super funny, fast-paced, and the plot twists were *chef's kiss.* the characters and relationships between them were very well developed (although I will say that the main character's development arc did not display a huge change between the beginning at the end, although that could be remedied with a second book? which the ending of this perfectly sets up a second book, though I don't think there is one). so the only points I would take off are that the main character didn't seem to change, because it seemed like there should be a second book where her arc really takes off. overall this was a super fun read, highly recommend !
December 22, 2017
4.5 i would say!
not my favorite book from her but it definitely has the classic Andrea Portes feel and humor in it! it is at times a little confusing but you will get over it soon.
IS THERE A SEQUEL? BECAUSE I LOVE PAIGE NOLAN!
not my favorite book from her but it definitely has the classic Andrea Portes feel and humor in it! it is at times a little confusing but you will get over it soon.
IS THERE A SEQUEL? BECAUSE I LOVE PAIGE NOLAN!
June 30, 2017
Couldn't put it down!
March 23, 2017
Actual rating: 3.5/5
Super fun, fast, and interesting read.
Super fun, fast, and interesting read.
January 25, 2021
A personagem principal é bastante carismática. Leitura bastante leve e fácil de entender, recheado com referências da atualidade
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