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The Specialists #1
Model Spy
Teen genius Kelly James is in a lot of hot water. A whiz with computers, she agreed to help her college RA, David, uncover some top-secret information. After all, she doesn't have many friends and David has always been nice to her. It doesn't hurt that he's supercute and irresistible, too. All she has to do is hack into the government's main computer system.
But a few hours later, her whole life changes. She is caught and taken in for questioning, only this isn't your run-of-the-mill arrest. Rather than serve a juvenile detention sentence, she accepts the option to change her name and enlist in a secret government spy agency that trains teen agents to go undercover. As if that wasn't overwhelming enough, she discovers that David works for this agency as well!
And before she even begins to understand what is going on, she's sent on her first mission as an undercover model. And who better to partner with than David himself!
But a few hours later, her whole life changes. She is caught and taken in for questioning, only this isn't your run-of-the-mill arrest. Rather than serve a juvenile detention sentence, she accepts the option to change her name and enlist in a secret government spy agency that trains teen agents to go undercover. As if that wasn't overwhelming enough, she discovers that David works for this agency as well!
And before she even begins to understand what is going on, she's sent on her first mission as an undercover model. And who better to partner with than David himself!
205 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2007
331 people are currently reading
17785 people want to read
About the author
Shannon Greenland
22 books477 followersShannon Greenland is the award-winning and best-selling author of Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult books. She grew up in Tennessee where she dreaded all things reading and writing. She didn’t even read her first book for enjoyment until she was twenty-five. After that, she was hooked! When she’s not writing, she's usually traveling or hanging out with a rogue armadillo that frequents her backyard.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 387 reviews
September 1, 2020
A girly-girl orphan going on to hacking business. Or rather not precisely going of her free will but rather getting her clumsy butt into a not-very-nice set up. Or… ahem.
Our genius is pretty much done with her college, is a self-proclaimed klutz and is very much into lollypops and being late everywhere. The lollipop obcession is downright alarming by the end of the novel. LOL.
And she's model material, obviously.
Of course, this is all pretty much cardboard-ish (-1 star!) but sweet and fun and easy read nonetheless.
Made up geekery alert! I'm not sure if it's cutely or irritating. We'll see how the next one of this series goes...
Q:
I was about to die, and my geeky experiments were all that worried me. (c)
Q:
Molly, our martial artist, will be Bruiser. Joe, our clairvoyant, is Mystic. Darren, our linguist, will be Parrot. Sissy, our chemist, is Beaker. Frankie, our electrician, will be Wirenut. And Kelly, our computer whiz, was code named Data. But we’re going to change that to GiGi. (c)
Q:
Have you ever done something new, exciting, risky? (c) You've just admitted she's not a risk taker, you dolt.
Q:
I looked horrible in shorts. All long, gangly legs like a giraffe or something. (c)
Q:
“When exactly did you develop such a bad attitude?... “Have you always been this way? Or did you wake up one morning and decide, ‘Hey, I think I’ll be the world’s biggest crab.’” (c)
Q:
If you weren’t so busy becoming one with the stars, you’d see that.
Q:
The only person with a worse time problem than me was Chapling. Funny how I, queen of forgetfulness, reminded somebody else to watch the clock. (c)
Our genius is pretty much done with her college, is a self-proclaimed klutz and is very much into lollypops and being late everywhere. The lollipop obcession is downright alarming by the end of the novel. LOL.
And she's model material, obviously.
Of course, this is all pretty much cardboard-ish (-1 star!) but sweet and fun and easy read nonetheless.
Made up geekery alert! I'm not sure if it's cutely or irritating. We'll see how the next one of this series goes...
Q:
I was about to die, and my geeky experiments were all that worried me. (c)
Q:
Molly, our martial artist, will be Bruiser. Joe, our clairvoyant, is Mystic. Darren, our linguist, will be Parrot. Sissy, our chemist, is Beaker. Frankie, our electrician, will be Wirenut. And Kelly, our computer whiz, was code named Data. But we’re going to change that to GiGi. (c)
Q:
Have you ever done something new, exciting, risky? (c) You've just admitted she's not a risk taker, you dolt.
Q:
I looked horrible in shorts. All long, gangly legs like a giraffe or something. (c)
Q:
“When exactly did you develop such a bad attitude?... “Have you always been this way? Or did you wake up one morning and decide, ‘Hey, I think I’ll be the world’s biggest crab.’” (c)
Q:
If you weren’t so busy becoming one with the stars, you’d see that.
Q:
The only person with a worse time problem than me was Chapling. Funny how I, queen of forgetfulness, reminded somebody else to watch the clock. (c)
February 23, 2010
This is a perfect example of why I have issues with Young Adult books. Some authors pare their writing down for young adults, thinking that by watering down the story and adding strange adages such as "yowza!" will make the story 'hip' and 'relatable' to teenagers.
The opening chapter was perfect- the hook was great. The rest of the beginning, after she arrives at the camp, was terrible. Her team could've been omitted from the novel, as the only thing they provided was a few comments here and there.
Another problem I had: the 'TL' guy. And their use of acronyms and codenames. our main character changes her name several times, and so do the unnecessary side characters. We learn their real names, then their codenames (which are ridiculously lame) and they don't even have an impact on the story. Also, TL says over and over in the beginning that they're "family" when they have barely even met. They keep reiterating this family idea, although I can't see the family chemistry going on.
Besides the terrible codenames, unimportant side characters, lack of an exciting middle act, and all of the paragraphs of questions throughout the book, the plot is good. The mission was interesting and exciting, and the TL and David characters were relatable and likable. The main character was a little annoying at first, and her thought processes were the equivalent of a twelve year old minus the technical jargon.
I give this book a two stars for the interesting scenario and plot. I also give it only two stars because every two pages there's an eye-roll worthy line.
The opening chapter was perfect- the hook was great. The rest of the beginning, after she arrives at the camp, was terrible. Her team could've been omitted from the novel, as the only thing they provided was a few comments here and there.
Another problem I had: the 'TL' guy. And their use of acronyms and codenames. our main character changes her name several times, and so do the unnecessary side characters. We learn their real names, then their codenames (which are ridiculously lame) and they don't even have an impact on the story. Also, TL says over and over in the beginning that they're "family" when they have barely even met. They keep reiterating this family idea, although I can't see the family chemistry going on.
Besides the terrible codenames, unimportant side characters, lack of an exciting middle act, and all of the paragraphs of questions throughout the book, the plot is good. The mission was interesting and exciting, and the TL and David characters were relatable and likable. The main character was a little annoying at first, and her thought processes were the equivalent of a twelve year old minus the technical jargon.
I give this book a two stars for the interesting scenario and plot. I also give it only two stars because every two pages there's an eye-roll worthy line.
November 10, 2024
This was one of those books that made me smile the whole way through. It was a perfect read right after engaging with the not-so-light books like Falling Kingdoms and Anna Dressed in Blood.
Reading this cute and fluffy first book in the series was such a treat. It was a great set up for the next books to come. It was fun getting to meet all the characters and learn about this learning facility focused on training new specialists/spies/secret agents. Reminds me so much of my beloved Gallagher Girls series.
This also has a touch of romance and, like the rest of this book, it's super cute as well. I adore David and GiGi's interactions a lot.
I like GiGi's point of view a lot too. She's an awkward girl I can relate to. She was a funny storyteller and her thoughts were always a hoot.
“Amazing that people worried about stuff like calories. What a waste of valuable brain time.”
Amen! I agree to this wholeheartedly. With that line I'm positive that she's my spirit character. I am so excited to read the next books in the series!
Reading this cute and fluffy first book in the series was such a treat. It was a great set up for the next books to come. It was fun getting to meet all the characters and learn about this learning facility focused on training new specialists/spies/secret agents. Reminds me so much of my beloved Gallagher Girls series.
This also has a touch of romance and, like the rest of this book, it's super cute as well. I adore David and GiGi's interactions a lot.
I like GiGi's point of view a lot too. She's an awkward girl I can relate to. She was a funny storyteller and her thoughts were always a hoot.
“Amazing that people worried about stuff like calories. What a waste of valuable brain time.”
Amen! I agree to this wholeheartedly. With that line I'm positive that she's my spirit character. I am so excited to read the next books in the series!
August 19, 2013
Umm.. after reading the Gallagher series this book fell pretty flat. Even I could see through the weak writing. The characters completely confused me and there was almost no development. It was a pathetic copy off the aforementioned series and like an old, cheesy movie. This in no way captured the covert, serious and dangerous life of spies, I doubt the writer had any idea of what she was really writing about. The "spy" plot-line is a really intriguing genre for me and shows me that there is a lot of unknown and mystery in the government but the "spies" in these books were translucent and ridiculously annoying and stupid. Did I mention that this book was so simple it took me less than three hours to read?
September 3, 2016
No, you're not mistaken. I give it a 5/5 without a doubt.
If you're looking for a hardcore action-packed series matched with heavy romance, this book is absolutely not for you. But don't get me wrong. Model Spy is definitely a must-read! It is light, funny, and sweet. Yes, innocently sweet. With all the rated-PG books nowadays, this book fits just perfect as a comic relief.
It actually reminds me of Charlie's Angels, but now with six undercover gifted minors ready to fight off some bad guys. The lead character is Kelly James, the 190 I.Q. bearer. She lost her parents in a plane crash when she was six. Never again did she ride on that flying human-transporter. For the next 10 years of her life, she transferred from one foster family to another. The recent one was in Iowa. Though only 16 years old, she's just one year away from college graduation. Talk about genius, huh? She's a computer freak! Yeah, she was able to hack into 9 levels of the US government's computer system for her crush--the really cute 18 year old--David. Little did she know that this was planned by IPNC to get her to join them.
She eventually joined IPNC and found a real family. A family of The Specialists. The characters are really loveable. :) I love T.L. so much. He's like Charlie, but a little more father-like. :) I love Bruiser, Mystic, Parrot, Beaker, and Wirenut, too! Yeah, they have cool names like that! Okay they're just code names, but they're cool right? I also love Chapling!!! Aww. He's the other computer geek that Kelly works with. He's so effortlessly funny and lovable. He hasn't walked out from his computer den for hmmm, 15 years (I forgot!)? FINALLY, I LOVE DAVID. He is so sweet! <3
After months of training, Kelly was sent to her first mission.Her mission was to save David's dad who was abducted 10 years ago by some dying terrorist. There's one problem though. She has to go undercover as a model and she's anything but a model. Sure she's pretty, but she isn't composed, confident, assertive. Kelly is a model's complete opposite.
Now that they're in the terrorist's premises, will Kelly keep her model secret identity? Or will she lead the group to trouble? Read this and you'll find out. :) I seriously hope I read this when I was about 14-16. I would totally recommend this to those teens/tweens out there. :) I know you'll have fun. I did! :)
Enjoy reading! :) God bless you! :)
Lessons I Learned
1. Value your family. You'll never know when you'll stay together as one.
Kelly lost her parents when she was six. David's dad was abducted when he was eight. All the rest of the Specialists have no families to return to. I don't know what happened to their families, but I sure don't want to lose mine as such a young age like them. So let's all cherish the times we spend with our families. Love them! Care for them! Although they eat our freshly baked cakes and spaghetti. :)
2. Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself and your own family.
The Specialists have no families anymore, but they have each other. Love your friends because they make a great family. :) Remember, however, to find true friends. Friends that will lead you to the right path. :)
Check out this review at Laurice-Model Spy
If you're looking for a hardcore action-packed series matched with heavy romance, this book is absolutely not for you. But don't get me wrong. Model Spy is definitely a must-read! It is light, funny, and sweet. Yes, innocently sweet. With all the rated-PG books nowadays, this book fits just perfect as a comic relief.
It actually reminds me of Charlie's Angels, but now with six undercover gifted minors ready to fight off some bad guys. The lead character is Kelly James, the 190 I.Q. bearer. She lost her parents in a plane crash when she was six. Never again did she ride on that flying human-transporter. For the next 10 years of her life, she transferred from one foster family to another. The recent one was in Iowa. Though only 16 years old, she's just one year away from college graduation. Talk about genius, huh? She's a computer freak! Yeah, she was able to hack into 9 levels of the US government's computer system for her crush--the really cute 18 year old--David. Little did she know that this was planned by IPNC to get her to join them.
She eventually joined IPNC and found a real family. A family of The Specialists. The characters are really loveable. :) I love T.L. so much. He's like Charlie, but a little more father-like. :) I love Bruiser, Mystic, Parrot, Beaker, and Wirenut, too! Yeah, they have cool names like that! Okay they're just code names, but they're cool right? I also love Chapling!!! Aww. He's the other computer geek that Kelly works with. He's so effortlessly funny and lovable. He hasn't walked out from his computer den for hmmm, 15 years (I forgot!)? FINALLY, I LOVE DAVID. He is so sweet! <3
After months of training, Kelly was sent to her first mission.Her mission was to save David's dad who was abducted 10 years ago by some dying terrorist. There's one problem though. She has to go undercover as a model and she's anything but a model. Sure she's pretty, but she isn't composed, confident, assertive. Kelly is a model's complete opposite.
Now that they're in the terrorist's premises, will Kelly keep her model secret identity? Or will she lead the group to trouble? Read this and you'll find out. :) I seriously hope I read this when I was about 14-16. I would totally recommend this to those teens/tweens out there. :) I know you'll have fun. I did! :)
Enjoy reading! :) God bless you! :)
Lessons I Learned
1. Value your family. You'll never know when you'll stay together as one.
Kelly lost her parents when she was six. David's dad was abducted when he was eight. All the rest of the Specialists have no families to return to. I don't know what happened to their families, but I sure don't want to lose mine as such a young age like them. So let's all cherish the times we spend with our families. Love them! Care for them! Although they eat our freshly baked cakes and spaghetti. :)
2. Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself and your own family.
The Specialists have no families anymore, but they have each other. Love your friends because they make a great family. :) Remember, however, to find true friends. Friends that will lead you to the right path. :)
Check out this review at Laurice-Model Spy
June 28, 2021
Model Spy was a really fun, quick and easy read with the teen spy and also the found family trope.
GiGi, a computer genius, gets arrested for hacking into nine of the eighteen levels in the government system because her RA (because she’s already at college level), David, asked her to find information on his father who has been missing for years. She’s the offered to join a group of gifted teen spies, The Specialists and she agrees. The Specialists are all teens that have some kind of really special skill and at one point have been arrested for using said skills.
We get introduced to a lot of characters but this book focuses on GiGi< David and TL and now I’m looking forward to more insight on the others. GiGi is a bit annoying at times, but I’m cutting her some slack because a) she’s a 16 year old orphan who’s had a hard life and b) she has 4 more books and I’m hoping for some major character development.
GiGi, a computer genius, gets arrested for hacking into nine of the eighteen levels in the government system because her RA (because she’s already at college level), David, asked her to find information on his father who has been missing for years. She’s the offered to join a group of gifted teen spies, The Specialists and she agrees. The Specialists are all teens that have some kind of really special skill and at one point have been arrested for using said skills.
We get introduced to a lot of characters but this book focuses on GiGi< David and TL and now I’m looking forward to more insight on the others. GiGi is a bit annoying at times, but I’m cutting her some slack because a) she’s a 16 year old orphan who’s had a hard life and b) she has 4 more books and I’m hoping for some major character development.
February 6, 2013
I think the last time I read a book like this, it was "I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You" by Ally Carter. But while this book is as fun as the Ally Carter one, it's different in one significant way:
GiGi, our protagonist, is a klutz and a technological genius.
The story starts when GiGi is arresting for hacking into nine of the eighteen levels in a government system. After scaring her a bit, she's offered a choice - she can escape all this by joining The Specialists, a group of gifted teenage spies. There, she meets her new teamates: Bruiser (a sweet girl who's a fighting machine), Beaker (a goth girl who's a chemistry whiz), Parrot (a polymath), Mystic (he knows ESP), and meets a few familiar faces like David (the guy that convinced her to hack into the government system).
After a month, she's suddenly sent of her first mission - to inflitrate a modelling school. And of course she's terrified, she's a klutz!
What I liked about this story was the characters. I didn't see much of any of them except GiGi, David, Jonathon and TL (the guy in charge), but there were many characters who all stood out. GiGi was really likable as well, although I wish she wasn't one of those "I'm-ugly-wait-everyone-says-otherwise" kind of girls. Why can't she either be ugly (and honestly she think she is), or pretty and admit the fact?
The plot was a bit too short for my liking. I felt like most of the book was an introduction to the Specialists, and not enough time was spent with the actual mission. I'd actually like her to enter the modelling school too, because I'd really love to see what it was inside.
This is a first book in a series, and I'm definitely interested in the others. It's a fun, light read.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
First published at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
GiGi, our protagonist, is a klutz and a technological genius.
The story starts when GiGi is arresting for hacking into nine of the eighteen levels in a government system. After scaring her a bit, she's offered a choice - she can escape all this by joining The Specialists, a group of gifted teenage spies. There, she meets her new teamates: Bruiser (a sweet girl who's a fighting machine), Beaker (a goth girl who's a chemistry whiz), Parrot (a polymath), Mystic (he knows ESP), and meets a few familiar faces like David (the guy that convinced her to hack into the government system).
After a month, she's suddenly sent of her first mission - to inflitrate a modelling school. And of course she's terrified, she's a klutz!
What I liked about this story was the characters. I didn't see much of any of them except GiGi, David, Jonathon and TL (the guy in charge), but there were many characters who all stood out. GiGi was really likable as well, although I wish she wasn't one of those "I'm-ugly-wait-everyone-says-otherwise" kind of girls. Why can't she either be ugly (and honestly she think she is), or pretty and admit the fact?
The plot was a bit too short for my liking. I felt like most of the book was an introduction to the Specialists, and not enough time was spent with the actual mission. I'd actually like her to enter the modelling school too, because I'd really love to see what it was inside.
This is a first book in a series, and I'm definitely interested in the others. It's a fun, light read.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
First published at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
December 17, 2012
See more of my reviews at Me You and My Shelf
Model Spy just fell flat for me on so many levels. I did not enjoy reading it, and found the story quite cheesy and unbelievable.
Model Spy is about a teen genius (yeah, right) who hacks into a government database. The government finds out, and she gets recruited by an angency called the specialists. She soon has to go undercover in Ushbania as a model to try and locate her friend's father.
Bleh.
So, Kelly hacked through 9 out of the 18 levels in the government database, which is as far as anyone's ever gotten. She mentions that the passwords were very cleverly coded in the numbers of Pascal's triangle.
Firstly, the pattern of Pascal's triangle is incredibly simple. I could recite all the lines to you right now, even though I suck at maths and only passed my exam by 4 marks. I seriously doubt that the GOVERNMENT would encode their passwords with such simple pattern, and that she was the first one to figure it out. I bet heaps of people try to hack into the US government. I find it hard to believe that Kelly was the best at it.
Many points of the story were also incredibly lame. The specialists are quite lame and unbelievable. They were such a small group, and almost everyone there seemed untrained and unremarkable. I find it hard to believe that they're all very special as the book suggests. The characters were also given very lame codenames, like Beaker and Bruiser (for a chemist and a fighter).
One of the most annoying parts of the story was Kelly.
If I hear one more YA characters whine on about how klutzy they are, I will kill them.
She had an irritating crush on David for most of the book, often talking about how hot he was, but never acting on it. Considering that both Kelly and David were crappy, flat characters, I had no interest in the romance between them. There were often facefalm inducing parts such as this:
"The air conditioning kicked on, sendiing his cologne shooting up my nostrils. They flared in immediate response. My heart kicked into light speed, and my head whirred on a dizzying wave.
SERIOUSLY. It's just cologne!
My biggest problem with Kelly was that she was a teen genius, but she really didn't seem like it. A 191 IQ is incredibly high. Very rare, and anyone who would have such a high IQ would have to be very organised and have very complicated thought processes (like Sheldon Cooper, but less annoying). Kelly was stupid. She wasn't smart at all. She always mixed up her words, like this:
""Sorry, I was proton spread analyzing the." I shook my head. "I mean, I was analyzing the spread of a proton.""
Yep. You're a genius.
It's hard to write such a smart character, because most of us are only of average intelligence, give or take. It is hard to adopt the thought processes of someone who is very smart. The author really needed to show us why Kelly was smart, instead of just telling us. Sure, she'd drop a fancy word or two sometimes, but I hear people in year 12 maths speaking like that two. Just cause you know what the nth term of a geometric sequence is doesn't mean you're a genius.
The rest of the characters were also crappy, empty shells. I would've thought that the head of a secret organisation would be incredibly smart and skilled at everything. The head of the Specialists, TL (I have no idea what it stands for) is very unremarkable. Just bleh.
So, they all go on a secret mission. You would think that the mission would be intense, exciting, and interesting, but it really wasn't. The mission bored me just as much as the rest of the book. I didn't really care about it, and it wasn't complicated enough. . Everything was resolved to quickly.
I also find it hard to believe that a top secret spy group and a bunch of guards have no guns. Kelly was hardly trained at all before going on the mission, and firearms weren't even mentioned in this.
It was a hard slog to the end, and I contemplated putting the book down many times. It was childish, cheesy, crappy, and boring.
I would not reccomend this book to anyone.
1.5/5 stars.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
All quotes in this review were taken from an uncorrected proof. They may have been changed or omitted from the finished copy.
Model Spy just fell flat for me on so many levels. I did not enjoy reading it, and found the story quite cheesy and unbelievable.
Model Spy is about a teen genius (yeah, right) who hacks into a government database. The government finds out, and she gets recruited by an angency called the specialists. She soon has to go undercover in Ushbania as a model to try and locate her friend's father.
Bleh.
So, Kelly hacked through 9 out of the 18 levels in the government database, which is as far as anyone's ever gotten. She mentions that the passwords were very cleverly coded in the numbers of Pascal's triangle.
Firstly, the pattern of Pascal's triangle is incredibly simple. I could recite all the lines to you right now, even though I suck at maths and only passed my exam by 4 marks. I seriously doubt that the GOVERNMENT would encode their passwords with such simple pattern, and that she was the first one to figure it out. I bet heaps of people try to hack into the US government. I find it hard to believe that Kelly was the best at it.
Many points of the story were also incredibly lame. The specialists are quite lame and unbelievable. They were such a small group, and almost everyone there seemed untrained and unremarkable. I find it hard to believe that they're all very special as the book suggests. The characters were also given very lame codenames, like Beaker and Bruiser (for a chemist and a fighter).
One of the most annoying parts of the story was Kelly.
If I hear one more YA characters whine on about how klutzy they are, I will kill them.
She had an irritating crush on David for most of the book, often talking about how hot he was, but never acting on it. Considering that both Kelly and David were crappy, flat characters, I had no interest in the romance between them. There were often facefalm inducing parts such as this:
"The air conditioning kicked on, sendiing his cologne shooting up my nostrils. They flared in immediate response. My heart kicked into light speed, and my head whirred on a dizzying wave.
SERIOUSLY. It's just cologne!
My biggest problem with Kelly was that she was a teen genius, but she really didn't seem like it. A 191 IQ is incredibly high. Very rare, and anyone who would have such a high IQ would have to be very organised and have very complicated thought processes (like Sheldon Cooper, but less annoying). Kelly was stupid. She wasn't smart at all. She always mixed up her words, like this:
""Sorry, I was proton spread analyzing the." I shook my head. "I mean, I was analyzing the spread of a proton.""
Yep. You're a genius.
It's hard to write such a smart character, because most of us are only of average intelligence, give or take. It is hard to adopt the thought processes of someone who is very smart. The author really needed to show us why Kelly was smart, instead of just telling us. Sure, she'd drop a fancy word or two sometimes, but I hear people in year 12 maths speaking like that two. Just cause you know what the nth term of a geometric sequence is doesn't mean you're a genius.
The rest of the characters were also crappy, empty shells. I would've thought that the head of a secret organisation would be incredibly smart and skilled at everything. The head of the Specialists, TL (I have no idea what it stands for) is very unremarkable. Just bleh.
So, they all go on a secret mission. You would think that the mission would be intense, exciting, and interesting, but it really wasn't. The mission bored me just as much as the rest of the book. I didn't really care about it, and it wasn't complicated enough. . Everything was resolved to quickly.
I also find it hard to believe that a top secret spy group and a bunch of guards have no guns. Kelly was hardly trained at all before going on the mission, and firearms weren't even mentioned in this.
It was a hard slog to the end, and I contemplated putting the book down many times. It was childish, cheesy, crappy, and boring.
I would not reccomend this book to anyone.
1.5/5 stars.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
All quotes in this review were taken from an uncorrected proof. They may have been changed or omitted from the finished copy.
July 9, 2011
I am seriously hooked on these teen spy books right now. I really liked this book. I was a bit unhappy that books 3 and 4 are on Kindle but book 2 is only paperback or audio. The paperback was not available locally so I had to stop reading the series and order it through Amazon. Hopefully the publisher will work on that. I do not agree with the people who gave the book a 1 on Amazon because book 2 is not available on Kindle. It has nothing to do with the book's content or author's ability to write a good, entertaining story and the rating system should not be used as a club to force the publisher to make it an e-book. It actually makes it look like people did not like the book and therefore it is not a good investment for making it an e-book so the exact opposite is likely to happen. Since I was formerly someone who did forecasting and budgeting for a major corporation I speak from internal knowledge on how decisions are made on where to make investments. There is a button at the top of the page that allows us to request the publisher make it a Kindle e-book. Okay, off the soapbox and on to the review.
This book was fun. I found myself going into my library and looking around to see if I had anything like it to hold me until book 2 arrives. I had a few YA books, but, they mostly were urban fantasy YA which I also love. In this book a super smart programmer and inventor who finds herself in a bit of trouble after trying to help someone in her dorm using her programming skills. She winds up in a special training program for teen spies. I know this is not a new concept but it is new for me. I am on a roll with them and enjoying them. I really like GiGi and in her case she was never a bad person or someone who got into trouble. She lived a pretty solitary life so the change was still big for her. I really like the entire crew, especially the techies who I really relate to. I thought the GiGi's speech quirk was great too.
GiGi has her first assignment and it was great to see her work with the team and get into her role as a model, the very last role you would have expected her to play. She is a bit of a klutz and despite being very attractive, she is unaware that she is attractive. A lot of this is related to her childhood and rings true for children that have gone through what she has gone through. The other teens that are part of the program like Bruiser and Mystic all make a great part of the story and I look forward to learning more about each of them. I found the author on Facebook and mentioned that I would love to see more of her writing in that series.
I am really looking forward to book 2 getting here.
Review can also be seen at: http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspo...
This book was fun. I found myself going into my library and looking around to see if I had anything like it to hold me until book 2 arrives. I had a few YA books, but, they mostly were urban fantasy YA which I also love. In this book a super smart programmer and inventor who finds herself in a bit of trouble after trying to help someone in her dorm using her programming skills. She winds up in a special training program for teen spies. I know this is not a new concept but it is new for me. I am on a roll with them and enjoying them. I really like GiGi and in her case she was never a bad person or someone who got into trouble. She lived a pretty solitary life so the change was still big for her. I really like the entire crew, especially the techies who I really relate to. I thought the GiGi's speech quirk was great too.
GiGi has her first assignment and it was great to see her work with the team and get into her role as a model, the very last role you would have expected her to play. She is a bit of a klutz and despite being very attractive, she is unaware that she is attractive. A lot of this is related to her childhood and rings true for children that have gone through what she has gone through. The other teens that are part of the program like Bruiser and Mystic all make a great part of the story and I look forward to learning more about each of them. I found the author on Facebook and mentioned that I would love to see more of her writing in that series.
I am really looking forward to book 2 getting here.
Review can also be seen at: http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspo...
June 24, 2015
The review is also available on my blog, Bows & Bullets Reviews
Kelly James’ life changes the minute she agrees to help David, her RA, uncover top secret information on his father. She’s a genius (literally) and a whiz with computers, she knows she can get to the info if she is willing to dig deep enough. Unfortunately, the information is super top secret and few hours after hacking the government, she is arrested….and offered a job? She gets taken away to a farm for the super-smarts and offered a job as a spy….and quickly thrown into her first mission. Does Kelly have what it takes to be a world class spy? Or will she fail the mission and her new found family?
Kelly was cute and geeky and super-smart. She’s still a teen, but already in college. She’s genius level smart and has more fun dinking around on a computer than interacting with humans. Because of that, she is more than a little awkward. Her crush on David is adorable and frustrating. David, by the way, is a character I’m not entirely sold on. He’s sweet, but he did trick Kelly into a compromising situation so they could recruit her which is beyond sketchy.
The rest of the crew is interesting, but forgettable. I felt like they were important, but not at the same time. Part of what makes Kelly want to stay is the new “family,” so they were required for that, but they didn’t really add anything to the story beyond that. Kelly connects, but they get such a short stent in the novel that I wondered if they were really necessary. Oh, and the code names, geez the code names. They are so bad! Can we just not?
This tiny novel is incredibly readable and I really enjoyed it, but it felt like it was over too soon. We don’t go super in-depth on anything and I feel like it wasn’t properly resolved. That’s forgivable because I know this is the first in a series, but I feel like a lot more could have been added to take this novel from good to great.
Despite the issues, I really enjoyed this little novel. It’s fast-paced and action-packed. It’s a quick and easy read that I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I did!
****Thank you to Penguin Publishers for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review****
Kelly James’ life changes the minute she agrees to help David, her RA, uncover top secret information on his father. She’s a genius (literally) and a whiz with computers, she knows she can get to the info if she is willing to dig deep enough. Unfortunately, the information is super top secret and few hours after hacking the government, she is arrested….and offered a job? She gets taken away to a farm for the super-smarts and offered a job as a spy….and quickly thrown into her first mission. Does Kelly have what it takes to be a world class spy? Or will she fail the mission and her new found family?
Kelly was cute and geeky and super-smart. She’s still a teen, but already in college. She’s genius level smart and has more fun dinking around on a computer than interacting with humans. Because of that, she is more than a little awkward. Her crush on David is adorable and frustrating. David, by the way, is a character I’m not entirely sold on. He’s sweet, but he did trick Kelly into a compromising situation so they could recruit her which is beyond sketchy.
The rest of the crew is interesting, but forgettable. I felt like they were important, but not at the same time. Part of what makes Kelly want to stay is the new “family,” so they were required for that, but they didn’t really add anything to the story beyond that. Kelly connects, but they get such a short stent in the novel that I wondered if they were really necessary. Oh, and the code names, geez the code names. They are so bad! Can we just not?
This tiny novel is incredibly readable and I really enjoyed it, but it felt like it was over too soon. We don’t go super in-depth on anything and I feel like it wasn’t properly resolved. That’s forgivable because I know this is the first in a series, but I feel like a lot more could have been added to take this novel from good to great.
Despite the issues, I really enjoyed this little novel. It’s fast-paced and action-packed. It’s a quick and easy read that I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I did!
****Thank you to Penguin Publishers for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review****
January 2, 2013
Model Spy by Shannon Greenland is one of those books that is a quick fun filled read. I have not read a lot of spy books but this one is a great beginning to the series that I will continue to read. It is action packed and full of surprises that the moment you begin to read it you are hooked and need to keep reading it.
Kelly James is a teen genius who is at college. While at college her RA David asks her to hack into the governments computer system so he can get some information. Kelly agrees and she hacks into this top secret government site and David gets the information he needs. What Kelly never thought was that she would get caught. She does not have friends and keeps quiet so when David who is nice asks her to hack the computer system she agrees. Now caught and in big trouble she is brought to place where she is given an option to go to a severe Juvenile detention center or work for the government. Well what is a girl to do.... work for the government of course.
Then she finds out that David in fact works for the government and is an agent. With this new found information Kelly is kinda shocked because she never ever would have suspected David worked for the government. As Kelly's first assignment she must go under cover as a model and oh my her partner is none other than David! She is nervous at first but then the two of them work together really well. As their assignment heats up Kelly and David will have to race the clock to discover what they need to.
What will happen to Kelly? Will she uncover the info she needs? What will happen between her and David? This is a cute must read series!
Kelly James is a teen genius who is at college. While at college her RA David asks her to hack into the governments computer system so he can get some information. Kelly agrees and she hacks into this top secret government site and David gets the information he needs. What Kelly never thought was that she would get caught. She does not have friends and keeps quiet so when David who is nice asks her to hack the computer system she agrees. Now caught and in big trouble she is brought to place where she is given an option to go to a severe Juvenile detention center or work for the government. Well what is a girl to do.... work for the government of course.
Then she finds out that David in fact works for the government and is an agent. With this new found information Kelly is kinda shocked because she never ever would have suspected David worked for the government. As Kelly's first assignment she must go under cover as a model and oh my her partner is none other than David! She is nervous at first but then the two of them work together really well. As their assignment heats up Kelly and David will have to race the clock to discover what they need to.
What will happen to Kelly? Will she uncover the info she needs? What will happen between her and David? This is a cute must read series!
June 5, 2008
The cover is candy pink and has some legs on it. I suspect this, and the title, were the design of some marketing bimbo who assumed that pink sexy things are more appealing to readers than intelligent female protagonists who are computer nerds cum secret agents. I'd be more offended if the book weren't so fluffy and silly. I know this is supposed to be the start of a series, so I'll give benefit of the doubt to the author and assume she is setting the stage here for better-developed adventures to come. Otherwise, I don't see the point of introducing so many characters who do nothing. I also didn't get why the book was set in "San Belden, CA" -- was she getting mixed up with Belden, CA? That doesn't work, either, because Belden is too small to hide a secret spy base. Since there was no description of the area it didn't really matter where it was set, so she could have used a real town (note to author: in CA, place names beginning with "San" are in Spanish), or not even specified where they were. Lastly, and this is a quibble I have with most books of the suddenly-recruited-secret-agent genre -- don't they get paid?! If a goverment agency approached me and wanted me to come be a spy, my first questions would be 1) for how long, and 2) what do I get out of it? I don't think a genius with a degree in computer pogramming would be so eager to go live under great constraints, in a dormitory, for what appears to be no pay. Just saying that the people recruited have no families doesn't explain why they don't want to have income or social lives.
March 9, 2009
3.5 stars. I don't know why there are suddenly so many books out there featuring teenage spies, but whatever. This one, the first in the series The Specialists, features Kelly, who at sixteen is about the graduate from college. She's an orphan with a 190+ IQ and very skilled at hacking, recruited into a secret organization that takes teen orphans with special skills and turns them into agents. In this book, she's recruited into the organization, discovers that the guy she thought was her college RA is actually an agent there as well, and then gets sent on a mission to take down a bad guy by posing as a model. Cute premise.
The book was fun and quick to read, but it was also fairly simple and predictable. Not all the characters felt totally 3D - a ton of minor characters (who may play larger roles in later books) were introduced all at once, like a big info-dump, and I would never have been able to keep them straight had the author not given them cutesy nicknames. They also felt stiff, very one-dimensional. I am not a fan of books or movies where a character is so klutzy that it causes problems, and that was featured in this book quite a bit, to my disappointment. But, I did like the idea and some of the scenes were pulled off really well. I imagine I'll read the other installments (why not - they're quick and entertaining) and hope the books get better as they go on. I think teen girls would really like this book, since it's fun, and they may overlook the problems I had with it.
The book was fun and quick to read, but it was also fairly simple and predictable. Not all the characters felt totally 3D - a ton of minor characters (who may play larger roles in later books) were introduced all at once, like a big info-dump, and I would never have been able to keep them straight had the author not given them cutesy nicknames. They also felt stiff, very one-dimensional. I am not a fan of books or movies where a character is so klutzy that it causes problems, and that was featured in this book quite a bit, to my disappointment. But, I did like the idea and some of the scenes were pulled off really well. I imagine I'll read the other installments (why not - they're quick and entertaining) and hope the books get better as they go on. I think teen girls would really like this book, since it's fun, and they may overlook the problems I had with it.
June 20, 2009
The moment Kelly James agrees to hack into the government's files she knows she will regret it . At least she knows it will be easy for a computer genius like herself. Just mere hours after hacking into the system she is arrested. She is a lucky girl though because the agents offer her an alternative, the opportunity to go to a top secret government spy school and change her identity. She agrees, because who wouldn't want to not have to go to jail?? She quickly adjusts to the spy environment, even getting a new name - Gigi, all the while developing a crush on David, the person that persuaded her to hack the system in the first place -also part of the spy program known as the Specialists. After only a month she is sent on her first mission. Her mission: pretend to be a model while searching for a microchip that will lead to the discovery of a missing man.
For a thin book (205 pages) this book was packed with suspense and adventure. It definitely kept me turning the pages and eager to learn more of the fate of all the characters. Gigi is a very likable girl because she is smart, but not full of herself, and very realistic. What girl can't relate to getting tongue-tied around a hot guy?? There is a second book already published in the series and a third is due out in April of this year. The book definitely leaves the reader on the edge, with lots of unanswered questions. All in all this book is a light fun read and would be great for the beach or a lazy, rainy afternoon!
For a thin book (205 pages) this book was packed with suspense and adventure. It definitely kept me turning the pages and eager to learn more of the fate of all the characters. Gigi is a very likable girl because she is smart, but not full of herself, and very realistic. What girl can't relate to getting tongue-tied around a hot guy?? There is a second book already published in the series and a third is due out in April of this year. The book definitely leaves the reader on the edge, with lots of unanswered questions. All in all this book is a light fun read and would be great for the beach or a lazy, rainy afternoon!
dnf
March 12, 2025“You can’t be a computer hacker, you look like a victoria’s secret model!!” Yeah im out
January 24, 2013
You're under arrest for threatening homeland security and suspected terrorism
THE REASON
I was given an e-galley copy of MODEL SPY for the purposes of providing a complete and honest review. I was intrigued by the gorgeous, vivid pink cover, and I honestly had not even read a description of the plot when I decided to read this book.
THE PLOT
Kelly is a stunningly gorgeous teenage girl who just happens to be a complete and utter genius when it comes to computers. She can code everything and hack anything -- and she has a ridiculously high IQ that leaves her feeling awkward and isolated from her classmates.
But, there is this one guy, David, who is pretty cute and very intelligent -- and he even seems comfortable having conversations with Kelly. He approaches Kelly one day, saying that he needs her help in uncovering the details of a family secret. He has found a top secret letter from a male asking David's father to watch over David since his real father has gone missing. David has never been given any information about being adopted, and he has always assumed that the man who raised him was his birth father. So, he just needs a teeny, tiny favor from Kelly -- one that happens to involve hacking into secret government information.
Well, it turns out it was all a setup and Kelly is instantly arrested. She is given two options -- go to the juvenile detention center or completely change her identity in order to become a spy. Kelly feels trapped but decides that it might be exciting to live an entirely new and different lifestyle.
On her first day at spy school, she runs into none other than the handsome boy who led her into this mess -- David. It turns out Kelly's skills are needed, for real this time, to uncover the location of David's father, who has been kidnapped by dangerous terrorists. Since Kelly is so stunningly beautiful, she will pose as a supermodel at the terrorist's supermodel school and try to crack the case wide open.
Is shy, awkward Kelly ready to be a supermodel .... OR a spy?
MY THOUGHTS
I'm honestly just really torn on this one. The premise is cute, the writing is good, but I just felt so disconnected from the story.
For one thing, it seemed awfully convenient that Kelly was not only a ridiculously intelligent GENIUS but that she was also tall, skinny, gorgeous, and frequently mistaken for a Victoria's Secret model. These over the top characteristics just made Kelly unrelateable to me as a reader, which honestly made me feel less invested in her story.
And, Kelly's personality just really didn't make a lot of sense to me. She's allegedly so shy and awkward and self-conscious, and is frequently described as tripping and falling and stumbling over herself, but at the same time she just seems strangely confused and even a bit cocky. She says she pushes off her looks and wishes she didn't look like a supermodel -- which I don't understand -- but then later gets upset when someone doesn't acknowledge her amazing supermodel good looks. Which is it?
Another downfall was that everything just seemed TOO easy and TOO convenient in this story. Oh, the terrorist has a supermodel school? How lucky! We have a spy who looks like a supermodel! And the terrorist has hidden the locations in a statue that can only be deciphered by a talented hacker? Lucky! She's THAT too! And, I get that Kelly is supposed to be just THAT good, but should it really be THIS easy to hack into a government website AND into a terrorist building?
That's not to say it isn't a cute or fun story -- I just don't feel that I'm exactly the target audience. I think a younger teen or even a pre-teen girl would probably really get into this story, as well as older readers who like adventure-based type novels.
MY VERDICT
It just wasn't the book for me, but that doesn't mean it won't find an audience somewhere!
THE REASON
I was given an e-galley copy of MODEL SPY for the purposes of providing a complete and honest review. I was intrigued by the gorgeous, vivid pink cover, and I honestly had not even read a description of the plot when I decided to read this book.
THE PLOT
Kelly is a stunningly gorgeous teenage girl who just happens to be a complete and utter genius when it comes to computers. She can code everything and hack anything -- and she has a ridiculously high IQ that leaves her feeling awkward and isolated from her classmates.
But, there is this one guy, David, who is pretty cute and very intelligent -- and he even seems comfortable having conversations with Kelly. He approaches Kelly one day, saying that he needs her help in uncovering the details of a family secret. He has found a top secret letter from a male asking David's father to watch over David since his real father has gone missing. David has never been given any information about being adopted, and he has always assumed that the man who raised him was his birth father. So, he just needs a teeny, tiny favor from Kelly -- one that happens to involve hacking into secret government information.
Well, it turns out it was all a setup and Kelly is instantly arrested. She is given two options -- go to the juvenile detention center or completely change her identity in order to become a spy. Kelly feels trapped but decides that it might be exciting to live an entirely new and different lifestyle.
On her first day at spy school, she runs into none other than the handsome boy who led her into this mess -- David. It turns out Kelly's skills are needed, for real this time, to uncover the location of David's father, who has been kidnapped by dangerous terrorists. Since Kelly is so stunningly beautiful, she will pose as a supermodel at the terrorist's supermodel school and try to crack the case wide open.
Is shy, awkward Kelly ready to be a supermodel .... OR a spy?
MY THOUGHTS
I'm honestly just really torn on this one. The premise is cute, the writing is good, but I just felt so disconnected from the story.
For one thing, it seemed awfully convenient that Kelly was not only a ridiculously intelligent GENIUS but that she was also tall, skinny, gorgeous, and frequently mistaken for a Victoria's Secret model. These over the top characteristics just made Kelly unrelateable to me as a reader, which honestly made me feel less invested in her story.
And, Kelly's personality just really didn't make a lot of sense to me. She's allegedly so shy and awkward and self-conscious, and is frequently described as tripping and falling and stumbling over herself, but at the same time she just seems strangely confused and even a bit cocky. She says she pushes off her looks and wishes she didn't look like a supermodel -- which I don't understand -- but then later gets upset when someone doesn't acknowledge her amazing supermodel good looks. Which is it?
Another downfall was that everything just seemed TOO easy and TOO convenient in this story. Oh, the terrorist has a supermodel school? How lucky! We have a spy who looks like a supermodel! And the terrorist has hidden the locations in a statue that can only be deciphered by a talented hacker? Lucky! She's THAT too! And, I get that Kelly is supposed to be just THAT good, but should it really be THIS easy to hack into a government website AND into a terrorist building?
That's not to say it isn't a cute or fun story -- I just don't feel that I'm exactly the target audience. I think a younger teen or even a pre-teen girl would probably really get into this story, as well as older readers who like adventure-based type novels.
MY VERDICT
It just wasn't the book for me, but that doesn't mean it won't find an audience somewhere!
January 9, 2016
This was one of the most horrible books I've ever read. If I hadn't read it on my kindle, I probably would have started a fire with it. And that says something, considering I a) don't have a fireplace and b) it's probably a 100°F in here. ANYTHING to get rid of it.
But, with a lot of self-motivation, I managed to get through this... thing. I'm sorry, I can't call it a book.
It's been a while since I've finished it but such a horror simply cannot be forgotten.
It all starts with the cover. Ugh. I seriously wanted to throw up when I saw it, but you know what they say. "Don't judge a book by it's cover". I have this thing about teen-spies, so the story seemed mildly interesting.Seemed being the key word here.
A "genius" girl, good with computers, is offered to work for the government. Yay. It's not like we've seen the exact same summary about a gazillion times.
The use of the word "genius" in particular made me want to jump out of the window. The closed window. Why, you ask. It's simple. I don't care if she has an IQ of 180. It doesn't mean she's super good in math and will discover the meaning of life. Just that she thinks differently. THAT'S what a high IQ means. (Not that it's important for the story but nevermind, I needed to get it out of my system. )
Also, she isn't asked to hack into the government's computer system. She does it on her own, just to help David, professional hottie.
The least you can do when writing the summary of a book is to actually READ the book. I'm just saying.
Of course, the nerd of the campus is a hidden beauty queen. How mind-blowing and unexpected.
The characters, too, are awfully shallow. Of course, you might expect that from a book about models (because of the usuals stereotypes, I'm not saying they are) but since they're not models, it's just because of the bad writing. The only emotion in this book is Kelly's love for lollipops and all her whining.
And speaking of the whining... It's one of the reasons why I don't like this book. Kelly is ALWAYS complaining, about everything and everyone. ("I can't have David ?" "No more lollipops ?" "My socks are green and not blue ?" Ugh.) Lucky for her, (and the rest of the world) she's fictional. Otherwise there would have been another murder.
Next on the oh-so-long list of all the things wrong about this book is the plot - or lack thereof. WHERE ARE YOU, PLOT ? No plot, no story worth any sort of attention... What to do, what to do ?
Now, when I saw the title of the book, I thought there was going to be models. Pretty logical, huh ? And I just LOVE models in books or movies, because they're so stupid it's hilarious. So I was giggling like a mad person, thinking of all the stupidities I would find in there. I stopped rubbing my hands when I realized that not only there were practically no models, but they also didn't say a single word.
So, when I realized that a) Kelly is just a whiny little bitch in distress b) I wouldn't get to mock any character for being stupid c) I grew more and more depressed as I turned the pages, I came to the conclusion that this book was worth... Nothing.`
One tiny little thing, however, kept me from completely despising this novel. Two small details : First, she actually has her periods. it could seem like a small thing, but compared to all those other stories about girls who magically never have theirs, don't seem to know what a pain in the ass it really is.
Second, she also talks about waxing or shaving or whatnot. Am I really the only one obsessing over that ?
Anyway, with Model Spy, Shannon Greenland is now officially on my black list. Needless to say, I will not continue the series.
But, with a lot of self-motivation, I managed to get through this... thing. I'm sorry, I can't call it a book.
It's been a while since I've finished it but such a horror simply cannot be forgotten.
It all starts with the cover. Ugh. I seriously wanted to throw up when I saw it, but you know what they say. "Don't judge a book by it's cover". I have this thing about teen-spies, so the story seemed mildly interesting.Seemed being the key word here.
A "genius" girl, good with computers, is offered to work for the government. Yay. It's not like we've seen the exact same summary about a gazillion times.
The use of the word "genius" in particular made me want to jump out of the window. The closed window. Why, you ask. It's simple. I don't care if she has an IQ of 180. It doesn't mean she's super good in math and will discover the meaning of life. Just that she thinks differently. THAT'S what a high IQ means. (Not that it's important for the story but nevermind, I needed to get it out of my system. )
Also, she isn't asked to hack into the government's computer system. She does it on her own, just to help David, professional hottie.
The least you can do when writing the summary of a book is to actually READ the book. I'm just saying.
Of course, the nerd of the campus is a hidden beauty queen. How mind-blowing and unexpected.
The characters, too, are awfully shallow. Of course, you might expect that from a book about models (because of the usuals stereotypes, I'm not saying they are) but since they're not models, it's just because of the bad writing. The only emotion in this book is Kelly's love for lollipops and all her whining.
And speaking of the whining... It's one of the reasons why I don't like this book. Kelly is ALWAYS complaining, about everything and everyone. ("I can't have David ?" "No more lollipops ?" "My socks are green and not blue ?" Ugh.) Lucky for her, (and the rest of the world) she's fictional. Otherwise there would have been another murder.
Next on the oh-so-long list of all the things wrong about this book is the plot - or lack thereof. WHERE ARE YOU, PLOT ? No plot, no story worth any sort of attention... What to do, what to do ?
Now, when I saw the title of the book, I thought there was going to be models. Pretty logical, huh ? And I just LOVE models in books or movies, because they're so stupid it's hilarious. So I was giggling like a mad person, thinking of all the stupidities I would find in there. I stopped rubbing my hands when I realized that not only there were practically no models, but they also didn't say a single word.
So, when I realized that a) Kelly is just a whiny little bitch in distress b) I wouldn't get to mock any character for being stupid c) I grew more and more depressed as I turned the pages, I came to the conclusion that this book was worth... Nothing.`
One tiny little thing, however, kept me from completely despising this novel. Two small details : First, she actually has her periods. it could seem like a small thing, but compared to all those other stories about girls who magically never have theirs, don't seem to know what a pain in the ass it really is.
Second, she also talks about waxing or shaving or whatnot. Am I really the only one obsessing over that ?
Anyway, with Model Spy, Shannon Greenland is now officially on my black list. Needless to say, I will not continue the series.
August 15, 2008
Kelly James is a computer genius; that’s why she’s about to graduate college at the young age of sixteen. So when her (incredibly hot) friend David asks her to uncover some top secret information belonging to the government, she agrees and manages to hack her way through half the levels of the government’s main computer system – only to get caught. But instead of being sent to jail, Kelly is offered a chance to join a special-operations division of the US government called the Specialists. Even though it does mean changing her identity from Kelly James to Kelly Spree, or GiGi, she has no friends or family to go to so she has nothing to lose. And then she finds out that David also works for the Specialists. As if all these new changes to Kelly’s life aren’t enough to get accustomed to, this klutzy geek is now being sent on her first mission – as an undercover model. It’s going to take a lot of brainpower from this girl if she’s going to make it out alive.
I really love reading pretty much all spy novels for teens, and it’s always a plus when the girls are the spies, because it makes the story all the more interesting. I’ve really only read one other series in which the main characters are female spies, the Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter, and I have to say that this first novel in The Specialists series was much more impressive. First of all, girl genius Kelly/GiGi is a lovable character because she’s funny, smart, and sort of insecure; many of her thoughts, except those pertaining to computer technology or other specifics, are easy to understand. The story was so much more enjoyable because Kelly seemed so real. Also, I loved the non-stop action, cool spy gadgets (not that I understood what most of them were for), international flair, and the touch of romance. It’s really easy to get caught up in all the action of this story, but there was also enough characterization to keep me happy. Model Spy was such a unique story and definitely one that I immensely enjoyed.
Readers looking for a step up from Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girl series will definitely be interested in The Specialist series from Shannon Greenland. Or, if you’re looking for an action-packed novel, then you’ll also like this book. I look forward to reading the rest of this series as well.
reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com
I really love reading pretty much all spy novels for teens, and it’s always a plus when the girls are the spies, because it makes the story all the more interesting. I’ve really only read one other series in which the main characters are female spies, the Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter, and I have to say that this first novel in The Specialists series was much more impressive. First of all, girl genius Kelly/GiGi is a lovable character because she’s funny, smart, and sort of insecure; many of her thoughts, except those pertaining to computer technology or other specifics, are easy to understand. The story was so much more enjoyable because Kelly seemed so real. Also, I loved the non-stop action, cool spy gadgets (not that I understood what most of them were for), international flair, and the touch of romance. It’s really easy to get caught up in all the action of this story, but there was also enough characterization to keep me happy. Model Spy was such a unique story and definitely one that I immensely enjoyed.
Readers looking for a step up from Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girl series will definitely be interested in The Specialist series from Shannon Greenland. Or, if you’re looking for an action-packed novel, then you’ll also like this book. I look forward to reading the rest of this series as well.
reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com
January 30, 2013
PDF free for honest review
Oh my gosh, I LOVED this book! I was immediately sucked into it and enjoyed the whole experience of reading the book; the characters, the plot, the action/adventure, and the mystery of it all. It was one of those reads where the action started pretty much on page one and didn't end for the entire read, which is what makes it such a great book in my opinion. I hate it when you start out with action and then fizzle out, but this was not the case in this book. When I had to put it down because life got in the way of my continuing on reading, I was very eager and quick to pick it up again at the next available minute I had to do so. This book was wonderfully written and never left me with any confusion about where the author was trying to go with the plot or what I was supposed to be getting out of the read. I loved the concept of the book too, a tech savvy girl, who is kind of a nerd who never seems to fit in anywhere, including her many foster homes, meets up with a boy who is actually nice to her and likes her, but then she does him a favor that changes her life forever (and not in a little way). I just LOVED it! The characters in this book were just amazing. They were so well developed and so easy to see them as real people I found myself almost believing they were someone I could meet some day. They were easy to relate to also, and their personalities just make them all the better. I think this is truly a talented author, who did a wonderful job creating a great book. I also think this book is a good read for any age really from young adult on up. The action, adventure, mystery, and touch of romantics in it make it a well rounded and easy read that is fun to read too. The plot shows that no matter what we think we know about the people around us and even our closest friends, we may not really know everything about the true person we are talking to. I highly recommend this book to anyone in the mood for a good mystery and adventure read. I will definitely have Shannon's books on my to read list. I can't wait to see where the series goes.
5/5 Stars!!!
Oh my gosh, I LOVED this book! I was immediately sucked into it and enjoyed the whole experience of reading the book; the characters, the plot, the action/adventure, and the mystery of it all. It was one of those reads where the action started pretty much on page one and didn't end for the entire read, which is what makes it such a great book in my opinion. I hate it when you start out with action and then fizzle out, but this was not the case in this book. When I had to put it down because life got in the way of my continuing on reading, I was very eager and quick to pick it up again at the next available minute I had to do so. This book was wonderfully written and never left me with any confusion about where the author was trying to go with the plot or what I was supposed to be getting out of the read. I loved the concept of the book too, a tech savvy girl, who is kind of a nerd who never seems to fit in anywhere, including her many foster homes, meets up with a boy who is actually nice to her and likes her, but then she does him a favor that changes her life forever (and not in a little way). I just LOVED it! The characters in this book were just amazing. They were so well developed and so easy to see them as real people I found myself almost believing they were someone I could meet some day. They were easy to relate to also, and their personalities just make them all the better. I think this is truly a talented author, who did a wonderful job creating a great book. I also think this book is a good read for any age really from young adult on up. The action, adventure, mystery, and touch of romantics in it make it a well rounded and easy read that is fun to read too. The plot shows that no matter what we think we know about the people around us and even our closest friends, we may not really know everything about the true person we are talking to. I highly recommend this book to anyone in the mood for a good mystery and adventure read. I will definitely have Shannon's books on my to read list. I can't wait to see where the series goes.
5/5 Stars!!!
December 22, 2012
One chapter into this book and I was so hooked, I couldn’t put it down until I’ve devoured it all in one afternoon! This book was everything I was hoping it would be, and so much more. “Model Spy” is one of those rare gems you read while smiling all the time. It’s fun, filled with adventure and excitement, and the non-stop butt-kicking action and suspense had my adrenaline pumping. I can only best describe it as X-Men (with brainpowers instead of super powers) meets Miss Congeniality.
I really liked all the different characters in this story. They were interesting, realistically flawed, and three dimensional. It was inspiring to see how GiGi, the main character, grew as a person and how she gained self-confidence. The budding romance between her and David was a slow climb and it was refreshing to meet characters who didn’t fall into each other’s arms in the second chapter of the book. Instead, the reader is kept guessing throughout the story whether these two will end up together.
The fast-paced plot is fraught with humor and more than enough tension to keep you turning the pages at a steady pace. Attention is given to detail and the author deftly draws the reader into the world of The Specialists by meticulously describing the setting and surroundings utilizing all five senses.
Although this is a read aimed specifically at the YA audience, it will undoubtedly be enjoyed by older readers as well. “Model Spy” is excellently written and I effortlessly indulged myself in this fantastic book. I was delighted to find there are more books available in this series that chronicles the adventures of GiGi and her new friends. I am thrilled to give this terrific book a well-deserved five stars!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked all the different characters in this story. They were interesting, realistically flawed, and three dimensional. It was inspiring to see how GiGi, the main character, grew as a person and how she gained self-confidence. The budding romance between her and David was a slow climb and it was refreshing to meet characters who didn’t fall into each other’s arms in the second chapter of the book. Instead, the reader is kept guessing throughout the story whether these two will end up together.
The fast-paced plot is fraught with humor and more than enough tension to keep you turning the pages at a steady pace. Attention is given to detail and the author deftly draws the reader into the world of The Specialists by meticulously describing the setting and surroundings utilizing all five senses.
Although this is a read aimed specifically at the YA audience, it will undoubtedly be enjoyed by older readers as well. “Model Spy” is excellently written and I effortlessly indulged myself in this fantastic book. I was delighted to find there are more books available in this series that chronicles the adventures of GiGi and her new friends. I am thrilled to give this terrific book a well-deserved five stars!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
September 1, 2015
I had been in a huge reading slump since almost the end of July! This book was light, funny, and really simple. Now, I can see why that can be a two edged sword because I can just picture myself not loving this as much as I did out-of-reading-slump. Don't get me wrong, I still would've liked it but probably just not as much as five stars worth.
A couple points I liked:
-Gigi was down to earth and quite genuine. I really liked her as a character, she was kind of refreshing and I liked her story. I think this is Greenland's writing but I could not relate to her personal background at all! , but despite all that (her non-relatable background story) I still found her relatable. She had insecurities, she was going through a learning process and we kind of go to go along with her.
-The romance is done well in relation to the plot, it's not overwhelming but side-by-side.
-The family aspect of it! I loooove the idea of this chosen family these misfits have made.
A singular point I hated:
-This. This is one of the tropes I hate the most in the entire literary universe. The fact that GiGi was one of those girls who were really super hot but did not know it all. This was referenced numerous times in the book (which I get, because the girl is going to a model school -- I get looks are a major part of it) but oh my goooooosh. We get it! She's drop dead gorgeous but she really really doesn't know it. Just. Juuuuuuuust. Stop.
Besides that, it was a light quick read and I know I'll definitely be marathoning the rest of this series -- also, would definitely reread.
A couple points I liked:
-Gigi was down to earth and quite genuine. I really liked her as a character, she was kind of refreshing and I liked her story. I think this is Greenland's writing but I could not relate to her personal background at all! , but despite all that (her non-relatable background story) I still found her relatable. She had insecurities, she was going through a learning process and we kind of go to go along with her.
-The romance is done well in relation to the plot, it's not overwhelming but side-by-side.
-The family aspect of it! I loooove the idea of this chosen family these misfits have made.
A singular point I hated:
-This. This is one of the tropes I hate the most in the entire literary universe. The fact that GiGi was one of those girls who were really super hot but did not know it all. This was referenced numerous times in the book (which I get, because the girl is going to a model school -- I get looks are a major part of it) but oh my goooooosh. We get it! She's drop dead gorgeous but she really really doesn't know it. Just. Juuuuuuuust. Stop.
Besides that, it was a light quick read and I know I'll definitely be marathoning the rest of this series -- also, would definitely reread.
January 24, 2016
I'm so excited to be participating in this tour today. As some of you following my blog may know, I'm involved in a LOT of "official" reading right now. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, but...it does mean that I don't often get to pick up just fun books anymore.
Having the chance to read this book for the tour was GREAT. This was the "fun" book I've been dying to read lately. This book had adventure, romance, and a smart chick who also just happens to be somewhat klutzy...right up my alley, LOL!
I love the concept of a bunch of teen criminals, I mean geniuses, in different fields being recruited to form an elite squad of spies. Kelly, who has gone to college early and is generally beyond super-smart, was a fun character to follow. Sheis not only a whiz in school, but she's funny, loyal, warmhearted, and well...I kinda want to be her! I laughed my way through her adventure, turning the pages as fast as my Nook would allow me!
...and the romance? I immediately downloaded book two in the series after finishing Model Spy because I cannot WAIT to see how the romance develops as the series goes on... *fans self* I want to see what the whole gang gets up to of course, and the spy mission in book two, Down to the Wire, recovering a stolen neurotoxin, sounds exciting, but I am so ready to jump right back into Kelly a.k.a. GiGi's life!!
Anyone on the lookout for a fun, fast-paced read with action, smarts, romance, and more, check out Model Spy. I guarantee you'll enjoy it
Having the chance to read this book for the tour was GREAT. This was the "fun" book I've been dying to read lately. This book had adventure, romance, and a smart chick who also just happens to be somewhat klutzy...right up my alley, LOL!
I love the concept of a bunch of teen criminals, I mean geniuses, in different fields being recruited to form an elite squad of spies. Kelly, who has gone to college early and is generally beyond super-smart, was a fun character to follow. Sheis not only a whiz in school, but she's funny, loyal, warmhearted, and well...I kinda want to be her! I laughed my way through her adventure, turning the pages as fast as my Nook would allow me!
...and the romance? I immediately downloaded book two in the series after finishing Model Spy because I cannot WAIT to see how the romance develops as the series goes on... *fans self* I want to see what the whole gang gets up to of course, and the spy mission in book two, Down to the Wire, recovering a stolen neurotoxin, sounds exciting, but I am so ready to jump right back into Kelly a.k.a. GiGi's life!!
Anyone on the lookout for a fun, fast-paced read with action, smarts, romance, and more, check out Model Spy. I guarantee you'll enjoy it
December 8, 2010
Review: Kelly James has been caught. For what? Hacking in to the government's top secret database. And now she is being shipped off to some ranch in California. Except this is no ordinary ranch, this is The Specialists Headquarters. The Specialists are a group of super talented kids that have broken the law, just like Kelly. Once you join the Specialists there is no getting out and Kelly can't decided what she wants to do. Save the day or go back to being a normal foster care kid?
Model Spy was a great spy book that left me thirsting for more of GiGi (Kelly) and her great supporting cast.
The idea of the story, not so original, but that really didn't matter to be since I seem to love all things spy. This book was no exception to my love. The mystery/mission was pretty original, in someways. I was always kept at the edge of my seat and I really, really wanted to read way into the night.
The characters were great, even though they could be a little cheesy but that did not make them any less enjoyable. GiGi, was a a very quirky character that found a special place in my heart. I mean who doesn't love a nerdy spy. One of her partners, David was a great sweet guy and I hope he shows up in later books!
I ordered the 2nd book and the series so hopefully it comes soon!
Reposted from katiesamazingbookreviews.blogspot.com
Model Spy was a great spy book that left me thirsting for more of GiGi (Kelly) and her great supporting cast.
The idea of the story, not so original, but that really didn't matter to be since I seem to love all things spy. This book was no exception to my love. The mystery/mission was pretty original, in someways. I was always kept at the edge of my seat and I really, really wanted to read way into the night.
The characters were great, even though they could be a little cheesy but that did not make them any less enjoyable. GiGi, was a a very quirky character that found a special place in my heart. I mean who doesn't love a nerdy spy. One of her partners, David was a great sweet guy and I hope he shows up in later books!
I ordered the 2nd book and the series so hopefully it comes soon!
Reposted from katiesamazingbookreviews.blogspot.com
June 30, 2012
3.5
I liked this one; I think it was a fun start to a new series. GiGi was a likable heroine, although at times a tad unbelievable. I mean, she’s supposed to be this shy computer genius and at the same time pass as a super hot confident model. I guess I just didn’t get a good feel for who exactly she is, shy girl or confident hottie. Maybe she’s both. The love interest was okay, I wouldn’t have minded a bit more, but I’m guessing since it’s a five book series the author will take her time with the relationship. The story was fun; I liked the whole spy angle. I did get a tad confused by the characters names and alias’ it was hard to keep track of who was who. I did think the end wrapped up a little too quickly, but overall it was an enjoyable read.
I am looking forward to reading the series, but I have to say I’m really frustrated that the second book is not available. For some reason book 1, 3, and 4 are all available on Kindle. While book 2 and 5 are not. Book 2 in paperback is way overpriced and book 5 I can’t find. And here I thought I was going to be able to enjoy a series that was already finished, no more waiting for the next book to come out. I guess I’ll have to do some digging and see if I can track down books 2 and 5.
Content: Clean. Mild language, mostly “G”.
I liked this one; I think it was a fun start to a new series. GiGi was a likable heroine, although at times a tad unbelievable. I mean, she’s supposed to be this shy computer genius and at the same time pass as a super hot confident model. I guess I just didn’t get a good feel for who exactly she is, shy girl or confident hottie. Maybe she’s both. The love interest was okay, I wouldn’t have minded a bit more, but I’m guessing since it’s a five book series the author will take her time with the relationship. The story was fun; I liked the whole spy angle. I did get a tad confused by the characters names and alias’ it was hard to keep track of who was who. I did think the end wrapped up a little too quickly, but overall it was an enjoyable read.
I am looking forward to reading the series, but I have to say I’m really frustrated that the second book is not available. For some reason book 1, 3, and 4 are all available on Kindle. While book 2 and 5 are not. Book 2 in paperback is way overpriced and book 5 I can’t find. And here I thought I was going to be able to enjoy a series that was already finished, no more waiting for the next book to come out. I guess I’ll have to do some digging and see if I can track down books 2 and 5.
Content: Clean. Mild language, mostly “G”.
January 31, 2013
Kelly is sixteen year old genius orphan. While at college, a cute guy asks her to find out information about his adoption. She ends up in custody for hacking into the government’s database. Kelly is give two choices, prison or to join the government as a spy. It doesn’t help that she finds out the cute guy that set her up is going to be her trainer.
Along with being super smart, 191 IQ, she is also tall and very pretty. There is a terrorist that has the location of a top computer programmer. He has a modeling school and Kelly is selected to play the part to find out where the programmer is at. At first she panics because she is so klutzy, but she finds herself as a model, with a creepy sick old guy fawning over her, and back up helping her find the hidden location.
I really liked this book. There were believable characters and great action. I loved the story, poor Kelly lost her family and has basically been stuck on her own throughout foster homes and such. But she finds a great family at the base. I can’t wait to read the other books in this series.
This is one young adult action story that I think most teens will love.
I received this story for free in exchange for an honest review.
Along with being super smart, 191 IQ, she is also tall and very pretty. There is a terrorist that has the location of a top computer programmer. He has a modeling school and Kelly is selected to play the part to find out where the programmer is at. At first she panics because she is so klutzy, but she finds herself as a model, with a creepy sick old guy fawning over her, and back up helping her find the hidden location.
I really liked this book. There were believable characters and great action. I loved the story, poor Kelly lost her family and has basically been stuck on her own throughout foster homes and such. But she finds a great family at the base. I can’t wait to read the other books in this series.
This is one young adult action story that I think most teens will love.
I received this story for free in exchange for an honest review.
September 11, 2013
Genius computer girl who just happens to look like a Victoria's Secret model, but has never been liked or understood, gets recruited by some shadowy governmental agency to break into a Russian bad guy's compound, and there's a cute spy boy, blah blah blah.
Makes me grateful for the Ally Carter books instead. Somehow they manage to carry off farfetched espionage plots requiring teenage spies with a joyous spirit that makes me laugh along. This one just plods.
Makes me grateful for the Ally Carter books instead. Somehow they manage to carry off farfetched espionage plots requiring teenage spies with a joyous spirit that makes me laugh along. This one just plods.
January 1, 2013
Suitably nerdishly cute! I just wish it hadn't ended so abruptly. And realistically speaking, how many genius scatterbrained computer nerds manage to look like Victoria's Secret underwear models without even trying? I wish I could.
Also, do David and Kelly/GiGi ever get together?!?! *hopeless romantic fit*
Also, do David and Kelly/GiGi ever get together?!?! *hopeless romantic fit*
January 18, 2015
It's a fun read and it makes computer geeks like myself feel cool! :D
I loved this motley crew of misfits and geniuses! I would love to get my hands on the next one but I haven't had much luck so far.
Great book if you're looking for a good gift.
I loved this motley crew of misfits and geniuses! I would love to get my hands on the next one but I haven't had much luck so far.
Great book if you're looking for a good gift.
July 23, 2024
Another book that has been on my TBR for as long as I can remember. This book was not what I expected and I concur with the reviews that compare it to Gallagher girls but worse. Unfortunately for this book, it lacks the essential spark of that series. The main character Gigi or whatever, is fine however she does not have the integral personality that made Cami so easy to identify with on Gallagher Girls. Specialists follows a group of teenagers who all have different skills and work for the government - most of them are orphans and have had run ins with the law. In exchange for not being prosecuted they’re given a home to work as spies.
Unfortunately the book never really flashes out any of them all I can tell you is that is Bruiser (Molly), Beaker (sissy), Parrot (Darren), Mystic (Joe) and Gearbox (idk who that is to be honest) are her colleagues but they don’t get fleshed out in any meaningful way. Some of them I didn’t even know their real names until book 2 because it is glossed over so fast. I have the anthology audiobook and now I feel like I have to commit to reading all 5 of these…We have some really interesting common archetypes here: we have Mystic boy who is a medium - everybody just accepts this; a guy who can speak 14 languages, an angry goth chemist, and martial artist who is small and the youngest member (15). For quite some time I was confused as to who Jonathan was, only to realise he was the physical fitness instructor (which is alarming as he hits on the mc at one point), but he ends up being quite important as another guy. There’s also the Foley tech guy - the traditional spy - withers if you will.
He’s pretty fun, he actually has, I assume dwarfism from his description. Which other than GRRM I’ve never actually encountered in a book that wasn’t a fairy tale. There is quite a lot of diversity as a book which makes it a shame that despite all of that and coming out in like 2006, the diversity doesn’t get explored much.
There is a native American teammate (and he’s not the mystic kid), a little person, and a black team leader/ mentor. Who to be fair is great but sometimes does weird stuff like just touch the heroine’s face to calm her down. For some reason that seemed very blind coded but he’s not at all so it just seems like a weird thing to help calm her down when he barely knows her. The main character clearly is one the spectrum and sounds audhd. Unfortunately diversity doesn’t matter if you don’t actually give these characters personalities, TL, Chaplin, and David are the most characterised characters (great words). Chaplin was my favourite character (the little person hacker). He’s so adhd and genuinely hilarious.
Plot wise the book is a bit all over the place in terms of pacing. The first 20% is spent introducing us to the main character and her getting arrested and then joining the programme. Then 20-45% mark is spent introducing us to the other kids and doing some training and establishing some romantic tension with David (her upperclassman). Which doesn’t matter as David is the only upperclassman that is named or has a personality. He is part of the main plot as his dad was kidnapped.
Then at 50%, with barely any time to get to know the characters and their sibling type bond (apparently), we are thrown into a mission. The mission involves pretending to be a model which only the mc can do since she’s also hot and a super smart socially awkward audhd quirky not like other girls hacker but secret goody goody. Did I mention she’s such a coding genius who is already in uni despite being 16?
This lasts literally like 3 scenes before the mission fails and they have to go about the mission a different way, when they then immediately get caught.
The plot moves so fast that everything is resolved with barely any input from the main character and hardly any stakes. There’s even an omg the cops are after us we better make out to make ourselves look legit part. Just because.
Overall, I think if the book was going to be so short we should have spent more time fighting the same bad guy over multiple books with a build up, rather than wrapping it up nicely without any problems or character development other than what we are told has happened off page. did I forget to say the mc is clumsy ™️ and sometimes gets tongue tied?
There’s even a bit when they’re like omg no the funding for our little home is being taken away what do we do - and Gigi fixes it in like ten seconds right after so she may as well solve world hunger while she’s at ir
I don’t know how old anyone is really other than mc is 16, love interest is 18, and all the others are just there to be confused with one another essentially.
Unfortunately the book never really flashes out any of them all I can tell you is that is Bruiser (Molly), Beaker (sissy), Parrot (Darren), Mystic (Joe) and Gearbox (idk who that is to be honest) are her colleagues but they don’t get fleshed out in any meaningful way. Some of them I didn’t even know their real names until book 2 because it is glossed over so fast. I have the anthology audiobook and now I feel like I have to commit to reading all 5 of these…We have some really interesting common archetypes here: we have Mystic boy who is a medium - everybody just accepts this; a guy who can speak 14 languages, an angry goth chemist, and martial artist who is small and the youngest member (15). For quite some time I was confused as to who Jonathan was, only to realise he was the physical fitness instructor (which is alarming as he hits on the mc at one point), but he ends up being quite important as another guy. There’s also the Foley tech guy - the traditional spy - withers if you will.
He’s pretty fun, he actually has, I assume dwarfism from his description. Which other than GRRM I’ve never actually encountered in a book that wasn’t a fairy tale. There is quite a lot of diversity as a book which makes it a shame that despite all of that and coming out in like 2006, the diversity doesn’t get explored much.
There is a native American teammate (and he’s not the mystic kid), a little person, and a black team leader/ mentor. Who to be fair is great but sometimes does weird stuff like just touch the heroine’s face to calm her down. For some reason that seemed very blind coded but he’s not at all so it just seems like a weird thing to help calm her down when he barely knows her. The main character clearly is one the spectrum and sounds audhd. Unfortunately diversity doesn’t matter if you don’t actually give these characters personalities, TL, Chaplin, and David are the most characterised characters (great words). Chaplin was my favourite character (the little person hacker). He’s so adhd and genuinely hilarious.
Plot wise the book is a bit all over the place in terms of pacing. The first 20% is spent introducing us to the main character and her getting arrested and then joining the programme. Then 20-45% mark is spent introducing us to the other kids and doing some training and establishing some romantic tension with David (her upperclassman). Which doesn’t matter as David is the only upperclassman that is named or has a personality. He is part of the main plot as his dad was kidnapped.
Then at 50%, with barely any time to get to know the characters and their sibling type bond (apparently), we are thrown into a mission. The mission involves pretending to be a model which only the mc can do since she’s also hot and a super smart socially awkward audhd quirky not like other girls hacker but secret goody goody. Did I mention she’s such a coding genius who is already in uni despite being 16?
This lasts literally like 3 scenes before the mission fails and they have to go about the mission a different way, when they then immediately get caught.
The plot moves so fast that everything is resolved with barely any input from the main character and hardly any stakes. There’s even an omg the cops are after us we better make out to make ourselves look legit part. Just because.
Overall, I think if the book was going to be so short we should have spent more time fighting the same bad guy over multiple books with a build up, rather than wrapping it up nicely without any problems or character development other than what we are told has happened off page. did I forget to say the mc is clumsy ™️ and sometimes gets tongue tied?
There’s even a bit when they’re like omg no the funding for our little home is being taken away what do we do - and Gigi fixes it in like ten seconds right after so she may as well solve world hunger while she’s at ir
I don’t know how old anyone is really other than mc is 16, love interest is 18, and all the others are just there to be confused with one another essentially.
December 29, 2022
Here's the thing: this book was like candy. Fun, easy to read, believably told from a genius teenage girl's perspective (i.e. alternates from thinking a boy is cute to quoting literal coding). This is the type of book series I would have DEVOURED as a teen. So it was slightly nostalgic for me.
And then also, it's just not super well-written. It's cheesy. The premise is almost the exact same as City Spies (one of my favorite MG series I read this year), but CS did it better. I'll for sure keep these in my classroom, but this one didn't convince me I need to read the whole series right this instant.
And then also, it's just not super well-written. It's cheesy. The premise is almost the exact same as City Spies (one of my favorite MG series I read this year), but CS did it better. I'll for sure keep these in my classroom, but this one didn't convince me I need to read the whole series right this instant.
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