December 15, 2013
As a key member of a spy family, 17-year-old Maggie Silver discovers that allowing BFF Roux and boyfriend Jesse to get swept up in her exciting lifestyle has unforeseen consequences, including getting her friends into some seriously dangerous situations. Raised from the age of 4 as a master safecracker, spunky Maggie is a member of the Collective, an undercover Robin Hood-style organization that works to right wrongs and prosecute bad guys. Things go badly awry when Maggie attempts to thwart a Collective member who is maneuvering to have her parents discredited and removed from the organization. High shenanigans and chases through the streets of New York erupt, with stolen Faberge eggs, gold coins, bomb blasts and sniper attacks adding to the confusion. Maggie and friends are summarily removed by their protectors to a Paris safe house, where they meet other Collective members who have been double-crossed by the corrupt organization. Various muddled plots unravel, culminating in a denouement in the Louvre, as spies and agents try to entrap the evil Collective member. While the spy story is good fun and Maggie's quandaries will resonate with readers, the action at times slows to a crawl with her lengthy internal monologues, and characters tend to be flat. A fluffy romp with authentic teen dialogue, cardboard characters and a plot gone rogue. (Thriller. 14 & up)
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March 1, 2014
Gr 8 Up-Following on the heels of Also Known As (Walker, 2013), safecracker Maggie Silver, now 17, discovers that her beloved parents have been accused by the international but unsanctioned spy ring, "The Collective," of stealing priceless gold coins. Once members of the criminal crew, the "The Collective" has viciously turned against the Silvers. They are forced to go rogue-that is, act on their own, against expectation or instruction-to determine the truth. Completely fun but ridiculous escapades a la James Bond follow as Maggie and her boyfriend, Jesse, and her friend Roux work to clear her parents' names. Maggie plots strategy with the enigmatic forger Angelo and experiences hair-raising close escapes as she discovers the holder of the gold coins and steals them back. As the three teens race through the streets of Manhattan and are finally forced to flee for their lives down the secret tunnels of Paris, the pace escalates to warp speed. While not as well written or tightly plotted as the earlier title, this enjoyable and exciting novel will thrill fans of chick-lit spy capers.-Susan Riley, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY
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