James Ponti

A "spy kids" book that children will enjoy but doesn't translate so well to older readers. In this genre, even above the classic Alex Rider series, I'd recommend the CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore which, in my opinion, has a more interesting and realistic dynamic between the kids.

This one has a lot of ingredients to be enjoyable: a team of spy kids together at a school and doing missions. It has the problem that everything comes too easy for the main character, though. From the beginning, she's the best at what she does. She's repeatedly told she's better than her more experienced teammates.

Readable and mildly enjoyable, but never made me get into the dynamics of the team. The target audience will enjoy it more.… (more)

MI-6 has a team of spies so secret that only a few members of the agency are aware of their existence. Five kids from around the world train and work out of a clandestine location in the north of Scotland under the supervision of “Mother” and “Monty”. In City Spies, author James Ponti introduces the reader to five unique kids from around the globe who bring unique talents and backgrounds to the team.
The story opens with Sara (aka. Brooklyn) -- a hacker rescued by “Mother” from juvie -- joining Paris, Sydney, Kat, and Rio to work undercover at youth climate conference and science competition. Their goal is to stop a potential eco-terrorist and keep another team of kids from wining the one million Euro prize. As Brooklyn learns about the mission and is introduced to her teammates, she realizes that her hacking talents aren’t going to be enough for this mission. She needs to get in spy shape to scale buildings, learn slight of hand, solve the puzzles surrounding a recluse tech mogul and a crime syndicate, all the while navigating the dynamics of the spy team. While Brooklyn be up for a mission in Paris in three weeks? “Mother” calls her a natural, but are her natural spy skills going to be enough?
This is my first book written by Ponti. A former screenwriter, Ponti packs this book with lots of action. There is some character development through flashbacks but most of the book focuses on the team of kid spies solving the problems that seems to confront them as every turn during their mission. My initial reaction is that it has elements of Harry Potter and Mission Impossible.
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