Spy School Entrance Exam by Stuart Gibbs and Jeff Chen

What worked:

This book is a collection of puzzles enriched by the Spy School characters. The premise of the book is past mistakes led to security breaches and tainted recruitment of new CIA spies. The puzzles in this book present a new step in the screening process to identify intelligent, qualified candidates. After a brief, redacted introduction from the new CIA director, Zoe describes the first set of puzzles, word searches. Zoe has been a kind character in the past so Erica Hale presents a contrasting tone in the next section, different types of codes. Erica says she won’t be as supportive as Zoe since she’s “a spy, not a cheerleader”. Alexander Hale, Erica’s father, continues his tendency to exaggerate past accomplishments as he introduces “Outside the Box” mental challenges. However, Murray Hill, the antagonist in most of the Spy School books, interrupts and shares clever and devious solutions to the challenges. More characters from the series return to share Crypt-to-grams, crosswords, Battleship-like Battle Royale, and other familiar activities.

Many of the puzzle formats will be familiar to middle-grade readers although modifications have been made to make things trickier. Most people have seen Sudoku with numbers but how many are ready for a Sudoku with letters? “Chain Letters of Doom” requires readers to connect all twenty-six letters of the alphabet, in order, without crossing the connecting line. A fun twist to every section is the final puzzle’s hidden, coded messages that will be used later in the book. This detail promotes the book’s spy theme and helps to connect all of the different sections. In addition, all of the text, clues, and explanations are related to readers applying to become new CIA agents and to thoughts of the Spy School series.

Fans of Spy School will enjoy revisiting characters they’ve enjoyed in the past. Ben Ripley talks about his limited qualifications as a CIA agent even though he’s the main character of the series. He introduces Sudoku puzzles while Catherine Hale describes Double-Cross Crosswords. The characters mention previous events and missions so they evoke readers’ memories from other books. The last section of the book shares solutions to all of the puzzles. Of course, Murray Hill’s explanations cover more pages because he must share the clever solutions and then follow with his multiple devious solutions for villains.

What didn’t work as well:

Everyone can enjoy the variety of puzzles but they will need to read previous Spy School books to fully appreciate the characters and narratives. They have unique personalities and there are references to previous moments or relationships in the series. Crossword clues are related to the series so readers will need to have some knowledge of previous books to complete them.

The final verdict:

This book will be a treat for loyal readers although those unfamiliar with the series may not enjoy it as much. The different versions of familiar puzzles and challenges make them more interesting and difficult. Those who enjoy puzzles and Spy School will love this book and I recommend you check it out!