The Mean Girl Mission (Confessions of a Junior Spy 2) by Rosaria Munda

What worked:

The most entertaining part of the book is Bea living among adult spies. Everyone in the world has a Knack, and Bea has a special talent with knives. Her father has the same Knack, and he uses it as the chef at the Pangean Hotel. Her mother’s Knack is with guns, and she’s frequently off somewhere in the world on a secret spy mission. Bea wants to become a spy too, but her parents don’t like the idea. Bea receives training to master her knives and learn other spy skills, but her parents would like her to attend a public, non-spy school. This gives Bea the perfect opportunity to infiltrate her friend’s school and catch an evil spy with a people Knack.

Much of the humor comes from Bea’s lack of knowledge about the world of Normals, non-spy people. While registering on her first day of school, she’s asked to place anything distracting, such as a cellphone, into a bag. Bea surprises the administrator by removing several knives that are hidden under her clothes. Answering questions in class is an adventure, since all of her knowledge revolves around spies and the history of spying. She must bite her tongue to reveal the truth about the history being taught in the school. You can imagine how Bea behaves during her first sleepover. The story is told from Bea’s first-person point of view, so readers will fully appreciate

The story shares a perspective on the issues of bullying and friendship. Bea suspects Mabel has a people Knack and is trying to control the minds of her classmates. She bullies and picks on Bea’s friend Chantal and another girl named Dodie. Bea decides she must get closer to Mabel, but doesn’t foresee the consequences. How will Chantal react to Bea hanging out with the girl bullying her? Tommy is Bea’s best friend, and he offers mission support from the Pangean. However, there are moments of embarrassment when the two friends struggle with their maturing emotions.

What didn’t work as well:

Bea tries to confirm the identity of the person with the people Knack, and all of her observations are tainted with a preconceived notion of guilt. Readers will realize Bea’s mistake and recognize the enemy agent well before she does.

The final verdict:

This fun, fast-moving mission will appeal to young readers. Bea’s character is the highlight, as her love for the Life (the spy world) and her lack of knowledge about the Normal world make for an entertaining story. This book can be read independently of the first book in the series, and I recommend giving both a try.