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Spy School
Cover of Spy School
Spy School
Can an undercover nerd become a superstar secret agent? The first book in Stuart Gibbs's New York Times bestselling Spy School series is now a graphic novel!
Ben Ripley may only be in middle school, but he's already pegged his dream job: CIA or bust. Unfortunately for him, his personality doesn't exactly scream "secret agent." In fact, Ben is so awkward, he can barely get to school and back without a mishap. Because of his innate nerdiness, Ben is not surprised when he is recruited for a magnet school with a focus on science—but he's entirely shocked to discover that the school is actually a front for a junior CIA academy. Could the CIA really want him?

Actually, no. There's been a case of mistaken identity—but that doesn't stop Ben from trying to morph into a supercool undercover agent, the kind that always gets the girl. And through a series of hilarious misadventures, Ben realizes he might actually be a halfway decent spy...if he can survive all the attempts being made on his life!

Join Ben Ripley as he survives his first year at the Academy of Espionage in action-packed, full-color panels.
Can an undercover nerd become a superstar secret agent? The first book in Stuart Gibbs's New York Times bestselling Spy School series is now a graphic novel!
Ben Ripley may only be in middle school, but he's already pegged his dream job: CIA or bust. Unfortunately for him, his personality doesn't exactly scream "secret agent." In fact, Ben is so awkward, he can barely get to school and back without a mishap. Because of his innate nerdiness, Ben is not surprised when he is recruited for a magnet school with a focus on science—but he's entirely shocked to discover that the school is actually a front for a junior CIA academy. Could the CIA really want him?

Actually, no. There's been a case of mistaken identity—but that doesn't stop Ben from trying to morph into a supercool undercover agent, the kind that always gets the girl. And through a series of hilarious misadventures, Ben realizes he might actually be a halfway decent spy...if he can survive all the attempts being made on his life!

Join Ben Ripley as he survives his first year at the Academy of Espionage in action-packed, full-color panels.
Available formats-
  • OverDrive Read
Languages:-
Copies-
  • Available:
    0
  • Library copies:
    0
Levels-
  • ATOS:
    3.2
  • Lexile:
  • Interest Level:
    MG
  • Text Difficulty:
    K - 2


 
Awards-
About the Author-
  • Stuart Gibbs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Charlie Thorne series, FunJungle series, Moon Base Alpha series, Once Upon a Tim series, and Spy School series. He has written screenplays, worked on a whole bunch of animated films, developed TV shows, been a newspaper columnist, and researched capybaras (the world's largest rodents). Stuart lives with his family in Los Angeles. You can learn more about what he's up to at StuartGibbs.com.
Reviews-
  • School Library Journal

    January 1, 2022

    Gr 4-7-In this graphic novel adaptation of the popular prose books, Ben Ripley is recruited into the CIA's Academy of Espionage due to his enthusiastic gaming abilities and his exceptional math skills. As Ben tries to adapt to life at his new top-secret school, he unwittingly becomes the target of a deadly assassin. Someone is mistakenly after Ben because of false data placed in his file, but how were they able to access classified information on the school mainframe? Several members of the school administration and Ben's new classmates offer him protection, but it's difficult to trust a group of spies who are mastering the art of deception. Gibbs's first book in the series seamlessly translates into a comic format, which allows the action to take center stage. Readers will be enthralled by the rapid sequencing as Sarkar stylishly presents the narrative, deftly balancing text and visuals. Although this new version is full of visual energy, it's not without the twists and turns of the original text. Gibbs's unique brand of humor comes through, as there are ample laughs throughout the book. Ben is white; several of his classmates are people of color. VERDICT With a fast-paced plot and striking illustrations, the graphic novel version of this story will be a definite hit among established fans as well as newcomers to the series.-Claire Moore

    Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

  • Publisher's Weekly

    January 9, 2012
    In Gibbs’s (Belly Up) addition to the “child spy” genre, the CIA is (yet again) secretly recruiting kids, and Ben Ripley is the awkward 12-year-old brought into the academy, in this case under the pretense of attending a science-oriented boarding school in Virginia. The clichés (and plot holes) come as expected, from the ease with which Ben’s parents accept his leaving immediately for a school they’ve never visited, to Ben’s early struggles at the school and the presence of a traitor in the program. Depending on the dictates of the plot, the spies shift from hypercompetent (the CIA knows everything about Ben, including the extent of his hidden crush, and secretly inserts questions into standardized tests to assess children nationwide) to ineffectual (they are unable to identify a teenage mole or detect intruders). The supporting cast is occasionally interesting (school bully Chip makes a good early antagonist), but Gibbs doesn’t offer much in the way of originality to readers who have seen this plot before. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM.

  • School Library Journal

    February 1, 2012

    Gr 5-8-Ben Ripley, a 12-year-old math genius, receives a mysterious summons to join the Academy of Espionage, a secret recruitment arm of the CIA. Since his life's ambition is to become a spy, he is thrilled by the offer, but his first day is hardly what he expected. It involves ninjas, flying bullets, and Erica, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. A fellow student asks him to hack into the computer mainframe for him because the rumor mill says that Ben has great cryptography skills. Later that night another agent breaks into his room to kidnap him. It turns out someone keeps leaking sensitive information, and Ben's recruitment was set up strictly as a ploy to find the mole; he is a perfect target for the organization of rogue double agents that has infiltrated the school. Most of the adults are so inept and clueless that Ben and Erica, with the help of their fellow students, save the school from being destroyed by a giant bomb hidden in a secret passageway. Twists and turns in the plot keep readers guessing until the very end. The story, over-the-top funny, combines Alex Rider's espionage skills with a huge dose of the sarcasm of Artemis Fowl. Subtle digs at the stuffiness of a federal agency and the romance of spying abound. The book ends with a letter, fully redacted of all sensitive information, to the Director of Internal Investigations recommending Ben's continued attendance at the school, leaving room for a sequel or two.-Diana Pierce, Leander High School, TX

    Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

  • The Horn Book

    July 1, 2012
    Twelve-year-old Ben Ripley thought living at a top-secret spy school would be super cool, but the classes are boring, the food is atrocious, and, worst of all, he's being used as bait. He's got to find a mole in the organization while keeping his cool in front of the girls. Funny and suspenseful, this book is perfectly pitched for middle-grader and tween boys.

    (Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

  • Booklist

    March 15, 2012
    Grades 4-7 Ben Ripley has always wanted to escape the ordinariness of his middle-school life and be a spy. But then Alexander Hale appears at his home looking like James Bond, wanting Ben to enroll immediately in the CIA's top-secret Academy of Espionage, and immediately things begin to happen. There's a beautiful girl, Erica, and multiple assaults on Ben's lifeincluding ninjas, assassins in the night, and bombsand suddenly Ben isn't so sure that being a spy is all that glamorous. Gibbs takes the familiar boarding-school setting and revamps it in this slightly cheeky, action-packed novel for middle-school readers. While most of the characters are somewhat flat, Ben is well-defined; he is a math nerd, a geek who has never gotten the girl, but he comes into his own when he is under attack. Similar in many ways to the Alex Rider books for an older audience, this romp is a great choice for reluctant readers of either gender.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

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    Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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