Review of "Also Known As" by Robin Benway

Page Count: 336 Pages

Publish Date: November 12, 2013

Genre: YA/Spy Thriller - Espionage

Synopsis: Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.

Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case...all while trying not to blow her cover.

Review: I loved this book! I may be a little biased because spy books are one of my favorite genres and they're so hard to find. This was a wonderful read. Maggie was witty and real without trying too hard to be a three dimensional character - she just was. She was a wonderful narrator and made the story.

While the romance was a bit tacky, the characters were all very real and the plot was so much fun. Spy stories are great and this one was one of the best that I've seen. Jesse, her love interest, was actually really interesting and fleshed out, which is rare for a love interest.

It is a quick read, which is kind of sad and I absolutely can't wait to start the sequel Going Rogue. It's a great book to read on a plane or on a lazy weekend when you have time to really get into what you're reading.

Rating: 4.5 STARS