July 2013, Piccadilly Press, 192 pages, Paperback, Review copy
Themes: leaving
your old life, huge family secrets, moving house, pretending to be a girl,
stereotypes, girly girls, awesome spy gadgets,secret room, sneaking about,
suspicious goings on, finding an important mission,
Content: Lots of
humour, some major peril, lots of minor peril,
Summary from Piccadilly Press
James Bond never had to wear a dress!
Joe discovers his parents are spies – which is great. But Joe’s parents
are in danger – which is not so great.
And Joe has to go undercover
as a girl – which is definitely
not great at all.
Joe (now ‘Josephine’) is miserable
when he starts his new school in a blond wig, dress and tights.
But soon he has a spy mission of his own. Using a host of
unusual gadgets, Joe investigates some suspicious goings on. But can he
do so without revealing his true identity?
Nayuleska's thoughts
I
expected this book to be fun - what I didn't expect was to adore Joe's character
and all he goes through. It makes it an ideal read for boys and girls because
they can learn something about how they view each other through Joe's
experience of learning the truth about girls. Truth is a big part of the story,
it's not everyday you find out your parents are spies.
Joe does
freak out a little bit, especially with having to leave everything he loves
behind when they
move, but
he understands that staying safe is important. There are a few moments in the
book where the stakes are high but I really like how there is more focus on the
positive side of being in a family of spies and being undercover, rather than
making the enemies of Joe's parents' terrifying. Joe's interaction with both
boys and girls in his new disguise isn't all plain sailing, but thankfully he
manages to have some fun, and even make a new firm friend. I'm most definitely
looking forward to seeing poor Joe in a dress in the next book!
Suggested
read
For another book which is hilarious (nothing to do with spying exactly, but some spying does go on) try Pea's Book of Best Friends by Susie Day (Children's, 9 years +, 10E/10E)
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