earc from netgalley.

I really liked this book! it had a lot of action, excitement, and it was actually pretty good for a teenage spy book!

4/5 stars.

I enjoyed the writing of this story and the description of the book was intriguing. The overall premise of this book isn't bad. What I found frustrating as I was reading was the unrealistic nature of the main character's skills and abilities. This main character is under 15 and has essentially been without a guardian for the last six years as a thief in London but can drive, convince important people to pay attention to her despite only being fifteen years old, speaks a number of languages, and is impressively good at spy skills despite no clear development about where her training came from. It just felt like the main character was too good, simply for the sake of being an impressive main character. I wanted to enjoy this story a lot, but personally couldn't get past the character's overdone abilities.

However, the author did a good job of creating engaging dialogue and narration throughout the plot. I felt that the scenes, although a bit unbelievable, were engaging and well written. The pacing of the book was quick, although I wish there was a clear driving force for the plot of the book outside of the narrator is now at a school against her will.. The beginning of the book lacked a clear focus, as it seemed as if the missing parents might be a driving factor of the book before they appeared in the second chapter. The beats in the story were strong however and the author had a strong tone and clear voice within her narrator and other characters. I loved Micah's character so much and want to know more about him and his journey. I think this book would be best for middle grade students who have less expectations for realistic characters and are looking for something that stretches the bounds of belief. A fun and quirky read that younger readers would enjoy.