Orphan Monster Spy

Orphan Monster Spy  by Matt Killeen

15 year old Sarah is blonde, blue-eyed, and (according to Nazi reckoning) Jewish.  She is a talented gymnast, she speaks several languages, she is adept at assimilating.  In other words, she is perfectly suited to be a spy.

Assigned to infiltrate a school for the privileged daughters of high-ranking SS officers so she can discover the hidden location of a new kind of bomb, Sarah (now called "Ursula") sneaks, lies, snoops, and tricks her way into the top level of mean girls.  She finds the bomb...and much more.

The author's buckets of research and attention to character-building elevate this story above the adventures of James Bond, but some elements strain credulity.  The book is not quite as good as Code Name Verity, however, readers interested in the time-period will be fascinated by the descriptions from inside Nazi Germany.  

Although no sequel is specified, there is clearly more adventure in store for Sarah/Ursula.

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult. 

Night of Cake and Puppets

Night of Cake and Puppets  by Laini Taylor, illustrated by Jim DiBartolo

Zuzanna begins the narrative with the story of a gruesome little puppet her grandfather used to scare small children:  the head made from a real fox skull with black glass eyes, sharpened teeth, and Cossack garb (complete with fur hat).  

Then she switches gears, a gushes a bit about this boy she is crazy to meet:  Mik, the "violin boy" who is Zuzanna's boyfriend in this author's Daughter of Smoke and Bone books.  This lovely, talented, beautiful boy...to whom Zuzanna is too shy to speak.

One night, she takes a handful of scuppies (tiny wishes) and crafts a little adventure for Mik:  a treasure map, with a drawing of herself at the center of the page where "x-marks-the-spot."  

And thus, the magic begins.

Small, quiet, and powerful, this novella should be uber-creepy, but becomes delightfully sweet instead.  The illustrations are swirly, gothic, and delightful.

And now, I want cake. 

Recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  Some scariness, no blood, some kissing (YES!!!) and thoughts of further intimacy but nothing on the page.   

You do not need to read the Smoke and Bones books to appreciate this. You only need to understand that magic is real, and that I love this book.