Common Sense Media Review
By Kate Pavao
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fun debut of spy school series is OK for tweens.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 8 parent reviews
Based on 73 kid reviews
Kids say this book is an engaging read filled with action, romance, and themes of friendship, making it appealing to both girls and boys. While many readers found it entertaining and relatable, some noted a slow plot and occasional mature themes, suggesting it is best suited for tweens or teens who can navigate its complexities.
- engaging read
- themes of friendship
- slow plot
- suitable for tweens
- romance and action
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Cammie, a student at a secret school for girl spies, has an unusual talent: No one ever notices her. But then nice, normal Josh singles her out when she's on her first covert mission. Cammie decides to keep her spy story a secret and pretend that she's just a normal teen ("All these years I'd thought being a spy was challenging," she muses. "Turns out, being a girl is the tricky part."). But Cammie's actdoesn't mean that she and her plucky friends can't use their spy training to get to know everything they can about Josh, from reading his email to going through his garbage.
Is It Any Good?
Readers will have fun learning all about the Gallagher Academy. Cammie can speak 14 languages, and the final for one of her classes involves a dangerous mission that leaves her kidnapped and blindfolded. Plus, her school is full of secret passages and cool classes like Covert Operations. Underneath this fun premise, Cammie struggles with a pretty sweet and straightforward teen problem (i.e. she has to learn that being herself is the best way to win Josh over) -- and she's got a great group of supportive friends who are there for her, from sorting through Josh's garbage to rescuing her from a kidnapping. Readers may find that some of the characters aren't fully developed, but they'll find out more about them in the sequels to this fun book.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about series books. Will you read more of the books in the Gallagher Girl series? What's fun about a series, and why do you think they are so popular with teens? What other books would you like to see turned into a series?
This book has been optioned by Walt Disney Pictures. Do you think it would make a good movie? Who would you cast in the role as Cammie? Do you like it when books you've read become movies? Are the movies ever as good as the books?
The girls in Cammie's friend group are pretty archetypical: There's gutsy Bex, bad girl Macey, and intellectual Liz... Can you think of other books or movies that have these same types? What do you think of reducing characters down to one characteristic? Is it realistic? Does it happen to female characters more than male characters?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Hyperion Books for Children
- Publication date : May 1, 2006
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 12
- Number of pages : 288
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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