Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Berry
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Popular espionage series makes smooth transition to comics.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
As SPY SCHOOL: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL begins, 12-year-old Ben Ripley finds that the "science camp" he's supposed to attend is actually a front for a training ground for future CIA operatives. Armed with little more than a badminton racquet, he endures harrowing missions developed by his classmates or by the opposition, though it's hard to tell one from the other.
Is It Any Good?
As long as there are James Bond films, there wil be send-ups of them, and this goofy version hits the funny bone with a sure aim. Spy School: The Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs and Anjan Sarkar keeps the action lively, serving up ridiculous (in a good way) plot twists and action sequences. Like a PG-rated Austin Powers prequel, it skewers the clichés of spydom by giving them a middle school twist. The result is funny and suspenseful, the vibrant and kinetic artwork well matched to the subject. Young fans can look forward to further volumes in this engaging comics series.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Spy School: The Graphic Novel differs from the original novel. What kinds of effects are available in comics that aren't available in prose, and vice versa?
How realistic is the notion of employing kids as espionage agents? What problems might that situation have in real life?
Spy School assumes that readers know about the traditions of spy thrillers. How is it a satire or parody of the form?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Anjan Sarkar
- Genre : Graphic Novel
- Topics : Adventures , School ( Middle School )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : February 17, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 263
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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