Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls

Abby lives in New York City with her single mother, and with summer winding down, she’s looking ahead to seventh grade. Then a surprise letter announcing her acceptance to the Smith School for Children turns Abby’s world upside down. After arriving at the school, she learns that it has an undercover element—training girls to be spies—and its best alumna, code named Teflon, is Abby’s own mother, who has gone missing. A lot of people want to find Teflon, including the head of the Smith School, who uses Abby as bait to lure her mother out. When that fails, Abby and her friends search for her mother themselves. In her first book for children, McMullen (the Sally Sin series) delivers a fast-moving, twist-filled addition to the kid spy genre, which builds to a nail-biter of a conclusion. Abby’s wry observations and tenacity, combined with glimpses of her vulnerability, make for entertaining reading while establishing a real and relatable character readers will hope to see again. Ages 9–13. Agent: Leigh Feldman, Leigh Feldman Literary. (July)