Liberty

May 29, 2017
Paige Nolan’s parents, lauded investigative journalists, have disappeared under mysterious circumstances in Damascus and are presumed dead. After Paige, a Bryn Mawr student, uses her significant martial arts abilities to take out a pair of belligerent “open carry” enthusiasts at an Applebee’s, she attracts the attention of Madden, a handler from a top-secret government agency, who offers Paige a job and suggests that her parents may still be alive. Following some extensive physical training, Paige is off to Moscow to find Sean Raynes, a Snowdenesque hacker/whistleblower, who might be able to help find her parents. Portes (The Fall of Butterflies) gives her multilingual heroine a sharp-edged, love-it-or-hate-it voice that addresses the reader as a friend/coconspirator (“What we are looking at right now, you and I, is a very, and I mean very fancy restaurant in Moscow. This is, like, where Vladimir Putin has his lunch, when he’s not bare-chested fishing, bare-chested invading neighboring countries”). Though this spy caper is a bit slow to ramp up, it’s a blast once it does, and the ending suggests future missions for Paige. Ages 13–up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

April 1, 2017
If your journalist parents are dead--or "probably dead"--why not become a spy and an assassin?On their way from Istanbul to Damascus, Paige Nolan's parents disappeared amid gunfire at a checkpoint. Since then, the white, fashion-conscious, pop-culture-savvy protagonist has gone on to matriculate at Bryn Mawr, where she leads the sexually independent and alcohol-misted life of a typical college student. Dear reader, as Paige addresses "you" directly, you know that an even greater life-changing event happened at an Applebee's restaurant. She used martial arts to disarm two guys toting AK-47s, but due to her dissociative disorder, she witnesses her actions as if outside her body and shrugs off the event. But officials (and perhaps Lord of the Rings fans) at the Reconnaissance and Intelligence AuTHority discover and recruit Paige for an information-gathering mission. In exchange for uncovering secrets of Sean Raynes, an American superhacker and whistleblower now gone to ground in Russia (akin to Edward Snowden), her parents' case will become active. After quick training, Paige assumes the role of an exchange student at Moscow State University. The young RAITH operative navigates Russian secret agents and contacts in the mob with fast-paced action and biting wit--and perhaps while falling in love with Raynes in the process. An open ending leaves room for sequels. A fun--and even funnier--thriller. (Thriller. 14-adult)

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Starred review from April 1, 2017
Gr 10 Up-Paige is a college student who has had anything but a typical life. Her journalist parents ensured she learned five languages, earned a black belt in martial arts, and acquired a healthy skepticism of American involvement in international affairs. Paige's distrust of the government is heightened with the disappearance of her parents, who were captured by terrorists. Are they even still alive? Paige may have been given the chance to find out. The catch? She is to become a spy, fly to Russia, and get close to Sean Raynes, a whistle-blower for America's spying program. The assignment gets complicated when the two begin to fall into a real relationship, only for the protagonist to discover that her ultimate directive is to kill Sean. The ending is left open for a sequel. Audiences will appreciate the multilayered plot and cultural references. Paige's misadventures through training and missions keep readers turning pages in this fast-paced spy drama. Dialogue is fresh and funny, lending an authentic voice to the unexpected heroine. No enemy is safe from Paige's brains, wit, and heart of gold. Portes deftly weaves a story of an unlikely spy, and readers will be convinced that being recruited by a top-secret government agency for a potentially deadly international mission is possible-and totally fun. Fans of Libba Bray will enjoy the sharp banter and eclectic cultural observations. VERDICT An entertaining girl-power, kick-butt, espionage romp that belongs in all libraries.-Carrie Finberg, South Park High School, PA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Best-selling author Portes' latest takes a high-concept, ripped-from-the-headlines premise and infuses it with warmth and zip. College student Paige's journalist parents were captured by terrorists, and their fate is still uncertain. When the charming sociopath Madden Carter, an undercover operative for RAITH, seeks Paige out on campus and promises they're alive and she can help find them, Paige willingly joins the spy world. Suddenly, she's jetting off to Russia, posing as a foreign-exchange student, and tasked with luring the Edward Snowdenesque Sean Raynes, who she's not supposed to fall for. (Whoops.) Paige's new Russian friends Katarina and Uri provide additional opportunities for laughs, keeping the story light and breezy. Though the plot deals with decidedly life-or-death stakes, the voice is right out of Gilmore Girls central casting: quip-filled, lightning fast, and brimming with pop-culture references. Given the extent to which Russia has been dominating recent headlines, teens tuned into the news are likely to have an added interest in stories set there. Effortlessly readable, if not remotely realistic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)