Author: Robin Benway
Genre: Young Adult, mystery
Published on: February 26, 2013 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
From New York Times bestselling, National Book Award winning author Robin Benway comes the first book in a hilarious and romantic duology about a normal girl . . . who just so happens to be a spy.
Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.
Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.
There’s a certain appeal to stories about spies. It’s likely about escapism. Spies (at least the way they’re portrayed in fiction) lead risky but arguably glamorous lives. They get to travel the world, for one. The protagonist of Also Known As certainly gets to do just that. She’s Maggie Silver, a teenage daughter of spy parents. The trio work for a covert organization called the Collective. When the story starts, the Silvers are finishing a mission in Iceland. Maggie’s part of the mission because she has a particular specialty. At just fifteen, Maggie is perhaps the best safecracker in the world. She can break into any safe or lock. Maggie’s been doing it all her life.
If you ask Maggie, one drawback about the spy life is how lonely it is. She’s rarely ever interacted with people her own age. Couple that with moving to different countries all the time, and it’s obvious Maggie hasn’t had the chance to make friends. So, when the Collective assign a new mission, Maggie is thrilled. This will be the first time Maggie handles a mission on her own. She feels ready to prove herself. Maggie and her parents fly to New York for the mission. The objective is for Maggie to attend a private high school. There, she must find a student by the name of Jesse Oliver. Maggie must befriend him to get access to his father, a journalist. The Collective believe that he is about to expose their organization.
Also Known As is a young adult novel, so it doesn’t have the seriousness of Jason Bourne-esque spy thrillers. This is still a really fun read, though. As you might expect, Maggie is out of her depth when she shows up for her first day of school. She thought that because she’s handled risky missions before, high school would be a cakewalk. By the final bell, Maggie is about ready to move to Siberia. Nothing had prepared her for what a regular teen faces every day. Maggie is just not used to dealing with people her own age. Coursework is the easy part; Maggie is smart and knowledgeable enough that she could have been put in AP classes.
Maggie is able to make a friend really early on. Her name is Roux (pronounced ‘Roo’). Roux is a charming, petite redhead with a chipper but slightly wary demeanor. Maggie soon learns—not through spying—that Roux used to be the school’s queen bee. Then something happened that caused Roux to fall from grace. Maggie is the first true friend she makes after that. It becomes evident that Roux had been longing for human connection. Roux’s parents are traveling all the time, so she lives all by herself in a luxurious penthouse next to Central Park. Roux was never a spoiled rich girl, though. She just wants a meaningful connection to someone else.
Apart from her parents, Maggie has a trusty ally on her corner. He’s Angelo, a black guy who’s been friends with the Silvers for decades. Angelo is also a member of the Collective. Whereas Maggie is a cracker, Angelo is a forger. Maggie thinks of the guy as an uncle. He’s always there to guide and reassure her when she needs it. Angelo’s aid may prove essential for Maggie’s mission. She is able to find and befriend her target, whom she keeps full-naming Jesse Oliver. Roux teases Maggie for this. Jesse turns out to be a really great guy. Maggie ends up falling for him, but I didn’t roll my eyes at this. It wasn’t cheap or unearned. Maggie and Jesse bond for real the more time they spend together. She can’t help it despite being aware of the danger, and of reality. Maggie knows she’ll have to leave Jesse and Roux when the mission is over.
I enjoyed reading Also Known As very much. It’s YA, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun or entertaining. The characters are well-written, and in Roux’s case, instantly lovable. Maggie’s mission is also more complex and unpredictable than you’d think. I didn’t correctly guess what actually was going on. It was almost a fluke that Maggie herself realized it. She solved the mystery thanks to her sharp wit and her ability to know when she needs help. There were a few action scenes, and while not pulse-pounding, they were good. Roux was particularly great. I look forward to reading these character’s next adventure.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
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