Bridget Wilder #2

April 1, 2016

Gr 4-6-This adventure novel picks up right where Bridget Wilder: Spy in Training left off, with middle child Bridget feeling stuck between life with her everyday suburban family and the growing relationship with her recently introduced biological father, who used to be a spy. When her biological father disappears, however, Bridget decides it's up to her to rescue him. She travels to New York City with her mischief-prone older brother in tow. The resulting adventure involves new accomplices and ever-complicated family revelations as Bridget aims to prove she can put her spy experience to use. What felt fresh and exciting in the first book feels a bit overdone in this second installment, and the plot depends on a large number of coincidences, sudden character reappearances, and clueless adults-all of which combined test the abilities of even the most enthralled readers to suspend disbelief. VERDICT If readers loved the first in the series, go ahead and add this to the collection. Otherwise, give it a pass.-Amy Koester, Learning Experiences Department, Skokie Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016
During her attempt to save her father, a teen spy uncovers an assassination plot. Life has returned--depressingly--to normal for 13-year-old Bridget in the second installment of Bernstein's teen spy series (Spy-in-Training, 2015). Her birth father, Carter Strike, refuses to discuss his former spy life or to continue her training. When Strike mysteriously disappears, Bridget fabricates a weekend trip to visit her best friend, Joanna, in New York City to rescue her father. Her plans become complicated when her older brother and his girlfriend are conscripted as her chaperones. She tracks Strike to a famous (fictional) building and discovers a figure from their past. She also learns about an assassination attempt on the teenage son of a high-ranking official from the (also-fictional) country of Trezekhastan. When her friends and brother are unwittingly pulled into her adventure, they rally to help stop an international war. Bernstein's heroine has grown more confident, more adventurous, and, thankfully, more likable. Bridget adapts quickly to the many obstacles and villains thrown her way in the book's rapid-fire action scenes. While action sequences still require a major suspension of disbelief, readers will love Bridget's quips and quick-thinking moves. Over-the-top action that will keep readers turning pages. (Adventure. 9-12)

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July 1, 2016
Thirteen-year-old Bridget jets cross-country to New York City to rescue her biological father, a retired CIA agent who's been kidnapped. Surprises (including the appearance of another family member) and nonstop action (at times credibility-straining but nonetheless diverting) keep the teenage spy plenty busy in this, her second outing. Characterization is minimal, but the corny one-liners and high-tech gadgets are entertaining.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)