The Specialists: Model Spy by Shannon Greenland

Title: Model Spy
Author: Shannon Greenland
Average Price: $6.99 U.S. ($8.99 CAN) Paperback Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: May 2007
Number of Pages: 206


Teen genius Kelly James is in a lot of hot water. A whiz with computers, she agreed to help her college friend, David, uncover some top-secret information. After all, she doesn’t have many friends and David has always been nice to her. It doesn’t hurt that he’s super cute and irresistible, too. All she has to do is hack into the government’s main computer system but a few hours later, her whole life changes. She is caught and taken in for questioning, only this isn’t your run-of-the-mill arrest. Rather than serve a juvenile detention sentence, she accepts the option to change her name and enlist in a secret government spy agency that trains teen agents to go undercover. As if that wasn’t overwhelming enough, she discovers that David works for this agency as well! And before she even begins to understand what is going on, she’s sent on her first mission as an undercover model. And who better to partner with than David himself!


I have to say: I love a good spy story. All of the karate, secret gadgets, dressing up and computer hacking makes a shiver go down my spine. I love the idea of going on adventures and kicking some bad guy booty so naturally I picked this book up. It was not what I expected . . . in both a good and bad way.

What I first realized about Shannon Greenland (other then her cool name) is that she gets straight to the point and she doesn't try to conjure any cliff hangers in this book. That really slowed down the pace of this story so I was tempted to put it down. I also think that sometimes the characters in the story didn't act normally. For example: Kelly is upset that she was tricked into becoming a spy (not a spoiler!) so she contemplates wether or not to quit. Um, did I hear you correctly? You don't want to be a spy? Why? Who doesn't want to go on awesome adventures and use exploding dental floss? WHO?

*silence* Ahem. Anyways, on to the brighter side of things.

I really liked that Shannon gave each of her characters a special trait that made them stand out. I enjoyed reading about the current flavour of lollipop Kelly was sucking on and what Bruiser's latest shirt said.

What really surprised me about this book is that even though Shannon Greenland didn't really add any twists to the spy area of things, she took all of the basics - parties, computer hacking, secret passageways - and made them seem totally original. I think that's one of the Shannon's best qualities: She turns coal into diamonds.

If you want a fun book with a little light romance then this novel might be right for you. B-.