Also Known As by Robin Benway

Summary:
Which is more dangerous: being an international spy... or surviving high school?

Maggie Silver has never minded her unusual life. Cracking safes for the world's premier spy organization and traveling the world with her insanely cool parents definitely beat high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations. (If it's three digits, why bother locking it at all?)

But when Maggie and her parents are sent to New York City for her first solo assignment, her world is transformed. Suddenly, she's attending a private school with hundreds of "mean girl" wannabes, trying to avoid the temptation to hack the school's elementary security system, and working to befriend the aggravatingly cute son of a potential national security threat... all while trying not to blow her cover.

From the hilarious and poignant author of Audrey, Wait! comes a fast-paced caper that proves that even the world's greatest spies don't have a mission plan for love. (from GoodReads)

Review:
I thought this was adorable and had no idea it's by the same author that wrote Audrey, Wait!. The two books are similar in that the protagonist is very funny and snarky, but they're are definitely a lot different.

This book reminded me of Ally Carter's version of a teenage spy, but I think I liked AKA better. I liked seeing Maggie out in the field actually using her skills and handling assignments. The fact that she has to spy on a cute boy that she may or may not have a crush on was hilarious and awesome.

This book was just a super fun read, even if Maggie and Jesse fall in love a little too quickly for my taste. I can't wait to read the sequel!

Rating: 8 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from the library

2013/Walker Books/318 pages

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

Audrey Cuttler was just a normal Southern California girl -- until she broke up with her musician boyfriend, Evan. After the break-up, Evan wrote a song entitled "Audrey, Wait!" with his band The Do Gooders. The song is good, and soon becomes so popular it's on the Billboard Top 100 list. Since Audrey is the subject of the song, she becomes famous. Everyone is asking her for her autograph and paparazzi stalk her like she's an A-list celebrity. Will Audrey's life ever return to normal?

I thought this book was so cute and the idea for it was very original. A lot of bands write songs about break-ups they had and it's interesting to see the point of view of the girl who the song was written about. And since everyone wants to know what it's like to be famous, they can read about Audrey and see her experiences. A lot of people will do anything to be famous, so the fact that Audrey hates it is a nice change from the norm. Actually, sometimes I thought she hated it a little too much. I could see how the paparazzi stalking you could get really annoying, but Audrey starts getting free stuff and still didn't like being famous! Anyway, I liked all the characters, especially Audrey's friend Victoria, who seemed like an interesting person and great friend. After Audrey's break-up with Evan (once again, it was weird reading a book about a guy who has the same name as my younger brother), a new love interest is introduced, James, who has liked Audrey for awhile. Audrey works with him, has never given him a second glance, but suddenly she's in love with him. I just thought it was weird that she would work with him, never talk to him, and then start liking him. But I guess it's because she was dating Evan. Oh well, I still thought it was kinda random. Even so, this is a good book for fans of music or anyone looking for a fun read.

7 out of 10.