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debchan's review against another edition
5.0
was any of this casual?
rylander writes the best friendships period. there i said it. no, not middle grade i actually mean in like fiction. he gets the miscommunication part down to a T and executes it flawlessly so i'm not totally annoyed by it.
there's an enemy agent within the school and carson and danielle must find them before it's too late and the world ends. may i say, that while i suspected the plot twist, it was more of a haha what if? cuz when it really happened my jaw dropped.
of course it'd be dillon. ofc it was the guy who carson brushed off multiple times to complete his missions. ofc it's the one guy who came up with crazy conspiracy theories bc it's the only thing that comforted him. ofc dillon is terrified that the world is in chaos and that's his life and that he has no control over anything and these theories give him purpose and everyone just takes him as being silly. WHAT! that's insane behavior (positive). when carson is told by the agency to do nothing, is expelled from school, is locked in his room and his phone broken, and yet he still breaks out to just speak to dillon bc he knows if he just talks to him everything will make sense. and then he saves dillon at the risk of the Agency. i've JUST read The First Sister and i remarked how much i hate when a character betrays their org for a person. well now look here's an example where it's done well. where the author gives you a reason to not support the org (agency is sus). where the character has an established relationship with that person that makes you care about it and so root for that over their loyalty. anyways. carson and dillon and danielle best friends forever for real.
most of what i have to say about this book is a spoiler above but just know it's so good. it doesn't harp on the angst when i think maybe it should do more of. like there's a moment where carson's absent father appears and is so angry he smashes carson's phone to bits and that's kinda brushed off like oh well that's just usual dad haha. like if this were a ya book they wouldn't shut up about how angsty that situation was and the trauma that emerged from it to make the main character more angsty. but here carson takes it and moves on. ik he shouldn't - that's a very horrible thing to happen to him but does he whine about it? no! and sometimes it behooves me to be more amiable to a character like that. like leave the character analysis to the reader; let them infer and think about it more. let ME be the one to sit on that particular bit of angst rather than banging it into my head over and over again.
military school? we are not a fan of that in this house but whatever it's fiction it's a middle school book. idk what rylander's thoughts are on that - he probably just did it to stay consistent. and a glimpse that carson is never really done with the "thrill of the double life" (despicable me 4 soundtrack insert).
"That's exactly what a lying backstabber would say," I said.
"Takes one to know one."
when i tell u this scene had me gagged. my jaw dropped. i fell to my knees.
what does it say about trusting rando orgs? are either one good? is any govt "for the greater good" org actually beneficial? who are the good guys and the bad guys and can you even dilute the world down to these two things. carson and danielle and dillon all did what they think was right. could they all be right or wrong or torn into two different directions? and is it your right to decide what's the greater good for someone else? anyways. *clenches fist* it's so good when a book lets you sit and think and dwell on things. pls don't throw themes and messages into my face it's not subtle. i'd much rather have this type of book that seems innocent and silly at first but lets you peel back the words to take a look behind the scenes.
the power of friendship. i'll never get over these 3.
rylander writes the best friendships period. there i said it. no, not middle grade i actually mean in like fiction. he gets the miscommunication part down to a T and executes it flawlessly so i'm not totally annoyed by it.
there's an enemy agent within the school and carson and danielle must find them before it's too late and the world ends. may i say, that while i suspected the plot twist, it was more of a haha what if? cuz when it really happened my jaw dropped.
most of what i have to say about this book is a spoiler above but just know it's so good. it doesn't harp on the angst when i think maybe it should do more of. like there's a moment where carson's absent father appears and is so angry he smashes carson's phone to bits and that's kinda brushed off like oh well that's just usual dad haha. like if this were a ya book they wouldn't shut up about how angsty that situation was and the trauma that emerged from it to make the main character more angsty. but here carson takes it and moves on. ik he shouldn't - that's a very horrible thing to happen to him but does he whine about it? no! and sometimes it behooves me to be more amiable to a character like that. like leave the character analysis to the reader; let them infer and think about it more. let ME be the one to sit on that particular bit of angst rather than banging it into my head over and over again.
military school? we are not a fan of that in this house but whatever it's fiction it's a middle school book. idk what rylander's thoughts are on that - he probably just did it to stay consistent. and a glimpse that carson is never really done with the "thrill of the double life" (despicable me 4 soundtrack insert).
"That's exactly what a lying backstabber would say," I said.
"Takes one to know one."
when i tell u this scene had me gagged. my jaw dropped. i fell to my knees.
what does it say about trusting rando orgs? are either one good? is any govt "for the greater good" org actually beneficial? who are the good guys and the bad guys and can you even dilute the world down to these two things. carson and danielle and dillon all did what they think was right. could they all be right or wrong or torn into two different directions? and is it your right to decide what's the greater good for someone else? anyways. *clenches fist* it's so good when a book lets you sit and think and dwell on things. pls don't throw themes and messages into my face it's not subtle. i'd much rather have this type of book that seems innocent and silly at first but lets you peel back the words to take a look behind the scenes.
the power of friendship. i'll never get over these 3.
annabannana's review against another edition
My just starting 3rd grade kid stopped reading when he got towards the end, I had to do a quick skim-reading out loud to finish the book and series for him.
teacher2library's review against another edition
4.0
Well, there are definitely some surprises in store for readers in this final installment!
Not entirely satisfied with the ending (too much of the final fallout left unexplained or glossed over) but the action along the way makes up for it. This was a much more serious read than the first two, but the fast pace remains the same. Overall I'd recommend it for reluctant middle grade readers in the mood for mystery, humor and adventure.
Not entirely satisfied with the ending (too much of the final fallout left unexplained or glossed over) but the action along the way makes up for it. This was a much more serious read than the first two, but the fast pace remains the same. Overall I'd recommend it for reluctant middle grade readers in the mood for mystery, humor and adventure.
sillymilly14's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I’ve never said this about any other book, but this book is better than the rest it the series. Sooo good and one of the best endings ever.
lenni_loves_literature's review against another edition
3.0
This book was already going to get a four star since it isn't the most original. Then I thought of something while reading. Isn't it kind of manipulative to force CHILDREN work for secret government agencies? I mean, it wasn't force at the beginning, but as the series progressed, it see seemed like they were being forced. And to think that there are many other books like this where kids are forced into working for their agencies. Idk, but I just wasn't feeling this one.