Publishers Weekly
08/05/2019
Athena, a secret, unsanctioned organization that protects women and children internationally, was founded by Chinese tech tycoon Li Chen, African-American former ambassador Peggy Delaney, and retired white British musician Kit Love. Protocol dictates that its agents eschew bloodshed, but after Jessie Archer, 18, helps her fellow operatives free 50 young women from a cage in Cameroon and then realizes that their captor will serve little time, she kills him. The team flees, but the incident attracts media attention, prompting Athena to fire Jessie—an especially devastating decision, given that Kit is Jessie’s mother. Jessie refuses to stay sidelined, however, particularly after she learns that Kit will serve as bait in an operation a targeting human trafficker Gregory Pavlic. Tailing Athena to Serbia, Jessie launches a solo investigation that proves far more difficult and dangerous than anticipated; she also becomes attracted to Pavlic’s daughter. First in a planned series, filmmaker Sarif’s YA debut compensates for a thin premise with an inclusive cast, ample action, and escalating stakes. Some underdeveloped secondary characters lessen the interpersonal conflicts’ heft and verisimilitude, but Jessie’s conflicted attraction rings true, and a gratifying conclusion hints at emotional complexities to come. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Imagine if Mission: Impossible were run by young, brilliant, ultra-skilled female operatives who undertook rogue operations to save the women and girls of the world from kidnappers and traffickers. Shamim Sarif has written a ferocious, take-no-prisoners thriller that actually thrills, with a deep heart and characters you’ll adore. What a wonderful and exciting new voice in YA. More please!” — Patrick Ness, New York Times bestselling author of The Rest of Us Just Live Here and A Monster Calls
“Finally! The female version of James Bond we’ve been waiting for! Only better—this team of black-ops spies exclusively kick ass and take the names of those who prey on women and girls: warlords and human traffickers. With a diverse cast of heroes and villains, a global scope, and just a hint of romance, it makes taking down the patriarchy fun.” — Natalie C. Anderson, author of City of Saints and Thieves
“Riveting, with thrillingly representative female empowerment.” — Kirkus Reviews
“An inclusive cast, ample action, and escalating stakes. Jessie’s conflicted attraction rings true, and a gratifying conclusion hints at emotional complexities to come.” — Publishers Weekly
“Lots of edge-of-your-seat moments. A perfectly paced plot and girls with brains and Mission Impossible–style moves make this a highly engaging thriller. A breathlessly cinematic series opener.” — School Library Journal
“Led by and centered on women, this high-octane thriller features a well-developed cast with distinct, varied backgrounds. An explosively exciting story that shines a light on the treatment, mistreatment, and unity of women across the globe.” — ALA Booklist
"Delivers all the fun of a spy thriller. The reveals are well plotted and the characters have developed (and often clashing) personalities. Solutions for world problems are also realistically approached, as taking down one baddie leaves a lot unresolved and a lot to ponder about the way crises like terrorism are approached worldwide. Readers looking for some heart-pumping action and vigilante justice will find it here aplenty."
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Delivers all the fun of a spy thriller. The reveals are well plotted and the characters have developed (and often clashing) personalities. Solutions for world problems are also realistically approached, as taking down one baddie leaves a lot unresolved and a lot to ponder about the way crises like terrorism are approached worldwide. Readers looking for some heart-pumping action and vigilante justice will find it here aplenty."
ALA Booklist
Led by and centered on women, this high-octane thriller features a well-developed cast with distinct, varied backgrounds. An explosively exciting story that shines a light on the treatment, mistreatment, and unity of women across the globe.
Natalie C. Anderson
Finally! The female version of James Bond we’ve been waiting for! Only better—this team of black-ops spies exclusively kick ass and take the names of those who prey on women and girls: warlords and human traffickers. With a diverse cast of heroes and villains, a global scope, and just a hint of romance, it makes taking down the patriarchy fun.
Patrick Ness
Imagine if Mission: Impossible were run by young, brilliant, ultra-skilled female operatives who undertook rogue operations to save the women and girls of the world from kidnappers and traffickers. Shamim Sarif has written a ferocious, take-no-prisoners thriller that actually thrills, with a deep heart and characters you’ll adore. What a wonderful and exciting new voice in YA. More please!
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Delivers all the fun of a spy thriller. The reveals are well plotted and the characters have developed (and often clashing) personalities. Solutions for world problems are also realistically approached, as taking down one baddie leaves a lot unresolved and a lot to ponder about the way crises like terrorism are approached worldwide. Readers looking for some heart-pumping action and vigilante justice will find it here aplenty."
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Delivers all the fun of a spy thriller. The reveals are well plotted and the characters have developed (and often clashing) personalities. Solutions for world problems are also realistically approached, as taking down one baddie leaves a lot unresolved and a lot to ponder about the way crises like terrorism are approached worldwide. Readers looking for some heart-pumping action and vigilante justice will find it here aplenty."
Natalie C. Parker
The female version of James Bond we’ve been waiting for! With a diverse cast of heroes and villains, a global scope, and just a hint of romance, it makes taking down the patriarchy fun.
School Library Journal
09/01/2019
Gr 9 Up—Jessie Archer works for Athena, a top-secret rogue organization made up of a few very talented female vigilantes. Their mission is to put a stop to some of the horrible things going on in the world that government organizations like the CIA or MI5 can't or won't handle. Stopping human traffickers is at the top of their list. When Jessie breaks protocol on one of their missions, she's fired for coming too close to exposing Athena. But when she realizes their next mission might put her mother in danger, she uses the skills she learned at Athena to work covertly on the mission behind the scenes. She targets the beautiful daughter of the trafficker Athena is trying to stop, but soon her feelings for the glamorous Paulina begin to complicate everything. While she's working to help her former teammates, they are relentlessly trying to stop her, making for lots of edge-of-your-seat moments. A perfectly paced plot and girls with brains and Mission Impossible–style moves make this a highly engaging thriller. VERDICT A breathlessly cinematic series opener and a fun first purchase for high school and YA collections.—Mandy Laferriere, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TX
Kirkus Reviews
2019-07-24
A group of female spies enacts justice for exploited women around the world.
Jessie Archer, a white British woman, works for Athena, a female-led London-based secret division of global corporation Chen Technologies, helping to covertly take down crime lords who traffic and kidnap women and children. When a high-tension mission goes awry, Jessie is taunted by a warlord, who says his capture will be a temporary stay. She kills him, endangering Athena's secrecy, and is subsequently kicked off the team right as they are departing for Belgrade for an operation. As part of the intelligence-gathering effort for the operation, Jessie is frustrated by her termination, and, stuck at home and bored, she breaks into Athena's servers, discovering leads to Paulina Pavlic, the alluring daughter of the trafficker Athena is targeting. Jessie's feelings for Paulina are further complicated by the discovery of even more nefarious goings-on as well as information that endangers both her and the Athena team. Meanwhile, Athena agents are given a directive to bring Jessie in. This riveting, female-centered romp includes diverse characters—African American, Palestinian, South Asian British—who have layered and complex backstories. Li Chen, founder of Chen Technologies, survived the Cultural Revolution. Jessie examines her privilege with occasional flippant snark and questions global power dynamics and the treatment of women around the world. Jessie is a lesbian, and some other characters are queer.
Thrillingly representative female empowerment. (Thriller. 14-18)
