The Spy Who Raised Me

by Ted Anderson, Gianna Meola (Illustrator)

Overview

Some parents want their children to turn out just like them. Only a few secretly turn their kids into elite special operatives.

Josie Black can infiltrate any building, speak a dozen languages, and fight like a martial arts master. But no one told her that. After J.B. detects gaps in her memory, her mom reveals the truth: she works for a covert agency, and she's given J.B. the skills of a super spy. After J.B. freaks out, runs off, and tries to escape the weird world of espionage, she'll have to decide who she wants to be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728412917
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/06/2021
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)
Lexile:	HL520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 13 Years

About the Author

Ted Anderson is a librarian, educator, and comics writer from Minnesota. He has written licensed and creator-owned comics for multiple publishers, including BOOM! Studios, IDW Publishing, and Aftershock Comics. He lives in Minneapolis with several plants and zero regrets. To the best of his knowledge, he is not an internationally renowned spy.

Gianna Meola is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist from New York, currently living in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in the anthologies Comics for Choice and Group Chat. She also draws storyboards and makes prints. In her spare time, she likes to volunteer with animals. Her website is GiannaMeola.com.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2021

Gr 7 Up—A teen discovers a secret identity and tries to forge her own path. Josie is always exhausted—she travels with her mom on business trips but usually ends up sleeping through the whole adventure. Sometimes she loses track of time, and there are gaps in her memory. Josie's parents tell her these experiences are normal for a teen, and though Josie knows that's not true, she can't figure out what's going on. Finally, her mom reveals that Josie is a spy. Her mother works for the Company, a spy agency that has secretly programmed Josie to fight and speak a dozen languages—all without Josie realizing it. Her mom tried to stop it, but, as she tells Josie, "You don't say no to the Company." Josie doesn't want to be controlled any longer, and she'll do anything to find out the whole truth. Despite a thrilling premise, this graphic novel fails to build excitement. Anderson's attempts to fold in a message about defining one's own destiny fall flat due to poor plotting and character development. Sketchy, red-tinged art lacks definition and often makes the narrative hard to follow. Josie and her family are white; her friend Zoe appears to be brown-skinned. VERDICT This story of a girl secretly turned spy wrestles with an intriguing plot but fails to deliver.—Traci Glass, Lincoln City Libraries, NE

School Library Journal

2021-01-12
Josie Black has been working as a secret agent: If only she could remember any of it.

J.B. is a shy, underperforming teen who one day discovers that her entire life is a lie. After she notices gaps in her memory and her mother’s continuous gaslighting attempts, J.B. learns that not only is she a programmed special operative for a mysterious organization called the Company, but she also possesses skills including speaking multiple languages and expert fighting moves. But she can access those only when her mother—another operative—speaks a series of imprinted commands that subsequently pause her memory. It is imperative for J.B. to gain control of her life, but thankfully she has her best friend, Zoe, on her side as well as a little help from the CIA. This graphic novel is filled with potential but is unevenly told with its whiplash-inducing shifts, from fun agent antics and the silliness of the truth behind the Company to the utter horror of J.B.’s mom’s abusive behavior. The novel’s lack of an emotional core leads to an unearned climax, but J.B. and Zoe’s friendship and their adventures are fun. Illustrator Meola’s original style effectively supports the story with cartoonlike, minimalist panels and a terra-cotta palette that both captures J.B.’s horrifying powerlessness and her eventual freedom. Redheaded J.B. appears White; Zoe has darker skin.

An intriguing premise let down by flawed execution. (Graphic thriller. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

"You think your parents are strange? While The Spy Who Raised Me is a really fun read, underneath it all is the quintessential feeling that your family either loves you or might just destroy you." —Jason Walz, author-artist of Last Pick

From the Publisher