Mrs. Smith's Spy School for Girls by Beth McMullen

Abby Hunter is not happy when her mother tells her that she will soon be going to a boarding school.  Once there, however, she makes friends who share her love of sneaking around and trying to solve mysteries.  One day as she is eves dropping on the Head Mistress of the school, Mrs. Smith, she discovers that Mrs. Smith is running a spy school within the boarding school, and that she recruits prospective spies from the boarding school student body.  Abby is recruited and finds herself on her first mission, but can she be sure who are the good guys, and who are the bad guys?

There are really a lot of spy school type books out there.  This one offers the action, drama and suspense one would expect from the genre.  In some spy books, the child comes with a full set of super skills, but that is not the case here.  On her very first stakeout, Abby gets so scared she passes out cold.  In the end, though, she gains enough courage and skill to be successful and to see herself as a real agent.  I think it is Abby's imperfections that will endear her to young readers.  This was a fun read and almost certainly the beginning of a promising series. (2017, 295p.)