Book Review: Europa by James Ponti (City Spies #7)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Characters, action, and humor well mixed 

Cons: Pacing a time or two, but never for long

The Bottom Line:

Second crack of code

Sends team racing to Paris

Another fun book

Race to Find the Target

If book six had been the end of City Spies, I would have been disappointed because I love the series, but I would have felt like the characters got a satisfying send off. Fortunately for all of us, author James Ponti wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the characters either, so everyone is back in Europa. 

If you are new to this middle grade series, it features the most secret, and the most unusual, of MI-6’s agents. It’s a team of teens. But they have been trained as spies and have proved over and over again that they are very good at their missions, going places where adults might be suspect. 

I was a little surprised when I realized this book didn’t give us any background on the characters. We got some backstory that related to the plot and some spoilers for the last book, which wrapped up a major storyline for the series to date. So if you started here, you might be a little lost. But as a fan since book one, I easily slipped back into this world, even with some changes the team has recently undergone. 

You see, the team has had to relocated from Scotland to London thanks to the events of the previous book. But that means they can get some special training from those higher up in MI-6. The first such session involves looking at a coded message the agency has recently gotten. The City Spies quickly realize that the agents who had looked for it missed one thing - the targets are in Paris. But which of the potential targets is the real one? Can the team figure it out in time?

You’ll notice that I didn’t focus on any specific character. That’s because, more so than in earlier books, this is about the team. That’s always been the case to a certain extent, but often it felt like there was one that was a little more front and center. I didn’t feel that way this time. 

Now, this isn’t to say that the characters don’t get their chances to shine. I feel like all the kids had moments to stand out and grow. That isn’t as true for the adults, but they are still good characters themselves. 

And the plot itself was good. I did feel like we got a bit too much info in data dump fashion early on, but it wasn’t long before we were back in the action. There are some fun twists and good action scenes along the way. And the ending? I really want to see what it means going forward. 

And there’s the humor, too. Yes, we are facing life and death stakes, but the characters still joke and tease each other. I smiled and laughed plenty when I wasn’t on the edge of my seat. This balance just makes me love the book even more. 

I also appreciated that the code was using Shakespeare and Renaissance painters. Most of the time, we were given some info about these things in an entertaining way. It was a nice way to introduce those subjects to kids without making them feel dry. 

I might be well beyond the target audience, but Europa entertained me from start to finish. Kids will love this book, as will anyone who wants an entertaining story. 

Check out the rest of the City Spies adventures.