James Ponti: City Spies 2. – Golden Gate (Aladdin 2021)
After the successful mission in Paris, Brooklyn and Sydney are already completing another operation and have joined the passengers of an ocean biology research ship, which is meant to popularize science among young girls. Their job is to look after the daughters of two high-ranking people. MI6’s caution was not unfounded as they were attacked by pirates during the journey to kidnap the girls. However, they did not count on the two teenage spies, who will protect them at all costs. The case is mysteriously intertwined with an investigation within MI6 and a family matter. But what is the relationship between these cases, dodos and magpies?
The book was also very fast-paced and exciting this time, although we don’t know what we are up against until the end of the story. In the volumes, we find flashbacks, during which we get to know the background of the spies, thereby gaining an even better insight into their personalities. If we didn’t like the characters until now, we will surely tune in to them. The individual persons have become so human and natural that we can easily empathize with their situation. The story – if that’s possible – is even more humorous and I liked it even more than the first one. The translation was also very good, but I have to read the next book in English, because it has not yet been published in Hungarian.
James Ponti started writing when he was still in elementary school. The characters of his first story were Mickey Mouse and his friends. It’s funny that years later he wrote scenes for Disney Channel Mickey Mouse Club. He also had another link to Disney, as he worked at Disney World during his summers in college, where he entertained people with funny stories on canoe tours. During these summers, he learned how jokes work and what really makes people laugh. The author also has three middle-grade book series. The idea of City Spies first came to his mind in Paris, where he decided to write a series with episodes set in different big cities. The series currently has five volumes, the fifth, Mission Manhattan, was published in English this February.
