Another grand addition to a wonderful children's urban fantasy series. wonderful characters, great writing and just the proper amount of spookiness makes for some great fun.But, sadly, I must knock off one star for the couple of things I found annoying with the 3rd addition to the "Books of Elsewhere" series "The Second Spy."My two smaller problems here are Olive's reaction to Rutherford's big secret at the end of the book, and olive's parents. I really don't think a kid would react that well to such information. Plus, Olive's mom and dad are so wrapped up in their own math filled worlds that they are borderline neglectful. I get that it's a kids fantasy novel and, like it's slightly more grown up cousin young adult paranormal books, most parents are rather stupid and blind. but this just never sat right with me. I mean REALLY! adults should be a little more active in their kid's life than this! I never understood why saying the day was left totally up to kids. (of course, the problem with this is that there wouldn't be much of a story if Olive had told her parents about elsewhere.)And, now for my BIG ISSUE . . . .olive. now, I love olive. she's creative and sweet and not a mary sue. . . . .but even for a child her ability from her mistakes and her judgment skills are just down right shocking. :( after two previous books, she's still doing stupid, stupid stuff! not listening to the cats, keeping secrets from them, lying to them . . . trying to use McMartin's dark magic. One would think she's stop that after the disasters with the spellbook and using Leopold. but nope. I was treated to another 300 pages of her stupidly trying to be something she's clearly not.but the other characters do get credit for being so forgiving and understanding of her choices. but the "she's just a child" excuse is only going to work for so long.but while I had these few issues, it didn't really take away from my enjoyment of the overall story. it's still awesomely creative and fun. I love it! And that's the whole point of a novel, right? that we enjoy it, despite a few imperfections? (it gets extra points for mentioning Robin Hood! XD!!!) and I'm sure the target audience of middle school kids and older elementary school kids won't even notice these things, so it's a great choice for them. Another fantastic book in this series. This one has even more magic, mystery and action than the previous books. It also keeps getting better and better. Though I didn't like how our main character changed and tried to do something she was clearly warned against. But I guess that happens with kids/teenagers.The cats were there again too, and funny. I loved the cat that always changed its personalities.I really can't wait to read on further. Gah so frustrating that it takes so long for the paperbacks to get out. :(
What do You think about The Second Spy (2012)?
Darling books. The audio version is very well done. Excited for the next book!!
—bambi125
