Concealed

By Christina Diaz Gonzalez

12-year-old Katrina has had a long line of names beginning with letters of the alphabet A-K so far. Her last two names were Ivette and then Joanna. Her whole life as she remembers, her parents have been moving her from city to city and changing their names after every move. When they move this time, Katrina finds a new friend named Parker and a slip-up on her part leads to both her parents being kidnapped, leaving her to fend for herself with Parker’s help. Things begin to unravel when she discovers that her parents are not in the Witness Protection Program like they claimed to be, but rather that they’re on the run. This is a engaging middle grade spy book with a clever female protagonist trying to piece together her identity. 

Spy School

By Stuart Gibbs

Ben Ripley’s life does a 180 when he gets an invitation to work for the CIA, only to find out that it was a case of mistaken identity because someone on the inside has a secret ploy against the agency. With a new crush roping him into an undercover mission to unravel the plot, Ben discovers that he’s actually not half-bad at being a spy. This isn’t my favorite spy series, but kids love it and can’t stop reading. 

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation

By Stuart Gibbs

This series feels like the closest readalike in terms of globetrotting, suspense and enjoyment level, and spy hijinks. The main difference is that it stars one girl. Charlie Thorne is a genius tween recruited by the CIA to help stop a terrorist group from accessing a potentially destructive equation by Albert Einstein. 

Framed

By James Ponti 

So you’re only halfway through your homework and the Director of the FBI keeps texting you for help…What do you do? Save your grade? Or save the country?

If you’re Florian Bates, you figure out a way to do both. Florian is twelve years old and has just moved to Washington. He’s learning his way around using TOAST, which stands for the Theory of All Small Things. It’s a technique he invented to solve life’s little mysteries such as: where to sit on the on the first day of school, or which Chinese restaurant has the best eggrolls.

But when he teaches it to his new friend Margaret, they uncover a mystery that isn’t little. In fact, it’s HUGE, and it involves the National Gallery, the FBI, and a notorious crime syndicate known as EEL. Can Florian decipher the clues and finish his homework in time to help the FBI solve the case?

Greetings from Witness Protection

By Jake Burt

When pickpocketing orphan Nicki is asked to join a family in witness protection to keep the family safe, she doesn’t realize just how much she stands to gain… and lose. 

Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls

By Beth McMullen

This book all about a girl who gets sent to a private boarding school, only to discover that it’s a cover for a girls spy school is surprisingly funny, action-packed, and full of heart. I recommend the audiobook which is beautifully done.

The Sherlock Society

By James Ponti

Siblings Alex and Zoe Sherlock take their last name as inspiration when choosing a summer job. After all, starting a detective agency has to be better than babysitting (boring), lawn mowing (sweaty), or cleaning out the attic (boring and sweaty). Their friends Lina, an avid bookworm, and Yadi, an aspiring cinematographer, join the enterprise, and Alex and Zoe’s retired reporter grandfather offers up his sweet aquamarine Cadillac convertible and storage unit full of cold cases. The group’s first target is the long-lost treasure supposedly hidden near their hometown Miami. Their investigation into the local doings of famed gangster Al Capone leads them to a remote island in the middle of the Everglades where they find alarming evidence hinting at corporate corruption.