Review: Also Known As by Robin Benway

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.
Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

Though it's been almost five months since I last read Benway's Also Known As, I'm surprised how much the book has stuck with me. Maggie Silver, international spy in training, daughter to two world famous spies, and the best locksmith/picker the world has ever seen; she is basically living the dream. After being assigned on a super secret mission, that only she can accomplish, Maggie for once in her life will not only stay in one place, but she is also going to have to deal with high school- one mission she might have trouble cracking.

Benway does an incredible job painting a great scene for her characters. Like in her previous novels, such as Audrey Wait! (which is a MUST READ), she makes sure to put thought into all the characters so the the reader actually knows who is who, and how each personality is relevant to the novel. The use of comic affect has me "LOLing" way too many times...I think my roommates got scared when I would burst into laughter out of nowhere. Maggie is such an entertaining and well thought out character; she's funny, witty, smart, and even though she's never been in her situation before, like a chameleon she easily (pretends) to adapt.

This was one of those reads that you can read a few times over and over if you have nothing to read and to stay entertained. It may have taken me a while to get into it, especially because initially it reminded of the Gallagher Girls series, so I had very different expectations when I was approaching the book (but in actuality the book is not like the other series at all, so don't worry, this story is unique, fresh, and you'll love it). I am personally a huge Benway fan and love contemps, so if you are one of the two or are interested in trying something new, I would definitely say check out Also Known As, it's a fun quick read, and you won't be sorry!

Rate: 4/5