Middle schooler Ben Ripley is looking forward to hanging out with his best friend at home for the summer after enduring his first year at a CIA-run boarding school for future spies. But it turns out summer school is required. The camp setting eases the sting a little, until Ben discovers SPYDER, the secret organization wanting to overthrow the CIA and dominate world espionage, wants Ben to join them. They've given him twenty-four hours to say yes, or die. He tells his friend, super student Erica Hale, but the CIA sends her father, Alexander, to help instead. Unfortunately, Alexander's reputation as a super spy belies his limited talent and gift for bumbling. Stuart Gibbs keeps the premise fresh and funny in this sequel to Spy School (Simon & Schuster, 2012), with new revelations about the Hale family spy dynasty in particular while continuing to develop Ben and other characters. The setup to the climax involving a Civil War reenactment is especially hilarious in this action-packed, tongue-in-cheek offering. (Ages 9-12)

In the second book in the New York Times bestselling Spy School series, top-secret training continues into summer for aspiring spy Ben Ripley—and so does the danger.

Ben Ripley is a middle schooler whose school is not exactly average—he’s spent the last year training to be a top-level spy and dodging all sorts of associated danger. So now that summer’s finally here, Ben would like to have some fun and relax. But that’s not going to happen during required spy survival training at a rustic wilderness camp, where SPYDER, an enemy spy organization, has infiltrated the spies’ ranks. Can Ben root out the enemy before it takes him out—for good?