Summary
Peter Smith is a senior at Carlisle Academy in Colorado. On a late night run, his best friend tries to jump out and surprise him, but the pizza smell gives him away. Yet a freshman girl can jump out and take a picture of him shirtless, that she then posts online. #PrettyBoy is born.
In anyone else, this might be flattering. But Peter is a teenage CIA operative. That girl never should have been able to sneak up on him like that – and he does NOT need his face on social media! After an operation in the Ukraine went south with Peter stuck on the inside, he’s been sidelined at Carlisle. He’s supposed to be finishing his last year of high school and gathering intel on some of the bigwigs who send their kids to the school. But in reality, Peter has traced the hacker from the Ukrainian op to Carlisle. He’s perfectly placed to observe and ferret out the hacker. Unfortunately, it looks like the hacker might be Katie, the gorgeous girl with the British accent that he dumped before Homecoming. High school and spy work sure can make life complicated.
And it’s about to get worse. The Ukranian mission may seem over to the CIA, but someone has seen Peter’s picture online and decided #PrettyBoy must die.
Review
Reviews for this online are really low, and I just don’t understand it. I thought this was great fun! The mystery/spy pieces were twisty. Peter was always wondering (though not always guessing correctly) whom he could trust. There’s a steady supply of action and tension from start to finish. I would read more books like this if this ever becomes a series.
The whole #PrettyBoy premise was fun. This was a light yet suspenseful story. The book didn’t take itself too seriously. I enjoyed the characters a lot. There’s a little bit of language, but no detailed violence, so this easily works for middle school as well as older readers who want a fun, fast-moving adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed this!