This smart new series charms with humor and a determined attitude from literature’s newest heroine, Bridget Wilder. She’s the only adopted child, a middle, and worries her family doesn’t connect with her like they do with an older brother and younger sister. Busy parents even forget that it’s her birthday.

When a bag arrives on the doorstep (How come I never get a bag like this on my doorstep?), her life begins to change. It is full of cool gadgets like a weapon infused lip balm and a container of tiny cameras planted in Tic-Tacs. Things get worse at home, but at school she’s able to branch out beyond the one friend she never really liked. She soon discovers her biological father is a spy and wants Bridget to join him on future missions.

There’s a great batch of middle school characters from a group of very exclusive girls to, Dale, a boy she kind of likes. Dale especially takes a surprising turn as his character develops. Family and school life are realistically portrayed. Never dull and always surprising, Bridget Wilder gets a fantastic and thrilling introduction to the spy world. She’ll be back soon in BRIDGET WILDER: SPY TO THE RESCUE.

PUBLICATION DATE: 2015   PAGE COUNT: 304

FULL PLOT (From the author’s web site) :Middle school meets Mission Impossible in this hilarious spy series for fans of Chris Rylander, Stuart Gibbs, and Ally Carter about a girl whose life is turned upside down when she discovers her father is a superspy.

1. Bridget has more problems than her spy training. There’s school where she is the butt of many jokes and home where she’s not sure how she fits into the family. Both settings should invoke familiarity with tween readers.
2. The aforementioned gadgets, along with a super powered track suit come from the mind of a promising new MG author.
3. Nice to find a story where change comes to not only the main character but also most of the secondary cast. Older brother, Ryan; Perfect younger sister, Natalie; Joanna, the not so best friend; and of course Dale Tookey, geekish and heroic. Great ensemble!
4. You’ll be reminded how difficult 13 can be in this modern day world. Bridget navigates with humor while she attempts to form an identity.
5. Perfect balance of action, funny bits, and crisis control at every turn. What we have here is a smart female lead that might also encourage quite a few boys into reading.

FAVORITE LINES:

“Happy birthday,” she says.

I’m touched. I’m taken aback. I’m surprised. I look at the book. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. A dog-eared, second – maybe-even-third – hand copy. The name Sarah B is scrawled at the top left-hand corner. I’m disappointed, But not hideously. I’ve got a good idea of the sort of stuff Joanna keeps in that bag. I could have been stuck with the black banana or her half-empty, crusted-over bottle of hair dye.

OFFICIAL BOOK TRAILER:

For more into Bridget’s world (Including her spy song list) visit Jonathan’s website

Here’s the AMAZON link where you can order your own copy.

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Make a comment here if you have time. I enjoy reading all of them.

Check the links to other Middle Grade novels over at Shannon Messenger’s Marvelous Middle Grade Monday post.