Spy School

Ben Ripley is twelve and has already chosen his career: he wants to work for the CIA. Nobody who meets him would pick him for it, since he lacks the nerve and the instincts of a secret agent.

When a magnet school for science recruits him, Ben takes it as a sensible fit for the kind of kid he is. Then he learns the school is a cover. Behind it sits the Espionage Academy, a junior CIA training program, and he has a place there.

The lessons are practical: following suspects, handling gadgets, getting through field exercises. His classmates are far better at every one of them, and Ben spends his days trying to keep up.

A mission then goes wrong, and Ben ends up inside a real operation. Worse, someone within the academy is secretly working against it, so he cannot be sure whom to trust.

Stuart Gibbs opens his Spy School series with this book, which earned a 2013 Edgar Award nomination in the juvenile mystery category. Fast, funny and full of action, it keeps Ben scrambling to stay alive while a traitor hides among his classmates and teachers.