Check out our list of best spy books for kids and tweens if your reader loves books about adventure, espionage and solving mysteries.
These are the must-read spy books according to the kids in our house that get rave reviews and we hope your reader loves them too!
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Best Spy Books for Kids & Tweens To Read Right Now
Spy School
by Stuart Gibbs
Ben Ripley may only be in middle school, but he’s already pegged his dream job: CIA or bust. Unfortunately for him, his personality doesn’t exactly scream “secret agent.” In fact, Ben is so awkward, he can barely get to school and back without a mishap.
Because of his innate nerdiness, Ben is not surprised when he is recruited for a magnet school with a focus on science—but he’s entirely shocked to discover that the school is actually a front for a junior CIA academy. Could the CIA really want him?
Related: Spy School Series Order: The Complete Guide
City Spies
by James Ponti
Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of time.
Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency.
Operating out of a base in Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from various parts of the world. When they’re not attending the local boarding school, they’re honing their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t.
Before she knows what she’s doing, Sara is heading to Paris for an international youth summit, hacking into a rival school’s computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a villain…all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team.
No one said saving the world was easy…
Related: City Spies Series Order: The Complete Guide
Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation
by Stuart Gibbs
Charlie Thorne is a genius. Charlie Thorne is a thief. Charlie Thorne isn’t old enough to drive. And now it’s up to her to save the world . . .
Decades ago, Albert Einstein devised an equation that could benefit all life on earth—or destroy it. Fearing what would happen if the equation fell into the wrong hands, he hid it.
But now, a diabolical group known as the Furies are closing in on its location. In desperation, a team of CIA agents drags Charlie into the hunt, needing her brilliance to find it first—even though this means placing her life in grave danger.
In a breakneck adventure that spans the globe, Charlie must crack a complex code created by Einstein himself, struggle to survive in a world where no one can be trusted, and fight to keep the last equation safe once and for all.
Related: Charlie Thorne Series Order: The Complete Guide
Enola Holmes: The Case Of The Missing Marquess
by Nancy Springer
When Enola Holmes, the much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared—on her 14th birthday nonetheless—she knows she alone can find her. Disguising herself as a grieving widow, Enola sets out to the heart of London to uncover her mother’s whereabouts—but not even the last name Holmes can prepare her for what awaits.
Suddenly involved in the kidnapping of the young Marquess of Basilwether, Enola must escape murderous villains, free the spoiled Marquess, and perhaps hardest of all, elude her shrewd older brother—all while collecting clues to her mother’s disappearance!
Related: Enola Holmes Series Order: The Complete Guide
Ali Cross
by James Patterson
Ali Cross has always looked up to his father, former detective and FBI agent Alex Cross. While solving some of the nation’s most challenging crimes, his father always kept his head and did the right thing. Can Ali have the same strength and resolve?
When Ali’s best friend Gabe is reported missing, Ali is desperate to find him. At the same time, a string of burglaries targets his neighborhood — and even his own house. With his father on trial for a crime he didn’t commit, it’s up to Ali to search for clues and find his friend.
But being a kid sleuth isn’t easy — especially when your father warns you not to get involved! — and Ali soon learns that clues aren’t always what they seem. Will his detective work lead to a break in Gabe’s case or cause even more trouble for the Cross family?
Cape
by Kate Hannigan
Josie O’Malley does a lot to help out Mam after her father goes off to fight the Nazis, but she wishes she could do more—like all those caped heroes who now seem to have disappeared. If Josie can’t fly and control weather like her idol, Zenobia, maybe she can put her math smarts to use cracking puzzles for the government.
After an official tosses out her puzzler test because she’s a girl, it soon becomes clear that an even more top-secret agency has its eye on Josie, along with two other applicants: Akiko and Mae. The trio bonds over their shared love of female superhero celebrities, from Hauntima to Zenobia to Hopscotch.
But during one extraordinary afternoon, they find themselves transformed into the newest (and youngest!) superheroes in town. As the girls’ abilities slowly begin to emerge, they learn that their skills will be crucial in thwarting a shapeshifting henchman of Hitler, and, just maybe, in solving an even larger mystery about the superheroes who’ve recently gone missing.
Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls
by Beth McMullen
After a botched escape plan from her boarding school, Abigail is stunned to discover the school is actually a cover for an elite spy ring called The Center, along with being training grounds for future spies. Even more shocking? Abigail’s mother is a top agent for The Center and she has gone MIA, with valuable information that many people would like to have—at any cost.
Along with a former nemesis and charming boy from her grade, Abigail goes through a crash course in Spy Training 101, often with hilarious—and sometimes painful—results.
But Abigail realizes she might be a better spy-in-training than she thought—and the answers to her mother’s whereabouts are a lot closer than she thinks…
Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II
by Adam Gidwitz
Max Bretzfeld doesn’t want to move to London. Leaving home is hard and Max is alone for the first time in his life. But not for long. Max is surprised to discover that he’s been joined by two unexpected traveling companions, one on each shoulder, a kobold and a dybbuk named Berg and Stein.
Germany is becoming more and more dangerous for Jewish families, but Max is determined to find a way back home, and back to his parents. He has a plan to return to Berlin. It merely involves accomplishing the impossible: becoming a British spy.
The Drone Pursuit
by Victor Appleton
When your dad funds the Swift Academy of Science and Technology, you’re bound to have a bunch of tech at your disposal. So no one bats an eye when Tom and his best friend, Noah, test their new virtual reality drone before class.
At the academy, once class starts and the drone is parked, their brainiac friends then launch into farfetched discussions about the curriculum. And when they watch a documentary about the FBI’s most wanted hackers from the eighties, they quickly start speculating that the academy custodian is one of them.
At first, Tom dismisses the idea as another one of his friends’ conspiracy theories. But using their new drone, he spies the custodian acting suspiciously around school.
As Tom and his friends search for evidence that the custodian is the missing hacker, the signs become impossible to ignore when Tom gets threatening messages that warn him away from investigating. And when someone releases a virus in the school servers, all bets are off as the adjoining servers at tech giant Swift Enterprises come under fire. Can Tom and his friends uncover the true culprit before it’s too late?
Projekt 1065
by Alan Gratz
Infiltrate. Befriend. Sabotage.World War II is raging. Michael O’Shaunessey, originally from Ireland, now lives in Nazi Germany with his parents. Like the other boys in his school, Michael is a member of the Hitler Youth.But Michael has a secret. He and his parents are spies.
Michael despises everything the Nazis stand for. But he joins in the Hitler Youth’s horrific games and book burnings, playing the part so he can gain insider knowledge. When Michael learns about Projekt 1065, a secret Nazi war mission, things get even more complicated.
He must prove his loyalty to the Hitler Youth at all costs — even if it means risking everything he cares about. Including… his own life.
Stormbreaker
by Anthony Horowitz
They told him his uncle died in an accident. He wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, they said. But when fourteen-year-old Alex finds his uncle’s windshield riddled with bullet holes, he knows it was no accident. What he doesn’t know yet is that his uncle was killed while on a top-secret mission. But he is about to, and once he does, there is no turning back.
Finding himself in the middle of terrorists, Alex must outsmart the people who want him dead. The government has given him the technology, but only he can provide the courage. Should he fail, every child in England will be murdered in cold blood.
Agent 9: Flood-a-geddon
by James Burks
The Super-Secret Spy Service’s mission is to keep the world safe from maniacal villains. And Agent 9 is one of its best operatives. Although Nine always manages to complete the mission, there is occasionally some collateral damage (like the priceless Pigasso painting that was destroyed while foiling an art heist). So Agent 9 is now on probation.
But when bumbling supervillain King Crab manages to overtake S4 headquarters, there is no one else to turn to. Nine—along with a robotic partner named FiN—is all that stands between King Crab and his diabolical plans to melt the polar ice caps and build a massive water park. Can Agent 9 prove to be the right cat for the job by overcoming impulsive behavior and saving the world from a complete flood-a-geddon?
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Curse of the Arctic Star
by Carolyn Keene
Nancy, Bess, and George are cruising dangerous waters on a tour of Alaska. Becca Wright, an old friend of Nancy’s, is the Assistant Cruise Director of the Arctic Star, a posh new ship.
But Becca needs Nancy’s help when strange things keep happening aboard the opulent ocean liner: The swimming pool becomes a floating grave; a famous passenger is threatened; and even the seemingly innocent mini-golf course becomes a perilous playground.
With the majestic and mysterious Alaskan scenery as a backdrop, Nancy and company have to find out who’s trying to sabotage the maiden voyage and why.
Secret of the Red Arrow
by Franklin W. Dixon
Teenagers Frank and Joe Hardy are supposedly “retired” from their detective work. But there is a new mystery in Bayport that needs their investigative expertise—and fast!
Starting with a bank heist, a series of alarming pranks have popped up around Bayport. Ultimately harmless, the pranks turn out to be the work of Seth Diller, an amateur filmmaker who plans to make “zillions” from his reality-horror flick, which he’ll use to help out his brother, a wounded Marine.
But after the Hardy brothers put a stop to the Panic Project, there is a new outbreak of Seth-like pranks—only these have definite victims. All signs point to evidence of a crime gang in Bayport, and Frank and Joe undertake the most dangerous investigation they’ve ever encountered. It’s up to them to save their town—and themselves—before the Red Arrow gets to them first.
Secret Agent 6th Grader
by Marcus Emerson
My name is Brody Valentine (please don’t make fun of my last name), and this is the story of how I accidentally became a 6th grade secret agent at my school. My life is plain and boring, but I do my best to keep it that way. That’s why when a dangerous secret fell into my lap, I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy.
Everything I knew to be true was completely flipped around and suddenly I’ve found myself buried in special codes and conspiracies. Now I’m being hunted after because my brain knows a secret so huge your head would explode if you heard it.
Zeke Bartholomew Superspy
by Jason Pinter
It all started on a day like any other. (Now I gotta deal with this guy). The sun rose. I had waffles for breakfast. I caught my dad SCRATCHING HIS BUTT. It was a rerun of pretty much every day of my life. But late that night, EVERYTHING CHANGED…
One minute I’m digging through my neighbor’s garbage looking for clues (long story), and the next minute I’m KIDNAPPED BY GOONS and MISTAKEN FOR A SPY. (Not to mention this guy)
You might think everything I’m about to tell you is a big lie. But I promise you that THIS IS ALL TRUE. This is how the fate of the world fell into the hands of an UNIMPORTANT DORKY KID FROM NOWHERESVILLE.
Once Upon a Crime
By Robin Stevens
Between their high-profile murder mysteries, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong tackle many other cases, like the Case of the Second Scream on the high seas and the Case of the Uninvited Guest at Uncle Felix and Aunt Lucy’s wedding.
They compete with the Junior Pinkertons to solve the Hound of Weston School and humor Hazel’s tagalong little sister in the Case of the Deadly Flat. They even put their code-cracking skills to the test to catch a thief in the Case of the Missing Treasure and find their holiday interrupted by murder in the Case of the Drowned Pearl.
NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society
by Michael Buckley
Meet the NERDS, a team of eleven-year-old super spies:
Duncan “Gluestick” Dewey: He’s a paste-eater who can stick to walls.
Ruby “Pufferfish” Peet: Her allergies help her detect danger and dishonesty.
Heathcliff “Choppers” Hodges: He controls minds with his buckteeth.
Julio “Flinch” Escala: His hyperactivity gives him super speed and strength.
Matilda “Wheezer” Choi: Her inhalers enable her to fly and blast enemies.
Jackson “Braceface” Jones, the new recruit. This metal mouth is the team’s go-to gadget guy . . . if only he can get over becoming a NERD.
Can this team of misfits save the world from their secret headquarters in the basement of their school? Can you read NERDS without laughing? Go ahead and try!
The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable
by Dan Gutman
Coke McDonald and his twin sister, Pepsi, think their family’s cross-country RV vacation is nothing to get excited about…until they’re chased off a cliff, locked in a burning school, and receive mysterious messages in codes and ciphers.
From California to Wisconsin, it’s a race against time to find out who’s after Coke and Pep, who’s leaving the notes…and just what being a part of The Genius Files entails!
With the real-kid humor that has earned Dan Gutman millions of fans around the world, and featuring weird-but-true American tourist destinations, The Genius Files is a one-of-a-kind mix of geography and fun.
As Coke and Pep dodge nefarious villains from the Pez museum in California all the way to the Infinity Room in Wisconsin, black-and-white photographs and maps put young readers right into the action.
Mac B: Mac Undercover
by Mac Barnett
Before Mac Barnett was an author, he was a kid. And while he was a kid, he was a spy. Not just any spy. But a spy…for the Queen of England. James Bond meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid with this groundbreaking fully-illustrated chapter book series Mac B., Kid Spy.
The precious Crown Jewels have been stolen, and there’s only one person who can help the Queen of England: her newest secret agent, Mac B. Mac travels around the globe in search of the stolen treasure…but will he find it in time?
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