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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Great book! I really liked Sarah as the main character. She’s smart, strong, fearless, and not annoying.
However, sometimes, especially in the suspenseful/ interesting parts, you’re dragged into Sarah’s often lacklustre introspection or a memory. In those parts I literally skim read to hurry up and get to the good stuff. I constantly found myself asking “Why put so much useless writing into the parts where I’m dying to find out what happens next??!” Other than that, I’m happy the book was a good read. 4 stars! ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
However, sometimes, especially in the suspenseful/ interesting parts, you’re dragged into Sarah’s often lacklustre introspection or a memory. In those parts I literally skim read to hurry up and get to the good stuff. I constantly found myself asking “Why put so much useless writing into the parts where I’m dying to find out what happens next??!” Other than that, I’m happy the book was a good read. 4 stars! ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Uncomfortable to read but absolutely amazing all the same.
Happy book birthday, "Orphan Monster Spy"!
Thank you to Penguin Random House LLC for an advanced copy of this book!
Sarah, abandoned at a checkpoint in Nazi Germany because her mother was shot and killed (a really thrilling first chapter, I must say), finds refuge with a man she soon refers to as Captain (ORPHAN). In his company, she is able to channel her survival skills in order to help prevent a bomb from destroying most of Europe (SPY). During her mission, however, she is presented with multiple situations that lead her to the verge of dying, and is presented with many life or death choices (MONSTER).
While many chapters had me flipping pages constantly, most of the book drug on for me. The parts I found interesting were often the quickest to be passed over, and I felt many questions were left unanswered - What about Mouse? How did Sarah actually feel toward the Ice Queen? Stern?...hello?? - and the ending was quite abrupt for how much build up there was leading up to it. It was a pleasing read and sparked many questions from students (it's a striking cover), but left much to be desired along the way. It did meet my espionage and thriller quota for the month, though! High marks in those categories, for sure.
Thank you to Penguin Random House LLC for an advanced copy of this book!
Sarah, abandoned at a checkpoint in Nazi Germany because her mother was shot and killed (a really thrilling first chapter, I must say), finds refuge with a man she soon refers to as Captain (ORPHAN). In his company, she is able to channel her survival skills in order to help prevent a bomb from destroying most of Europe (SPY). During her mission, however, she is presented with multiple situations that lead her to the verge of dying, and is presented with many life or death choices (MONSTER).
While many chapters had me flipping pages constantly, most of the book drug on for me. The parts I found interesting were often the quickest to be passed over, and I felt many questions were left unanswered - What about Mouse? How did Sarah actually feel toward the Ice Queen? Stern?...hello?? - and the ending was quite abrupt for how much build up there was leading up to it. It was a pleasing read and sparked many questions from students (it's a striking cover), but left much to be desired along the way. It did meet my espionage and thriller quota for the month, though! High marks in those categories, for sure.
I don't read a lot of historical fiction. It's got the connotations of being boring attatched to it, and even though I know that isn't true, it still makes me weary when approaching a historical novel. But after reading Orphan Monster Spy, I definitely think I'm going to be reading more of it.
After her mother is shot at a checkpoint, fifteen-year-old Sarah–blonde, blue-eyed, and Jewish–finds herself on the run from a government that wants to see every person like her dead. Then Sarah meets a mysterious man with an ambiguous accent, a suspiciously bare apartment, and a lockbox full of weapons. He’s a spy, and he needs Sarah to become one, too, to pull off a mission he can’t attempt on his own: infiltrate a boarding school attended by the daughters of top Nazi brass, befriend the daughter of a key scientist, and steal the blueprints to a bomb that could destroy the cities of Western Europe.
With years of training from her actress mother in the art of impersonation, Sarah thinks she’s ready. But nothing prepares her for her cutthroat schoolmates, and soon she finds herself in a battle for survival unlike any she’d ever imagined.
The book started off really strongly, laying down the foundations of the novel well, and introducing the character of Sarah and the life that she has led. The meeting of Captain Floyd was slightly ambiguous, but I think this was on purpose to mirror the character of Floyd, as we don't know that much about him at first and it's all very secretive. But even then, it did get slightly confusing with the way his character was written. But as the book progressed, I really liked the relationship between the two of them, and their relationship reminded me of Hopper and Eleven from Stranger Things.
When the two characters meet properly and get involved with each other lives, that's when the story really kicks off. I loved the idea of Sarah infiltrating a school of Nazi's to spy on them, and I've never read a YA historical book like this before (in a good way). I read this book a month ago, so please correct me if I'm wrong when talking about this, but there is a character called Mouse that Sarah sort of befriends, and there is a sort of cloud surrounding the character of Mouse, because Sarah thinks that Mouse is also a spy, but we never really find out about that. But please correct me if I'm wrong.
Another ambiguous relationship that was in this book wasthe one between Sarah and Elsa. When they get to know each other, there seemed to be underlying f/f romance vibes, especially coming from Elsa, and to be honest, I shipped them together. I know that's completely and utterly wrong considering that Elsa is the daughter of a Nazi general, and she isn't really the nicest person on the planet, and it's completely wrong to romanticise the whole idea of Nazi's, but definitely felt chemistry between the two of them, so maaaybbbbbe something could have happened in a future novel? Maybe? I don't know.
This was such a dark and intense book! I mean, what else would you expect from a book about Nazi's? But there was so much graphic violent language that placed you very well in the time that this book was set. And when I mean violent, I mean VIOLENT. There is a point in this book where a student gets beaten by a teacher, where our main character smacks someone's head in with a rock... And that's only half of it. But I actually really enjoyed reading those moments.
The last quarter of the book was very suspenseful and I enjoyed it a lot! I was sat by the pool reading it, and I was completely on edge! I think that my only problem with this book was that there were a few German words and phrases that I wished were translated in this book. My German is non-existent (which is a tragedy, because my Grandad was German) so I had to keep Googling what the phrases meant, and it disrupted the reading experience.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable book, and I'm excited to see what Matt Killeen writes next!
Trigger Warning: Sexual assault (attempted rape), child abuse, murder
After her mother is shot at a checkpoint, fifteen-year-old Sarah–blonde, blue-eyed, and Jewish–finds herself on the run from a government that wants to see every person like her dead. Then Sarah meets a mysterious man with an ambiguous accent, a suspiciously bare apartment, and a lockbox full of weapons. He’s a spy, and he needs Sarah to become one, too, to pull off a mission he can’t attempt on his own: infiltrate a boarding school attended by the daughters of top Nazi brass, befriend the daughter of a key scientist, and steal the blueprints to a bomb that could destroy the cities of Western Europe.
With years of training from her actress mother in the art of impersonation, Sarah thinks she’s ready. But nothing prepares her for her cutthroat schoolmates, and soon she finds herself in a battle for survival unlike any she’d ever imagined.
The book started off really strongly, laying down the foundations of the novel well, and introducing the character of Sarah and the life that she has led. The meeting of Captain Floyd was slightly ambiguous, but I think this was on purpose to mirror the character of Floyd, as we don't know that much about him at first and it's all very secretive. But even then, it did get slightly confusing with the way his character was written. But as the book progressed, I really liked the relationship between the two of them, and their relationship reminded me of Hopper and Eleven from Stranger Things.
"Never lie when you can tell the truth. Lies have to be worked out in advance or they will tie you up and eat you."
- Matt Killeen, Orphan Monster Spy
When the two characters meet properly and get involved with each other lives, that's when the story really kicks off. I loved the idea of Sarah infiltrating a school of Nazi's to spy on them, and I've never read a YA historical book like this before (in a good way). I read this book a month ago, so please correct me if I'm wrong when talking about this, but there is a character called Mouse that Sarah sort of befriends, and there is a sort of cloud surrounding the character of Mouse, because Sarah thinks that Mouse is also a spy, but we never really find out about that. But please correct me if I'm wrong.
Another ambiguous relationship that was in this book was
"She had trouble remembering a time when she had been cause of brightness in another human being. Had she ever been?"
- Matt Killeen, Orphan Monster Spy
This was such a dark and intense book! I mean, what else would you expect from a book about Nazi's? But there was so much graphic violent language that placed you very well in the time that this book was set. And when I mean violent, I mean VIOLENT. There is a point in this book where a student gets beaten by a teacher, where our main character smacks someone's head in with a rock... And that's only half of it. But I actually really enjoyed reading those moments.
The last quarter of the book was very suspenseful and I enjoyed it a lot! I was sat by the pool reading it, and I was completely on edge! I think that my only problem with this book was that there were a few German words and phrases that I wished were translated in this book. My German is non-existent (which is a tragedy, because my Grandad was German) so I had to keep Googling what the phrases meant, and it disrupted the reading experience.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable book, and I'm excited to see what Matt Killeen writes next!
Trigger Warning: Sexual assault (attempted rape), child abuse, murder
While definitely facing some very dark/heavy subjects, I still found the book, and it’s main character, quite interesting and enjoyable to read about, the boarding school setting was well developed, and I especially liked the captain and mouser :)
However, I read this on audiobook, so this might just be me zoning out, but I felt a little confused and lost at some parts of the story, but I did enjoy the book in the end and will probably pick up the sequel at some point in the future
However, I read this on audiobook, so this might just be me zoning out, but I felt a little confused and lost at some parts of the story, but I did enjoy the book in the end and will probably pick up the sequel at some point in the future
A WW2 historical fiction YA novel from England about a Jewish orphan girl who becomes a spy in a school of monsters. Totally different plot line from what I’m used to and totally fantastic
I loved this! Flew through it, haven’t been that engrossed in a book for a long time. Definitely recommend, a fabulous way to start off my YALC 2018 challenge!
Sarah is a pint-sized fireball, determined to do her part in undermining Nazi Germany. Her blonde curls make it easier for her to pass as non-Jewish, as her petite form allows her to pass for younger than her fifteen years. Following her mother’s horrific death, she connects with an English spy. The Captain is in Germany to find what he can on a scientist working to build a nuclear bomb.
As other reviewers have noted, Orphan, Monster, Spy is not a typical WWII novel. It is a fun, action-packed tale of Sarah’s spy efforts. While some of the events are linked to history, most of this book is unbelievable. If you’re looking for historical fiction, I wouldn’t read this. IMHO, Sarah has more in common with Katniss’s Hunger Games than with the Nightingale or Lilac Girls. Most of her escapades left me shaking my head, releasing a “whew”, and thinking this would make a great movie. The only disappointment was how often Sarah invoked tears as her defense weapon. Up against almost any opponent, she conjures up tragic memories to induce crying, with the aim of distracting the enemy. She finds the opponent so distraught and immobilized by a little girl in tears that she can get away with anything. The first few times I was okay with it, by the end I was annoyed and wanted a new tactic. 1) With such a fierce heroine, why did she have to appear weak to win? And 2) why is society immobilized by a crying young woman?
All that aside, this book is utterly readable, easily digested in a few hours. There are some unseemly aspects, including latent pedophilia (trigger warning), but I was too caught up in the action to get stuck on the specific and general horrors of Nazi Germany. Recommended.
As other reviewers have noted, Orphan, Monster, Spy is not a typical WWII novel. It is a fun, action-packed tale of Sarah’s spy efforts. While some of the events are linked to history, most of this book is unbelievable. If you’re looking for historical fiction, I wouldn’t read this. IMHO, Sarah has more in common with Katniss’s Hunger Games than with the Nightingale or Lilac Girls. Most of her escapades left me shaking my head, releasing a “whew”, and thinking this would make a great movie. The only disappointment was how often Sarah invoked tears as her defense weapon. Up against almost any opponent, she conjures up tragic memories to induce crying, with the aim of distracting the enemy. She finds the opponent so distraught and immobilized by a little girl in tears that she can get away with anything. The first few times I was okay with it, by the end I was annoyed and wanted a new tactic. 1) With such a fierce heroine, why did she have to appear weak to win? And 2) why is society immobilized by a crying young woman?
All that aside, this book is utterly readable, easily digested in a few hours. There are some unseemly aspects, including latent pedophilia (trigger warning), but I was too caught up in the action to get stuck on the specific and general horrors of Nazi Germany. Recommended.
Very much for ages 15+. Intense violence and abuse, both sexual and physical.