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A review by phyrre
Golden Gate by James Ponti
4.0
You can find my full review on my blog, The Bookwyrm's Den, here.
Many thanks to Aladdin and Rockstar Book Tours for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I had seen City Spies around and hadn’t had a chance to pick it up, but when I saw the sequel come out, I figured I should go ahead and give it a try already. After all, who doesn’t love kid spies? Why, yes, I did grow up on Spy Kids, thanks. This was like that … except more diverse and waaaay more fun!
Golden Gate is a fast-paced adventure that will have you turning pages to find out what happens next. It’s filled with capable, diverse characters and a found family vibe sweet enough to melt your heart.
I had a good time with this one, and I can’t wait to read more books in this series. Spies aren’t really my thing, but Ponti definitely makes it work here. These kids are absolutely brilliant, yet still prone to the self-doubt and jealousy that kids that age are prone to. So it’s nice getting to see them work through that, even while being these super cool spies.
My Thoughts
- Golden Gate is chock full of adventure and action as these kids try to solve the mystery and save the day. You know, like you do. I want to say, right off the bat, I am not even 1/100 as smart or observant as these kids, and I kind of love it. That means the plot kept me guessing, because wow do I not notice things. The plot moved forward at a pretty fast clip that kept me constantly engaged and wanting to find out what happened next. There were slow parts, but not so much that I wanted to put the book down. Hey, a book can’t be all action, now can it? What I particularly loved about this mystery is that it took the kids (and the reader) all over the world. In case you couldn’t tell from the title, one place is San Francisco, and California in general. I enjoyed getting to learn about different locales that I’ve never visited and be able to see it through the eyes of not only kids who have never been there before either but spy kids. You know, ones that are infinitely more observant than I am! Never a dull moment with this lot.
- The whole City Spies team is diverse and unique in skills, personality, and origin. Each person has something special to bring to not only the team but the family in general. I enjoyed the way this is handled in the book, with everyone having different taste in food and different life experiences. It’s mentioned as a strength, because each of them brings something unique to the team, and I so love that perspective! This crew of kids has such a varying personality, from neurodiverse Kat to foodie Rio and everything in between. The characters are so vivid that they practically leap off the page, dragging the reader headlong into adventure with them!
- While there’s definitely a squad vibe from these kids, that doesn’t stop them from being … well, kids. I cannot even begin to express how much I love the banter and how absolutely necessary it is in a book like this! You’ve got extraordinary kids doing extraordinary things, but every now and then some very sibling things smack you in the face and remind you that, in the end, they’re still kids. Which I think is very needed in a book like this, and it works out fantastically! I couldn’t help but crack up at some of their banter and antics. It isn’t always rainbows and sunshine, though. That’s the thing about siblings, right? Even if they’re found family siblings. There’s inevitably conflict that arises, and there’s some of that in this book, too. It really helps solidify the characters, though, and round them out. Even spies can be insecure and jealous at times.
- Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this book is that these children get to be kids and spies and still have adults in their life to adult and care for them. My least favorite trope in middle grade is the whole useless or evil adult, because I think that’s such a harmful message. Mother and Monty are far from either. They do their best to walk this fine line between recognizing the kids as children and recognizing them as spies. They try to mitigate the riskiness of their spy operations while acknowledging their skills and not smothering them with overprotectiveness. At the same time, they try to balance the spy thing with the whole being-a-kid thing, which is actually brought up at one point in the book as Monty doesn’t rush through a mission just so the kids can enjoy the locale. This is such a weird fine line to walk, but I really enjoy it, and I think it sends an important message! You can be super cool spies while still taking time to enjoy the finer things in life like food and nature. There are also several moments where these kids have big emotions they need to work through, and they do just that. I think that’s perhaps the most important part of the book, because it’s easy to get caught up in the characters’ awesomeness without remembering that they still suffer the same insecurities as everyone else.
Many thanks to Aladdin and Rockstar Book Tours for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I had seen City Spies around and hadn’t had a chance to pick it up, but when I saw the sequel come out, I figured I should go ahead and give it a try already. After all, who doesn’t love kid spies? Why, yes, I did grow up on Spy Kids, thanks. This was like that … except more diverse and waaaay more fun!
Golden Gate is a fast-paced adventure that will have you turning pages to find out what happens next. It’s filled with capable, diverse characters and a found family vibe sweet enough to melt your heart.
I had a good time with this one, and I can’t wait to read more books in this series. Spies aren’t really my thing, but Ponti definitely makes it work here. These kids are absolutely brilliant, yet still prone to the self-doubt and jealousy that kids that age are prone to. So it’s nice getting to see them work through that, even while being these super cool spies.
My Thoughts
- Golden Gate is chock full of adventure and action as these kids try to solve the mystery and save the day. You know, like you do. I want to say, right off the bat, I am not even 1/100 as smart or observant as these kids, and I kind of love it. That means the plot kept me guessing, because wow do I not notice things. The plot moved forward at a pretty fast clip that kept me constantly engaged and wanting to find out what happened next. There were slow parts, but not so much that I wanted to put the book down. Hey, a book can’t be all action, now can it? What I particularly loved about this mystery is that it took the kids (and the reader) all over the world. In case you couldn’t tell from the title, one place is San Francisco, and California in general. I enjoyed getting to learn about different locales that I’ve never visited and be able to see it through the eyes of not only kids who have never been there before either but spy kids. You know, ones that are infinitely more observant than I am! Never a dull moment with this lot.
“Pirates have seized the boat,” Brooklyn said. “I think they’re coming for the two of you.”
“Pirates?” Judy gave her a confused look. “You mean with peg legs and parrots?”
“Yes, and a crocodile with a loud clock in its stomach,” Brooklyn replied sarcastically.
- The whole City Spies team is diverse and unique in skills, personality, and origin. Each person has something special to bring to not only the team but the family in general. I enjoyed the way this is handled in the book, with everyone having different taste in food and different life experiences. It’s mentioned as a strength, because each of them brings something unique to the team, and I so love that perspective! This crew of kids has such a varying personality, from neurodiverse Kat to foodie Rio and everything in between. The characters are so vivid that they practically leap off the page, dragging the reader headlong into adventure with them!
Kat tried to figure a way to put into words what was going on in her head. “If you look at a caterpillar, you’re only going to see a caterpillar,” she said. “And if you look at a cocoon, you’ll only see a cocoon.”
“And your point is?” Paris asked, totally baffled.
“You have to look at both of them,” she tried to explain. “You have to look at the caterpillar and the cocoon. And then you have to figure out how they fit together…”
“If you ever want to find a butterfly,” said Sydney, finishing the thought.
“Exactly right,” Kat said.
- While there’s definitely a squad vibe from these kids, that doesn’t stop them from being … well, kids. I cannot even begin to express how much I love the banter and how absolutely necessary it is in a book like this! You’ve got extraordinary kids doing extraordinary things, but every now and then some very sibling things smack you in the face and remind you that, in the end, they’re still kids. Which I think is very needed in a book like this, and it works out fantastically! I couldn’t help but crack up at some of their banter and antics. It isn’t always rainbows and sunshine, though. That’s the thing about siblings, right? Even if they’re found family siblings. There’s inevitably conflict that arises, and there’s some of that in this book, too. It really helps solidify the characters, though, and round them out. Even spies can be insecure and jealous at times.
“You just went over a thousand likes,” Sydney said, checking her phone. “You’re going viral!”
“You know,” said Kat, “just like a disease.”
- Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this book is that these children get to be kids and spies and still have adults in their life to adult and care for them. My least favorite trope in middle grade is the whole useless or evil adult, because I think that’s such a harmful message. Mother and Monty are far from either. They do their best to walk this fine line between recognizing the kids as children and recognizing them as spies. They try to mitigate the riskiness of their spy operations while acknowledging their skills and not smothering them with overprotectiveness. At the same time, they try to balance the spy thing with the whole being-a-kid thing, which is actually brought up at one point in the book as Monty doesn’t rush through a mission just so the kids can enjoy the locale. This is such a weird fine line to walk, but I really enjoy it, and I think it sends an important message! You can be super cool spies while still taking time to enjoy the finer things in life like food and nature. There are also several moments where these kids have big emotions they need to work through, and they do just that. I think that’s perhaps the most important part of the book, because it’s easy to get caught up in the characters’ awesomeness without remembering that they still suffer the same insecurities as everyone else.
Mother threw a consoling arm around his shoulders and repeated one of his sayings: “Most can go where fortune falls, but a spy must go where duty calls.“
Paris gave him a look and replied with an impromptu Motherism of his own: “I know that is what you think, but as for me, I think it stinks!”