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ephenssta 's review for:
American Spy
by Lauren Wilkinson
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love the premise of this book, but not the execution. A Black FBI agent in the 80's appears to have been sidelined, but is recognized by a CIA operative as potentially having useful skills for a mission that conflicts with her political values and beliefs. It's a nice tension between the demands of the jobs and the values of an individual. Only the details of the job get uglier and uglier the longer she works for her handlers, who aren't exactly all that they seem.
It sounds cool! A lot of the early portion of the book is spent meandering through quasi-random events of Marie's childhood and early adult life. We hear about a bully at summer camp, some things she does with her sister, dating a troublemaker of a boyfriend, the death of a relative, etc. Through that we get a few details that are relevant to the plot, but it felt a little tedious to get through for me.
Then we get into the thick of it, where the espionage bits are. I feel it fell flat. We learn the full details of the plot against the man Marie has been asked to spy on and seduce. She kind of reveals the plot, then just up and leaves. She claims to deeply love the president, but seems disinterested in disrupting the plot against him beyond not doing the deed herself. I would have liked to see more of a concerted effort to work against the company, rather than just up and leaving. Then the book ends with the knowledge that Marie is out seeking revenge, or at least to end any ongoing threat against her and her sons, but the book just endss with her leaving. Maybe it's meant to be a cliffhanger, but I really wish we could have seen that play out.
I think the idea of telling a story through a journal a mother leaves behind for her children while she does something dangerous is fascinating! I really loved that as a story telling device. I just felt the story itself wasn't quite what I'd gone in hoping for out of a spy novel.
It sounds cool! A lot of the early portion of the book is spent meandering through quasi-random events of Marie's childhood and early adult life. We hear about a bully at summer camp, some things she does with her sister, dating a troublemaker of a boyfriend, the death of a relative, etc. Through that we get a few details that are relevant to the plot, but it felt a little tedious to get through for me.
Then we get into the thick of it, where the espionage bits are. I feel it fell flat. We learn the full details of the plot against the man Marie has been asked to spy on and seduce. She kind of reveals the plot, then just up and leaves. She claims to deeply love the president, but seems disinterested in disrupting the plot against him beyond not doing the deed herself. I would have liked to see more of a concerted effort to work against the company, rather than just up and leaving. Then the book ends with the knowledge that Marie is out seeking revenge, or at least to end any ongoing threat against her and her sons, but the book just endss with her leaving. Maybe it's meant to be a cliffhanger, but I really wish we could have seen that play out.
I think the idea of telling a story through a journal a mother leaves behind for her children while she does something dangerous is fascinating! I really loved that as a story telling device. I just felt the story itself wasn't quite what I'd gone in hoping for out of a spy novel.