Book Review: Mission Manhattan by James Ponti

The resourceful young agents of James Ponti’s terrific middle grade series City Spies are back for their fifth adventure, this time protecting a young environmentalist from forces who will stop at nothing to silence her powerful voice for change.

Teenager Beatriz Santos is a rock star in the global protest movement, with dedicated followers who call her Queen Bea and themselves The Swarm. Her fame and persuasive power, however, have made her a target for factions unhappy with how her outspoken defense of the planet has cut into their own profits. The City Spies have thus been assigned to covertly protect her while she’s speaking at a demonstration against global warming in Venice, Italy. Their youth makes it easier for them to blend in with the crowd while they search for the very credible threat against her life.

Rio, whose codename is derived from the city where he was recruited, has been given the task of personally guarding her. Helped by their shared background as Brazilians, he and Beatriz quickly bond. The rest of the team – kids and their two adult handlers included – split into different groups in order to figure out who’s targeting her. Mother, the codename for the MI6 agent who’s basically adopted each orphaned kid and turned them all into a family, is given instructions by their computer whiz Brooklyn as he’s attempting to finesse Italian security:

“Okay, I’m at a computer,” he relayed to Brooklyn. “What do you want me to do? Hack the motherboard? Override the password?”

 

“Those aren’t even things,” Brooklyn replied. “Do you know what any of those words actually mean?”

 

“No, but you can walk me through it,” Mother said. “Just do it fast, because if anyone catches me, I could get in big trouble.”

 

“Check the desktop,” Brooklyn said.

 

“Sure thing. Which icon do you want me to click”

 

“Not the computer desktop. The actual desktop that the computer is sitting on. Is there a business card?”

 

“Yes,” Mother replied, confused. “Why?”

 

“I need the email address of whoever works on the computer,” she explained. “Take a picture and send it to me.”

When a terrorist attack disrupts the event despite the team’s best efforts, Rio’s success in saving Beatriz’ life has him hailed as a hero. The City Spies are certain, however, that the assassins won’t stop at this near miss. Their investigations lead them to Washington DC, where catastrophe strikes, forcing the team to split up. As half the team goes to protect their mission, will the other half be able to recover someone they dearly love?

Fast-paced, funny and rooted strongly in the realistic, Mission Manhattan has been my favorite book of this series so far. I love Brooklyn’s emphasis on social engineering being just as important as any other aspect of hacking, as well as the marvelous attention to detail when it comes to describing my favorite city. This last poignantly informs Rio’s own questioning of where he’s from and where he truly belongs, as an embassy attaché points out how his quandary is surprisingly Churchillian:

“How am I like a statue of Winston Churchill?” Rio asked, perplexed.

 

“Look at his feet,” he said. “He’s not standing; he’s in midstride, and the statue was built right atop the embassy’s boundary. That means he has one foot in the United Kingdom and the other in the United States. He connects the two. Like you with Brazil and the UK.”

 

“I like that,” Rio replied. “One foot in each country.”

 

“Come look at my favorite part.” He motioned for Rio and Monty to move behind Churchill.

 

“Across the street there’s a statue of Nelson Mandela in front of the South African embassy. He’s raising a fist in triumph, and if you stand right here behind Sir Winston, it looks like they’re waving at each other and saying hello.”

This installment also explores the storyline with the team’s newest agent, codenamed Cairo, that was brought to the fore in the last book, 2023’s City Of The Dead. His integration with the rest of the team, even as he battles his conflicting loyalties, is both heartwarming and suspenseful. It’s also great to read more of Rio’s background and recruitment in addition to his concerns regarding his identity. As a third culture kid myself, I could absolutely identify with his dilemma, and love that readers growing up today will have such an excellent role model in terms of loving and appreciating all the parts of who you are, no matter where you’re from or where you live now.