There’s not that much stuff about spies and espionage for teens. I’m thinking it’s a growing genre though (everybody wants to know what everybody else is up to, after all), so keep checking out the teen blog for more pointers. Here are some goodies:

1. Almost anything by John le Carre (adults fiction), for example The Constant Gardener (as in the movie).
2. James Bond books by Ian Fleming (adults fiction). Mr Bond is perhaps the most famous spy of all. Aside: Ian Fleming also wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Random.
3. Spy High series by A J Butcher.
4. Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. Alex has been made into a movie and various comics as well… there’s no stopping the guy.
5. Robert Muchamore, CHERUB series – these books are so popular they’re like hen’s teeth. You’ll have to reserve them, but they’re worth the wait (according to spy aficionados).
6. I’d tell you I love you, but then I’d have to kill you by Ally Carter. A spy book for girls. “As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from “normal teenage life” until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.” Also check out:
7. Cross my heart and hope to spy (boom boom!) by Ally Carter. This one’s the latest Cammie Morgan book: “Cammie Morgan is a CIA legacy and attends the premier school in the world…for spies. The school hosts some mysterious guests with the code name Blackthorne. When Cammie is blamed for a security breach that threatens to expose the school’s top secret status, she and her friends face danger to clear Cammie’s name and learn the truth about Blackthorne.”
8. The gadget by Paul Zindel. A World War II espionage story. “In 1945, having joined his father at Los Alamos, where he and other scientists are working on a secret project to end World War II, thirteen-year-old Stephen becomes caught in a web of secrecy and intrigue.”
9. Fight game by Kate Wild. “Fifteen-year-old Freedom Smith is a fighter, just like all of his relatives who have the “Hercules gene,” which leads him to a choice between being jailed for attempted murder or working with a covert law enforcement agency to break up a mysterious, illegal fight ring.”
10. SpyBoy by Peter David (graphic novel). For those of you who like your spies in comic form.

Stop press! The Sleepwalker, the latest CHERUB book by Robert Muchamore, has arrived and is being read all over Wellington as I type. You should reserve it right now… there’s already a queue of about 50 so you’ll have to be a bit patient, but not as patient as you’ll have to be if you hesitate.

Happy spying.