Going Rogue
By Robin Benway
Published: January 14, 2014
My review:
Going Rogue is the sequel to Also Known As. In the last novel, teen spy Maggie and her parents moved to New York for their next mission and Maggie fell in love with her assignment, Jesse and found a best friend in Roux. Maggie finally has a chance at normal high school life though she is feeling kind of bored but things become complicated quickly when her parents are accused of a major theft by the Collective. It is up to Maggie to prove her parents are innocent but she doesn't know who she can trust and she is afraid that her friends and family may be hurt in the process.
Going Rogue is more action packed than Also Known As since the story moves away from high school and involves more spy work. The stakes are higher as Maggie and her loved ones come under fire and there may be turned spies involved. Maggie continues to grow as she thinks about the consequences of her actions and their effects on her friends and family. She also has to learn to trust her friends and trust herself. Maggie has a supportive family which is nice to see in teen fiction where adults are often sidelined or cast in the role of absentee or poor parents (like Roux's family and Jesse's father). Her friends Jesse and Roux are well developed too and continue to show growth as well.
Going Rogue is an entertaining mix of humor and suspense that would appeal to fans of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls and Heist Society series. It is a little more mature than those series in terms of some language and underage alcohol consumption. Overall this book is perhaps stronger than the first in the series because it has more spy intrigue as well as the character development. Although this book is not set in high school like Also Known As, teens will be able to relate with Maggie's struggles in her friendships and relationships as well as figuring out who she is and what her purpose is.
Note: I received an e-ARC for review purposes courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley
I get your point about this having more action and those moments were exciting; I just felt like it was spurts of action and then a lot of slowness. Plus I really didn't like the addition of new people so late-how can I have time to care about them??? I think I will still be curious to read a third book but with more moderate expectations.
ReplyDeletei have yet to check this series out. i kinda spoiled myself by reading your review but i love spy novels and i bought also known as a while back. good to know the series gets better and better :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really fun read.
ReplyDeleteHumor, suspense, spies? I'm definitely going to look for these books the next time I go to the library.
ReplyDeleteGreat review!