From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10–In this third tale of teen spies versus Simon Blankenship, aka the reincarnated god Mithros, Rachel Buchanan, the reincarnated goddess Etherea, and her friends travel to Japan to retrieve a stolen Mithrian artifact. Rachel faces dangerous foes, critical trench coats, and a budding attraction for her best friend's boyfriend. Spradlin began this series several years ago with two novels that mention Japan as one of the locations of a Mithrian temple, thus allowing him to play on manga readers' love for all things Japanese. Teens are able to travel vicariously to Japan, enjoying a traditional bathhouse, shopping for souvenirs, and visiting Akihabara. While this volume stands alone reasonably well, there are several moments where readers might feel that, despite the fact that this is volume one, they are missing pieces of the story, which they are. Even a one-page explanation of what happened in the novels would have transitioned better than the brief backstory provided in single panel images and passing comments. Overall, the story and characters lend themselves well to the visual format with its nicely Americanized manga style. The novels were fun, and this volume follows suit.–Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
A lot has happened since Rachel Buchanan was caught by the police in a stolen car and offered a choice: juvie or a high school for spies in training. In this Spy Goddess book, the first in manga format, Rachel and her classmates are off to Japan to stop the dastardly Simon Blankenship from stealing yet another ancient artifact in his quest to resurrect the god Mithras. Scriptwriter Rachel Manija Brown has done a terrific job translating Spradlin’s world into comic form. Her script builds on Rachel’s story but also takes time to go over the basics of the first two Spy Goddess novels so readers unfamiliar with them can easily catch up. By making use of Japanese locales and cultural details, she adds a humorous nod to manga and anime fans, and the snappy dialogue will remind some readers of the quick pace of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. The art is not as strong as the telling, but the baby-faced characters do look at home in the manga setting. There is some mild cartoon violence, but this book will still find an audience among middle-schoolers. Grades 6-8. --Snow Wildsmith
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