The Spy Next Door: Mutant Rat Attack!

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 13, 2017

Review

Dex Drabner dreams of wild adventure, but in reality he is just boring, old Dexter, target of the school bully. This all changes when his science teacher, Mr. McFur, loses his classroom of farting rats and Dexter learns that one is going to be fed gamma broccoli and that there is a network of super-spy kids, who, of course, invite him to join them. Chock-filled with illustrations, high action, gadgets, and tooting rats, this book calls to emerging readers in grades 2-4 who enjoy their plots silly and superhero-tinged. Not that the writing is silly; there is some great vocabulary and a density to the plot that should provide enough of a challenge for those looking for their next read after they have finished with the Captain Underpants series.There is even an allusion to the King Kong mythology and a wink-wink to the spy genre (ala James Bond) and the pitfalls of fame (once you are too famous, it's pretty difficult to be an under-the-radar spy). Book one in what is sure to be a fun, sought-after series.

Overall Book Score: good