DAWN UNDERCOVER
by Anna Dale
Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
ISBN: 1582346577
Ages 7-10
380 pages

Wouldn't you love to be a spy? Doesn't it sound so adventurous, so important, and most of all, like a whole lot of fun? That's exactly why 11-year-old Dawn Buckle is so thrilled to be selected as a child spy for the British spying organization, S.H.H. (Strictly Hush-Hush), in the P.S.S.T. division (Pursuit of Scheming Spies and Traitors). Dawn possesses the perfect qualities for a spy --- on most days people don't even notice her, and when they do, they forget about her almost instantly. Even her own classroom teacher couldn't remember her name. Why? Maybe it's because she's described as "timid, bland and nondescript" and wore "crumpled, baggy clothes and was never without a pair of mushroom-colored knee socks and battered gym shoes."

But when Dawn is chosen to go on a top-secret mission, she starts to get noticed for the first time in her life. Upon arriving at the P.S.S.T. headquarters, she is introduced to a quirky cast of spy-types who work hard to train her in the ins and outs of spying. She has to read books like KEEPING TO THE SHADOWS, and also must learn both spying terms and the Cumberbatch Alphabet --- a secret alphabet that spies use. Then, Dawn has to pass a spy exam. She passes, to both her and P.S.S.T.'s surprise, with flying colors. It seems that she has been made for spying and now will be put to the test on her first mission. The mission aims to track down a missing spy along with an evil criminal, Murdo Meek. Dawn is to travel to the small town of Cherry Bentley with an adult escort, Trudy, the spying headquarter's uptight secretary.

P.S.S.T. gives Dawn a whole new wardrobe plus a new name and identity for her spying mission. She's no longer drab Dawn in mushroom-colored knee socks. She's now Kitty Wilson, secret spy girl. Can Dawn put together the clues she finds in Cherry Bentley to outsmart Murdo Meek and save the missing spy along the way?

DAWN UNDERCOVER is a fun read filled with mystery and adventure --- all good things a spy novel should possess. The character of Dawn Buckle is highly likeable and the reader will feel good to see this once-drab girl start to shine. Though the book feels a bit long at points, the ending is highly satisfying. Young readers will also enjoy the glossary at the back of the book, which includes a list of acronyms, spying terms and the funny Cumberbatch Alphabet.

   --- Reviewed by Kristi Olson

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