Book Review by Aarene Storms: Orphan, Monster, Spy

Orphan Monster Spy
by Matt Killeen

15 year old Sarah is blonde, blue-eyed, and (according to the Nazi reckoning) Jewish. She is a talented gymnast, she speaks several languages, she is adept at assimilating. In other words, she is perfectly suited to be a spy.

Assigned to infiltrate a school for the privileged daughters of high-ranking SS officers so she can discover the hidden location of a new kind of bomb, Sarah (now called "Ursula") sneaks, lies, snoops, and tricks her way into the top level of mean girls. She finds the bomb... and much more.

The author's buckets of research and attention to character-building elevate this story above the adventures of James Bond, but some elements strain credulity. The book is not quite as good as Code Name Verity, however, readers interested in the time period will be fascinated by the descriptions from inside Nazi Germany.

Although no sequel is specified, there is clearly more adventure in store for Sarah/Ursula.

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.


The events may not have happened; still, the story is true.  --R. Silvern

Aarene Storms, youth services librarian
Richmond Beach and Lake Forest Park Libraries, KCLS