4/10/2008

The Squad: Perfect Cover and The Squad: Killer Spirit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Squad: Perfect Cover and The Squad: Killer Spirit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes are the first two books in a series.
Toby Klein was just your average high school hacker-loner-who-is-also-a-black-belt-in-karate, until she is recruited to join her school's varsity cheerleading squad-- something she would never do in a million years. Until she finds out that the squad is actually a cover for a team of highly trained government agents. Suddenly, Toby goes from being the aforementioned loner-hacker who occasionally beats up football players to being one of the most popular girls in school. She is quickly pulled into a web of intrigue, danger, and body glitter. Lots of body glitter.
Okay, so, yes, I do realize that this book is about cheerleader secret agents. But that fact notwithstanding, these are fun, enjoyable books. It helps that the main character is very anti-cheerleader, despite the fact that she is one. Also on the plus side, the main character is actually smart, something I would never have guessed by looking at the covers of the books. (I mean, cheerleader silouhettes? Really?) To be honest, I picked up the first one because I thought it would be amusing (unintentionally). I was suprised to find thatI actually enjoyed it (and then read the second one, of course). These are great light reads-- they're clever, there's action, and there's, um, pep rallies. Yeah. And best of all? They're actually written well. (And they're paperbacks, so they're cheap.) So if you've boon looking for something fun to read that you don't have to think about too hard, I've found it for you. You can thank me later.

I give these books 3.5 daggers each.


Cheerleading (or not), secret-agenting, and yours,

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

cheerleader silhouettes?

no, i'm being a hypocrite, i already had the first one on hold because the author's a FFF member and i thought it looked interesting.

RR2 said...

I enjoyed this book as well. It was awesomely funny!

Madison said...

I'm a huge Jennifer Lynn Barnes fan, but I still haven't gotten ahold of The Squad as my evil bookstores do not have them. Grr.

ari :o) said...

i liked these books too. the whole anti-cheerleader-ness was amusing and they weren't by any means predictable like i had originally assumed. but i do wish they had more action and beating people up and stuff. and the main character was lots of fun... by no stretch of the imagination were these books quality literature, but i underestimated the powers of jennifer lynn barnes.

Anonymous said...

umm...i might read these books, but i dont want to read something that is about cheerleading. i mean, i once was a cheerleader, but that was in 4th grade and i was stupid then. but whatever, i need a book to review for my blog, and i always find interesting books here. so why not? i MIGHT read this.

Anonymous said...

After reading this I went and bought the first one. Funny. It was a somewhat quick read but I liked it. Not superb but good.

Anonymous said...

hi 3 evil cousins,
this is unrelated to your post, but i was just curious as to whether you'd read the draco trilogy?
-jean

Aislinn Ai said...

The fanfic by Cassandra Clare? I haven't, and I don't think the others have either. Why do you ask?
- Aislinn

Em said...

I saw these the other day and thought they looked good. Now, after reading your post, I'll definitely check it out. Thanks for the recommendation! :-)

Anonymous said...

Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Teclado e Mouse, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://mouse-e-teclado.blogspot.com. A hug.

Anonymous said...

hi Aislinn,
I was just curious really! i liked your review of her book and the author interview, so it made me wonder if you'd enjoyed her fanfic too!
-jean

Anonymous said...

that is an AWSOME book!!!!! Toby Klien is the kind of girl no-one wants to be in highschool, and she shows us that we can change!!! :)

Anonymous said...

this series is my ne favorite! i loved them and i can't wait for a third to come out.