Book Review: Going Rogue (Also Known As #2) by Robin Benway Blog Tour

Being permanently based in a local New York City high school as an undercover operative has its moments, good and bad, for 16-year-old safecracker Maggie Silver. Pros: More quality time with her former mark-turned-boyfriend Jesse Oliver and insanely cool best friend, Roux. Getting to spend quality time with her semi-retired and international spy honorary uncle, Angelo. Cons: High school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations. But when Maggie's parents are falsely accused of stealing priceless gold coins, Maggie uses her safecracking skills to try and clear their names. Too bad it only serves to put her and everyone she loves in danger. Maggie and her "new team" flee to Paris where they must come up with a plan to defeat their former allies.

Best Bits:  Diving into Going Rogue was a bit like visiting family. It was fabulous to read about all the characters, and see what had been going on since the events in the first book, Also Known As. Despite that feeling of familiarity, I really enjoyed how this book felt different than the first. Yes, there is some chasing, some escaping, but the formula felt a bit different this time. Perhaps that's because Maggie doesn't have to hide who she is from her best friend, Roux, or her boyfriend. Sure, she may not always divulge exactly what's going on, but they know that she's a safe-cracking prodigy. Of course, it might have something to do with the fact that The Collective has turned against her family...or that there's a change of scenery toward the end of the book....All of these changes gave the book a fresh feel, while still maintaining the humor and suspense of the first.

Can I just take a second here to gush about my favorite character, Angelo? He is a fabulous yoda-like person filled with wise words. In the first book he's put on a pedestal. For good reason, he's awesome. In this book, however, Benway chooses to show that he isn't infallible. It made him a bit more human, and I love that. I'm also hoping that he becomes a surrogate parent to Roux.

Nit Picks: I wish that we had spent a bit more time in Paris, if I'm completely honest. This portion of the book was quite quick, and if the book had been even a couple chapters longer I would have loved it. Of course, that's probably because I haven't visited it yet and have unrealistic ideas about what it's actually like. Still, I'm going to romanticize it until I actually get there.

Going Rogue
By Robin Benway
Published by Walker Children's
320 Pages

Received for Review (thanks Bridget!)

 The published has been kind enough to offer a US resident the chance to win a copy of both books! I'm also throwing in a gift of my own (a necklace): 


a Rafflecopter giveaway