‘“This operation is hot. We are a go.”’ Imagine a group of kids. Imagine they are spies. Imagine that the fate of every intelligence agency across the world hinges on their next decision. That’s what it’s like in City Spies by James Ponti. The first of a series, it has everything from deadly viruses and criminal masterminds to food-loving boys and mathematical geniuses. The story starts with Sara. She’s not in the greatest of situations. Actually, let’s rephrase that. She’s just been arrested for hacking the juvenile justice system and a bank, and is going to be sentenced to two and a half years in juvenile detention. And, even though she did it to expose her cruel foster parents as frauds, this is not enough to get her out of trouble. That is, until a mysterious man who calls himself “Mother” walks in and frees Sara from prison, then asks her to join his team of kid spies on their latest emergency mission… From the get go, I loved this book. It was right up my alley and there was no way anyone could have made me stop reading it! Even if you dragged me off to court for hacking a bank, I’d probably still be desperately reading (and hoping to pick up some tips from Sara). Part of what made this novel so good was the humor. The characters’ dialogue had me laughing out loud, even through the tension and excitement, and this made the book very relatable. I also really enjoyed the characters themselves. There are quite a lot of them to get to know but somehow they all fit together seamlessly. This doesn’t mean they always work together seamlessly, though! In fact, there’s quite a bit of rivalry and hostility at the start. While the story mainly focuses on Sara (later known as Brooklyn), the backgrounds of some of the other characters are revealed as the story goes on. City Spies stood out for me because of the multinational settings. Over the course of the book, the story takes you from the US to Scotland and then to France. And each member of the team is also from a different country: Nepal, Rwanda, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Australia — you name it. Luckily for me, they all speak English! If you’re not a fan of mystery or spy stories, City Spies probably isn’t for you. While I enjoyed it a lot, it’s set in a real “spy world,” so for readers who prefer other genres, this is not a crossover to fantasy or sci-fi or horror. On the other hand, if you are a spy story enthusiast, read this book! City Spies by James Ponti. Aladdin Paperbacks, 2021. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! If you have further interest in James Ponti’s novel City Spies, please check out then blogger, now ’20—21 intern Thee Sim Ling’s interview with James Ponti, here!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Weekly Creativity #176 | Flash Contest #37: Write about a character who has everything you’ve always wanted, but still isn’t happy.
Write about a character who has everything you’ve always wanted, but still isn’t happy. To submit to this month’s Flash Contest, click here.
Saturday Newsletter: October 30, 2021
Desolation By Sabrina Lu, 13 (Ashburn, VA), published in Stone Soup October 2021 A note from Caleb Happy Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, & Samhain to all who celebrate! For a good scare make sure to check out writing from our 26th Writing Workshop on horror! This week I want to draw your attention to Renee Wang’s brilliant short story, “Memories,” and the artwork that accompanies it, Desolation, by Sabrina Lu. Both of these pieces are linked by the concept of inner reflection. “Memories” is placed within the frame of a man reflecting on his life; Desolation is presented to us through an aerial perspective so that the viewer looks down at the snow globe, as if inspecting it from a new angle, searching for some kind of epiphany. In “Memories,” the man turns inwards in order to escape his “retirement home… as grey as his soul.” In Desolation, we can imagine someone who’s grown bored of looking at their snow globe in its traditional manner and has thus changed their means of perception. But, as we learn by the end of “Memories,” and as is hinted by the title of “Desolation,” neither of these efforts brings happiness: the man deserts his memories for the pleasure of the cherry tree, while the aerial view of the snow globe—an item often associated with the comfort of nostalgia—makes the artist think of desolation. Regardless of these works’ ultimate conclusions surrounding the fruitfulness of reflection or of a change in perspective, this week I want you to pick an object from your house that you’ve grown used to seeing in its typical form. Once you’ve chosen this object, I want you to look at it in a completely different manner—upside down, sideways, from above, from below, anything that’s different—and either take a picture, draw it, write about it, or do some combination of all of these. This exercise is intended to push you outside of your comfort zone and reveal things you didn’t know you knew. As always, if you are happy with what you create and think that our editor, Emma Wood, might like it for Stone Soup, then please submit it to us via Submittable! Until next time, Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at on our blog! Madeline Schor, 13, wrote a stellar essay—”Awareness… Reflection… Awareflectness!”—that relied on a distinct, serpentine memory in order to explore themes regarding climate change, the power of reflection, and the COVID-19 pandemic. From Stone Soup October 2021 Memories By Renee Wang, 13 (Champaign, IL) Theodore Colin looked out from his too-small chair in his roach-ridden room. The majestic cherry tree stood outside, greeting him as always. It was the only color in his life; his retirement home was as grey as his soul. He recalled, as if it was seared into his brain, what his doctor had told him yesterday: he would have only a few days to live. As he’d dragged his feet back to his room, he could hear his nurse weeping, and when he’d told his friends yesterday, a few tears trickled down their faces. As he’d delivered the news to his sister, his only living relative, he could remember the silence that had followed. It was ironically loud. When he had gotten back to his prison, he sat down at his chessboard, randomly moving pieces about. He pushed it away in disgust. But even though the news saddened those close to him, he himself did not grieve. That night, his eyes were sore from staring into space. He could feel the chronic illness eating through him like a mold. It had gnawed at him unflinchingly for so many years, consuming the very thing that was keeping him alive. He rubbed his head and looked up. Again, the flowering cherry tree that stood outside his window was there to smile at him. Even though it was painfully pink, the same color as the cancer that was killing him, its long branches swayed like grass, waving to him, inviting him to relive the memories of his glorious younger days. Suddenly, he was hit with a snowball of nostalgia as he was brought back into his memories. Continue reading “Memories” here… Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498. Stone Soup’s advisors: Abby Austin, Mike Axelrod, Annabelle Baird, Jem Burch, Evelyn Chen, Juliet Fraser, Zoe Hall, Montanna Harling, Alicia & Joe Havilland, Lara Katz, Rebecca Kilroy, Christine Leishman, Julie Minnis, Jessica Opolko, Tara Prakash, Denise Prata, Logan Roberts, Emily Tarco, Rebecca Ramos Velasquez, Susan Wilky.
