Welcome to the book tour for The Renegade Spy Project by Terri Selting David, a book I know most parents and readers will wholeheartedly recommend! Read on for more info, my review, and a chance to win a digital copy of the entire trilogy!
Publication Date: August 10th, 2020
Genre: Middle Grade/ Chapter Books/ Children’s Inventor Books (Ages 8 – 12)
Publisher: Spiderdust Studios
Wren is impulsive, curious, and always in trouble. Can her flaws become her greatest asset?
Wren Sterling has a problem. She knows she’s super smart and a good friend, but no matter how hard she tries, she can’t shake her reputation as a troublemaker. It feels like the only people who believe in her are her three best friends in the Renegade Girls Tinkering Club. She’d hoped middle school would be different, but when her inability to control her temper causes an accident, even her beloved STEM Club is no longer a safe haven.
She has to find a way to fix it. When her idea to start a business inventing and selling spy gadgets succeeds, it looks like she’s finally done something right! But then the Club is accused of a crime. Can they use their own gadgets, and a little bit of trouble to solve the mystery? If they can find the real culprit, Wren may just discover she has a bright future after all. If they can’t, she could lose her best friends forever.
“It’s The Babysitter’s Club meets MacGyver!”
Build your own SPY GADGETS! Instructions included in this charming story about friendship, middle school, and the Engineering Design Process for kids ages 8-12.
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Excerpt
Technically it was Wren’s Greenhouse, hidden behind her family's small home in the middle of San Francisco, but all the Renegades felt at home there. In the Greenhouse, they didn't have to worry about other people's rules and opinions. Or try to be boring or be like everyone else. The Greenhouse was their safe space. They could just be themselves. Wren's parents let them use it as their workshop and clubhouse as long as her little sister, Trixie, could be part of the club.
When they'd formed the Renegade Girls Tinkering Club, the Greenhouse had been abandoned and filled with broken pots and spiderwebs. It was small and dirty, but had everything they needed. A door hidden like a secret behind an overgrown wisteria vine. A back wall with shelves from floor to ceiling, and excellent light from a front wall made entirely of glass. A small but sturdy potting table sat against the windows. It was pleasant and warm, with one electrical outlet and a small work sink. They loved it from the first time they saw it.
Amber, Kammie, Ivy, Wren, and even Trixie had worked tirelessly last summer, cleaning and gathering assorted leftovers, recyclables, and a mishmash of bins to put them in. They categorized and labelled, collected cardboard by cutting down shipping boxes, and saved empty toilet paper rolls from the trash. They snuck random scissors from kitchen drawers, ribbons, buttons, anything that looked useful or had an interesting shape. Amber had borrowed a folding card table from her garage, and Kammie brought in some stools her parents were getting rid of. Wren found an old glue gun, and they had even managed to find an unused sewing machine. The first purchase with their club dues had been copies of the side gate key, so everyone could head directly into the backyard when they came over.
Amber rocketed through that side gate, clutching a cardboard box protectively to her chest with her delicate arms. Beneath a spring green sundress her feet, in their pristine white flats, skipped quickly and skillfully over the ground. The September afternoon sun lit up her auburn hair like a fiery halo.
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Rating: 3.5 Stars
Release Date: August 10, 2020
Format: eARC
Publisher: Spiderdust Studios
The Renegade Spy Project, first in the Renegade Girls Tinkering Club series by Terri Selting David is a solid choice for any young inventor in one's life. I would recommend it to readers at the middle-grade level who enjoy a bit of mystery and innovation in stories.
Our main character, Wren Sterling is very intelligent but she's often overlooked by adults for being different. She and her group of friends, members of the Renegade Girls Tinkering Club must overcome multiple obstacles and secure their future in STEM before it's too late.
I think this book will be very encouraging to young readers interested in STEM. The main characters aren’t some group of super-geniuses where everything they attempt goes right on the first attempt. They make mistakes, they learn from them, and they get to increase their knowledge in the process. As a chemistry major in college, I loved how the author included instructions for DIY science experiments within the book - readers will get to attempt the same experiments the characters are working on. The format makes them very accessible for anyone to try, as Ms. David breaks the process down into simple steps. When some authors attempt this, it feels more like it was “dumbed down” but I never got that sense while reading the book. I hope more people discover this book in the near future!
Thank you to the author Terri Selting David and Shannon at Reads and Reels Book Tours (R&R Book Tours) for sharing a review copy of the book with me. I voluntarily read and reviewed The Renegade Spy Project. This did not affect my opinion of the book or the context of my review.
She lives in San Francisco with 2 rowdy children and a fabulous, brilliant husband who brings her tea every night.
Spiderdust Studios – Girls Who Make Stuff
International Giveaway: The Renegade Girls Tinkering Club Trilogy (Digital)
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