Reagan Elizabeth Hillis can speak eight languages, wield an M4 carbine, and even knows "10 different ways to break someone's neck." The daughter of two big-name operatives for the Black Angels, a highly classified governmental agency, Reagan began her backbreaking training regimen at an early age. Now, as an almost high-school grad, it's expected she'll soon follow in her parents' footsteps. Though she's accustomed to juggling everything from aliases and A's to recurring relocations and fleeting friendships, a deepening connection with "RGF" (really good friend) Luke and the resurgence of a ruthless crime kingpin have Reagan frantically reassessing her future. Debut author Orlando strikes a fast-paced, flirty, and mostly believable balance between timely teenage conflicts (crippling anxiety, fruitless study sessions, humiliating house parties) and pure peril. While the premise itself is largely conventional, Orlando's choice to resist resolving Reagan's looming crises and to prolong romantic development is refreshing. This one's a page-turner, and the unexpectedly catastrophic conclusion d lingering promise of sweet revenge ggests Orlando, much like Reagan, is just getting started.

Gr 10 Up-Reagan Hillis cannot keep track of all of the different Reagans she has been. Raised from a young age to be an elite spy and commando, she is expected to become a Black Angel, a member of the covert CIA organization that her parents work for. This life is physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding, and no place feels like home. It seems like the moment she settles into a new cover, it is ripped away, and she has relocated numerous times, in the middle of the night, without the chance to say good-bye to the friends she has made. Then she lands in New Albany, OH, and against her better judgment, develops close friendships that make her feel a little more normal and prompt questions about her future choices. But disaster strikes. Will she be ripped from the best life she has had? This reads like a more mature, serious version of Ally Carter's I'd Tell You I Love You, but Then I'd Have To Kill You or Joe Schreiber's Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick . At its core, it is an action-packed novel about searching for oneself in the midst of heavy expectations. The violence is plot-advancing rather than gratuitous, while the main character is a strategizing, brave teen who is attempting to find her way both in the moment and into her own future. VERDICT A solid addition to high school collections, especially those with patrons who love stories of spy craft and secret identities, with a splash of romance. Melyssa Kenney, Parkville High School, MD

Reagan was born to be a Black Angel, a super-secret government special operative, like her parents. Since the age of ten, she has been groomed in martial arts, assault weapons, and strategy training. At seventeen, Reagan is questioning whether this is the life she would choose if given the choice. Paranoia, panic attacks, and maintaining emotional distance from everyone seem a high price to pay, especially when she is seriously crushing on Luke, the handsome JROTC who lives next door. Reagan wants to be a normal teenager. All that angst disappears, however, when her parents are kidnapped and she is determined to be the one to rescue them. The first half of the book is centered on the teenage world of high school, friends, and parties while Reagan privately agonizes over her secret identity and chides herself for her paranoia. A sweet romance that develops with Luke allows him to tag along as Reagan’s sidekick when her paranoid suspicions turn out to be correct, and the story abruptly shifts into high-octane thriller. There is plenty of action and wish fulfillment as Reagan insubordinately takes ridiculous risks, largely successfully. Teens who enjoy a little romance and the contrast of normal life that serves to heighten the dream of a teen operative masterfully battling a clearly defined evil will relish Reagan as an impressively powerful heroine. The heartbreaking finale will leave them anxious for a sequel.—Elizabeth Matson.