Orphan Monster Spy

By: Matt Killeen

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Her name is Sarah. She's blonde, blue-eyed, and Jewish in 1939 Germany. And her act of resistance is about to change the world.

After her mother is shot at a checkpoint, fifteen-year-old Sarah meets a mysterious man with an ambiguous accent, a suspiciously bare apartment, and a lockbox full of weapons. He's part of the secret resistance against the Third Reich, and he needs Sarah to hide in plain sight at a school for the daughters of top Nazi brass, posing as one of them. If she can befriend the daughter of a key scientist and get invited to her house, she might be able to steal the blueprints to a bomb that could destroy the cities of Western Europe. Nothing could prepare Sarah for her cutthroat schoolmates, and soon she finds herself in a battle for survival unlike any she'd ever imagined. But anyone who underestimates this innocent-seeming girl does so at their peril. She may look sweet, but she's the Nazis' worst nightmare.

Critic reviews

“A stunning, smart, grounded tale of intrigue in Nazi Germany, so guilty and detailed it feels like true memory rather than fiction. Sarah is an angry, appealing, heart-wrenching hero, superhuman and achingly frail in equal measure. I wish I’d written this myself. Deeply disturbing and chillingly good.”—Elizabeth Wein, New York Times bestselling author of Code Name Verity

“I found myself mesmerized by Sarah’s journey into a world of human monsters. Orphan Monster Spy weaves one heroine’s courage through a spectrum of darkness, and the effects resonate long after the final page.” —Ryan Graudin, award-winning author of the Wolf By Wolf duology

“Killeen expertly conjures the day-to-day evil of Nazi Germany in this terrific page turner.”—Paul Dowswell, award-winning author of The Auslander

"A powerful, bleak, and penetrating portrait of an isolated young woman excelling in unimaginable danger."—Kirkus Reviews

Psychologically disturbing story worth listening to

The opening scene grabbed me and I had to keep listening to find out what Sarah would do next. Her inner monologue was beautifully and effectively executed for the audiobook version making me feel even more sympathy for her as she transformed from orphan to monster to spy.

The scenes where she infiltrated the Nazi boarding school waned a bit for me. The politics of the mean girls did not interest me beyond wondering where Sarah was going with building relationships in this school.

Once that ulterior motive was revealed, the true horror of this book set in. The violence that is suggested and outright described is truly disturbing. Even more, the resolutions left me wondering about a key point, which I still find haunting.

Meh

I’m not sure where all the stellar reviews came from. This book feels like it was a teenagers wwII spy fantasy and not a book written by an adult. So many of the situations that happened were so ludicrous and flimsy I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Like the captain’s plan of just swapping clothes with an employee of a top ranking Nazi who was guarded by SS and Nazi soldiers, and just strolling into the house and getting top secret files without anyone seeing he was a completely different person was ridiculous, especially since he was supposed to be a professional spy. And how Sarah could sneak in and out of her school every night and no one caught on. There were so many ridiculous scenarios and flimsy plot lines that I had trouble finishing this story. The only saving quality was the narrator, she did a great job.

Confusing.....at first

The first several chapters were very confusing and I almost returned the book. Glad I didn’t as it got better and the confusing early chapters were eventually explained

Use of a child as a spy

I wasn't sure I would like it at first....then I couldn't wait until I had time listen!!!

Who IS this author? Brilliant.

This book was so good that I couldn't figure out why I never heard of this author. Lots of books are exciting but this one ALSO has believable characters and believable dialogue in a foreign language. Penguin says: "He now writes for the world’s best loved toy company, as it wasn’t possible to be an X-wing pilot." That should give you an idea of how entrancing his style is. He was able to inhabit a young girl's mind, in a historic setting, and make something entirely new. Give us more, Matt.