The Book I Needed: A Review of Spies, Lies, and Allies

Spies, Lies, and Allies (2018)
Written By: Lisa Brown Roberts
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Pages: 368 (Kindle)
Publisher: Entangled Teen

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from the publisher with the understanding I’d give an honest review.

Why I Chose It: I don’t read a ton of contemporary young adult but I do enjoy it occasionally, especially when there is something nerdy about the characters. And since this is supposed to be about characters who can’t help being their nerdy selves, I figured this fit the bill.

The premise:

Summers are supposed to be fun, right? Not mine. I’ve got a job at my dad’s company, which is sponsoring a college scholarship competition. I just found out that, in addition to my job assisting the competing interns, I’m supposed to vote for the winner. Totally not what I signed up for.

My boss is running the competition like it’s an episode of Survivor. Then there’s Carlos, who is, well, very distracting––in a good way. But I can’t even think about him like that because fraternizing on the job means instant disqualification for the intern involved.

As if that’s not enough, an anonymous informant with insider intel is trying to sabotage my dad’s company on social media…and I’m afraid it’s working.

Much as I’d love to quit, I can’t. Kristoffs Never Quit is our family motto. I just hope there’s more than one survivor by the end of this summer.

No Spoilers!

Discussion: Okay, I actually liked this book more than a lot of the true speculative fiction that I’ve read recently. It was super cute and a lot of fun. Maybe I was less critical because from the very first page Laurel felt like my kind of people. More than that, she might have been written just for me.

I really related to her, not only because she’s quieter and self-effacing. She’s also a little ashamed of her interests and how enthusiastic she is about them. Oh my gosh, can I so relate to that. There was a long time there when I would be talking to someone new and they’d ask what I read and I’d hesitate. Or I’d stall, because for some reason answering “fantasy” netted me very few friends. I’ve grown up a lot since then and found amazing people who share my passions and enthusiasm, but I can remember that fear.

And that was the other thing about Laurel I loved. She seemed to have a lot of anxiety about how others perceived her, her responsibility in the story, and her place among her peers. I don’t know if Roberts wrote her with an eye toward portraying that anxiety specifically since a lot of teens struggle with these questions already. But I thought she captured that self-doubt and awkwardness really well. I’d like to say I grew out of this as well, but I still struggle with anxiety and it’s been a really long time since I could call myself a teenager.

While I relate really well to nerdy characters, the Star Wars and other pop culture references were a little gimmicky at times and might end up being a little much for people who don’t absolutely love them. And they might end up dating this book sometime in the future.

Other than that though, this book managed to miss most of the pet peeves I have about the young adult genre. Not only were adults present but most of them were well rounded and supportive of the teenagers. There was one who was a little over the top and served as the stereotypical “enemy”, but Laurel’s father was presented with nuance and depth and he wasn’t discounted or demeaned by the story or the main characters. In fact, the whole story revolved around Laurel gaining a better understanding of him and I really loved that.

And there was no love triangle. Hallelujah. I actually really like that while there is a potential for one, Laurel pretty quickly realizes who she actually likes and who’s worth going after, which felt much more mature to me. Very refreshing. It helped that Carlos’ mix of bashful and flirty really worked for me. Romances can be one of the more polarizing genres, since it’s hard to like a hero you aren’t attracted to, and everyone has different expectations. But I think Roberts did a really good job capturing the sexy confident hero who maybe doesn’t have all the experience he would like you to think he does.

I also think Roberts might be an idealist, like me, since the whole book was about learning to understand the people around you without judging them. I could see how it could get a little preachy about it, but once again, Roberts manages to miss that stereotype and achieve more of a Breakfast Club feel. And since one of my favorite tropes is the “rivals to friends” trope, I loved this.

In Conclusion: I really really enjoyed Spies, Lies, and Allies. More than I thought I would. I think Roberts managed to write the book I needed as a kid (and maybe as an adult too). In fact, I’m scrolling through her back list looking for some other contemporary romances I might appreciate. Not every book has to be speculative fiction.