City of Spies

by Laurence Klavan and Susan Kim

Mystery, intrigue, and pastries abound in this World War II spy tale Evelyn typically satisfies her longing for adventure with the help of a pencil and a sheet of paper. But when she makes a new friend, Tony, she's happy to abandon her art for a real-life search for spies. When the two accidentally uncover a genuine mystery, it looks like Evelyn might end up in the kind of adventure she writes in her comics Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan, and Pascal Dizin...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1596432624
• ISBN13: 9781596432628
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: First Second
• Length: 172 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.3" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

A Compelling, Touching Read

Evelyn is a poor little rich girl. Sent off to live with an unknown aunt in New York City while her father honeymoons, she pours her heart into drawing comics. Zirconium Man and his sidekick Scooter always manage to save the day and go to baseball games and picnics, even if Evelyn doesn't. But living with the "bohemian" Aunt Lia has its advantages--Evelyn befriends neighborhood kid Tony, and the two explore German Town together. With the whole world at war, even kids have to keep their eyes open; Nazi spies could be anywhere. However, when Evelyn and Tony stumble onto a Nazi plot, will anyone believe them? It was the artwork that attracted me to this book. Gorgeous rich colors and stylized backgrounds work wonderfully to depict the World War II setting. The character designs are studies in angles. Round-cheeked children and square-jawed men are the order of the day, but Dizin manages to give each character a distinct personality. Evelyn's comics within the book are drawn in a similar style but colored in a halftone-dot effect that evokes Golden Age superhero comics. When focusing on Evelyn and Tony, City of Spies is a compelling, touching read. However, the book loses its way in subplots dealing with Aunt Lia and a frustrated German Town police officer. These adults are not nearly as interesting as Evelyn and Tony, and these side trips cause the book to drag slightly. The subplots are quickly over though, and when the story comes back to the kids, it picks up the pace to an exciting finale right out of one of Evelyn's comics. Adults who are fans of '40s style comics, tweens who like adventures, or anybody who is just looking for a good book should pick up City of Spies. Here's hoping that we get to see more of Evelyn and Tony in the future. -- Merideth Jenson-Benjamin

Excellent comic for all ages

I just finished reading my copy this morning and I thought both the story and the artwork were great. The story has great characters that are easy to identify with, and the art pops off the page. The classic drawing style adds to the story and brings the characters and scenes to life without over complicating the frame. Excellent work that I highly recommend. I'm a high school English teacher and I definitely see myself using this as a tool in my classroom.

Courtesy of Mother Daughter [...]

During the early days the U.S. was involved in Word War II, Americans became obsessed with the thought that spies were among them, secreting away information that would aid the enemy and defeat the Allies. In New York, people were suspicious of Germans in general, and many thought it was their patriotic duty to keep an eye on German citizens. This is the setting for City of Spies, a new graphic novel by Susan Kim and Laurance Klavan, with artwork by Pascal Dizin. Evelyn has arrived to spend the summer with her Aunt Lia in New York while her father spends time with his new wife. An only child, Evelyn has known a series of stepmothers since her own mother died years before. To help pass the time, she draws action adventures for the superhero she creates, Zirconium Man, and she is his sidekick, Scooter. Aunt Lia's artistic lifestyle doesn't accommodate Evelyn very well, but she doesn't mind as much after she meets the building superintendent's son, Tony. Together, they decide to have an adventure and catch a spy. They soon discover that just because someone has a German background, it doesn't mean he's stealing secrets and working with the enemy. When they stumble on a real plot, they decide to follow it through and foil the bad guys themselves. City of Spies does a great job of exploring the imagined and real dangers of the early 1940s while focusing on issues such as friendship, family relationships, and loneliness for both children and adults. It also brings to life two fantasies common among children: being a superhero and catching a spy. As in all good graphic novels, much of the plot and action are carried through by the artwork, and Dizin's drawings are the perfect accompaniment to Kim and Klavan's words. A mother-daughter book club with girls aged 13 and up would be able to discuss the historic era and how graphic novels in general differ from reading a regular novel.

Lovers of Tin Tin will want to read City of Spies

This book was so popular in my house with my kids (late elementary and middle school) that I had to wait 5 days to read it. This book has been read/reread daily since we bought it last week. Evelyn is a young German-American Jew spending the summer with her aunt in NYC. Lonely, imaginative, and creative, she creates a comic (yes a comic within a comic) of two super heroes, while making friends with a boy in the apartment building. The two end up having an adventure involving Nazi spies that is captivating and engaging to middle readers. The readers in this house are waiting for a sequel!

Wonderful story that brings back the olden days of comics

Reason for Reading: The old-style drawings, and superhero story set in WWII intrigued me. Summary: It is 1942, Evelyn's mother has died, her father is a busy man with better things to do than look after a child, so she now lives with her rich Bohemian partying artist aunt who hasn't a clue about children. Evelyn spends her spare time drawing comics about Zirconium Man and his sidekick Scooter who fight against Nazis and a black ooze-like monster. But in real life Evelyn meets the building janitor's son Tony and they find themselves on the track of real liveNazi spies in their own neighbourhood. Comment: Wonderful story that brings back the olden days of comics. Starting with the art, one thing I really appreciated is that when Evelyn is drawing her comic it is presented in the old-style where you can see the colour is made up of little dots and the type is all caps. Then when the switch is made to the present story we've got a Tin-Tin style of art with modern colour techniques and a normal lowercase type with caps where they should be. These easily help the reader know whether they are reading the main story or Evelyn's comic book and the device is just a lot of fun. Growing up reading old Superman comics I found at garage sales I really had fun with Evelyn's comic story and when Zirconium Man and Scooter were surrounded be reporters I'll eat my hat if I didn't see Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen in a few panes. Lots of humour along with olden but golden Superhero cheese. The main story is full of adventure and humour as the daring children (age 10) set off following clues to what they are sure is a Nazi spy ring. Only they have a few false alarms causing the police and grown-ups not to believe them. One of these episodes is leaving me on the fence as to what age group I'd recommend the book for. The book is perfectly safe reading with only a tiny bit of innuendo that could be read by ages 10 and up assuming they have some idea as to WWII and the Nazis but there is one scene where a "spy" ends up being a man cheating on his wife and they show a few frames of a matronly-looking woman in bra and slip on a bed with man in a vest and boxers. There is also an artist sketching scene showing the back of a nude model and a side view which shows the slightest little bre*st bump. Parents should be aware of this to decide on the suitability for their own children. Older teens are not going to be terribly interested in the 10yo protagonists. Other than the main spy story plot, there is also a back story of the aunt who develops from being an irresponsible child caretaker with a somewhat dubious past to someone who finds a wholesome new romance and learns that she really is up to the challenge of her niece's well-being. A fun book, with quite a few story layers, humour and bold, colourful art. Recommended.