★★★彡
Summary:
Being permanently based in a local New York City high school as an undercover operative has its moments, good and bad, for 16-year-old safecracker Maggie Silver.
Pros: More quality time with her former mark-turned-boyfriend Jesse Oliver and insanely cool best friend, Roux.
Getting to spend quality time with her semi-retired and international spy honorary uncle, Angelo.
Cons: High school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.
But when Maggie's parents are falsely accused of stealing priceless gold coins, Maggie uses her safecracking skills to try and clear their names.
Too bad it only serves to put her and everyone she loves in danger. Maggie and her "new team" flee to Paris where they must come up with a plan to defeat their former allies.
Summary:
Being permanently based in a local New York City high school as an undercover operative has its moments, good and bad, for 16-year-old safecracker Maggie Silver.
Pros: More quality time with her former mark-turned-boyfriend Jesse Oliver and insanely cool best friend, Roux.
Getting to spend quality time with her semi-retired and international spy honorary uncle, Angelo.
Cons: High school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.
But when Maggie's parents are falsely accused of stealing priceless gold coins, Maggie uses her safecracking skills to try and clear their names.
Too bad it only serves to put her and everyone she loves in danger. Maggie and her "new team" flee to Paris where they must come up with a plan to defeat their former allies.
I might have given Going Rogue the same amount of stars as I gave its predecessor, Also Known As, but it was for entirely different reasons. I know a lot of people are awaiting anxiously to hear if there will be a third installment to the series. I can only hope that, if there is, Benway will manage to combine the aspects that I loved from the first two, and get rid of those I did not. Maybe it is too impossible, but a girl can wish, right?
One thing I love about Also Known As are the characters and their relationships, but Going Rogue fell a bit short. Although the insta-love between Roux and new character Ames did not bother me as much as it should have, which I account to how likable Ames is, how much I already liked Roux, and how cute they seemed together, I still think the time it takes them to fall in love is too short to be believable.
I also liked Ryo and Elodie, but I thought they, like Ames, were introduced too late into the story. I wish there had been more chapters between meeting them and the end so we could get to know them better. Right now, I can't say I care much for an of them.
Another thing I love about the first novel is Maggie's parents. Unfortunately, they are unmemorable in the first half of the boo, and then they disappear. The love Maggie feels for them is still there, and I know from the narration that they are still incredible people, but Benway failed to portray the parents I fell in love with. They no longer made me laugh and were replaced with the still-loving but too serious parents.
I already hinted to this, but I truly believe Going Rogue was missing the sense of humor that I fell in love with on AKA. Maggie and Jesse's relationship is still as sweet as ever, but they never made me laugh. Maggie and Roux's relationship is still as awesome as ever, but they never made me laugh. Nothing ever made me laugh. Bagh.
One thing Going Rogue has that AKA doesn't is more action. If you read my review of AKA, you know that I thought it was lacking more excitement, so I was happy. The plot is interesting and doesn't feel like Benway stretched the truth to write a second one.
Maggie does not seem very special in the book. Her amazing lock-opening and safe-cracking skills are used once (well, more than once, but I am referring to the one important time), and I am pretty sure it would make no difference if you skipped that chapter. She really does not seem like such an incredible spy to me.
One thing I love about Also Known As are the characters and their relationships, but Going Rogue fell a bit short. Although the insta-love between Roux and new character Ames did not bother me as much as it should have, which I account to how likable Ames is, how much I already liked Roux, and how cute they seemed together, I still think the time it takes them to fall in love is too short to be believable.
I also liked Ryo and Elodie, but I thought they, like Ames, were introduced too late into the story. I wish there had been more chapters between meeting them and the end so we could get to know them better. Right now, I can't say I care much for an of them.
Another thing I love about the first novel is Maggie's parents. Unfortunately, they are unmemorable in the first half of the boo, and then they disappear. The love Maggie feels for them is still there, and I know from the narration that they are still incredible people, but Benway failed to portray the parents I fell in love with. They no longer made me laugh and were replaced with the still-loving but too serious parents.
I already hinted to this, but I truly believe Going Rogue was missing the sense of humor that I fell in love with on AKA. Maggie and Jesse's relationship is still as sweet as ever, but they never made me laugh. Maggie and Roux's relationship is still as awesome as ever, but they never made me laugh. Nothing ever made me laugh. Bagh.
One thing Going Rogue has that AKA doesn't is more action. If you read my review of AKA, you know that I thought it was lacking more excitement, so I was happy. The plot is interesting and doesn't feel like Benway stretched the truth to write a second one.
Maggie does not seem very special in the book. Her amazing lock-opening and safe-cracking skills are used once (well, more than once, but I am referring to the one important time), and I am pretty sure it would make no difference if you skipped that chapter. She really does not seem like such an incredible spy to me.
“I looked at both him and Élodie, looking for any sign of treachery. Their faces were honest, though, and a little sad, and that’s when I burst into tears. “I want to go home!” I said. My voice was choked and I didn’t sound like myself, which only made me cry harder. “I’m out, I’m done! I don’t want to do this anymore!”
She even has a bit of a meltdown, which, while understandable, is not what I expect from an amazing spy on whose shoulders lie the fate of the world as we know it. Maggie does, however, seem more mature and socially competent, which I complained about a lot on my review of AKA.
If Benway does decide to write another novel, I hope it will be from Roux's POV. I think Maggie's story can effectively be continued from Roux's voice, and she is a more interesting character at the moment. I want to see how Robin would handle Roux's relationship with her parents, her relationship with Ames, and her relationship with Jesse, Maggie, and Maggie's family. I want to see her become a spy in The Collective 2.0, and I want to see her kick ass (not that Going Rogue says she will become a spy, but I seriously think she would make a better spy than Maggie).
If Benway does decide to write another novel, I hope it will be from Roux's POV. I think Maggie's story can effectively be continued from Roux's voice, and she is a more interesting character at the moment. I want to see how Robin would handle Roux's relationship with her parents, her relationship with Ames, and her relationship with Jesse, Maggie, and Maggie's family. I want to see her become a spy in The Collective 2.0, and I want to see her kick ass (not that Going Rogue says she will become a spy, but I seriously think she would make a better spy than Maggie).