(3) K-3 Blazers: U.S. Federal Agents series. Colich gives young readers background information on the two U.S. intelligence agencies and then discusses the life of an agent: recruitment, required training, and job responsibilities including special and dangerous tasks. The informative volumes combine short, clearly written sentences and briefly captioned color photographs. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Blazers: U.S. Federal Agents titles: CIA Agents and FBI Agents.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) 4-6 Framed! series. Covert consultants for the FBI, twelve-year-old best friends Florian and Margaret (Framed!; Vanished!), return for a third caper. Here they must save their supervisor, Marcus, from taking the fall for a deep-cover Russian spy who has been using the Library of Congress to send secrets to the Russian embassy. This enthralling mystery about spies, libraries, and codes is cleverly spun with high stakes and amusing characters.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) YA The summer after high school, Cameron Carter moves from small-town California to DC to work as an intern for up-and-coming Congressman Billy Beck. Cameron bonds with a fellow staffer, who hints at secret corruption. When she turns up dead, Cameron finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy. Despite an occasionally slow-moving plot, this tale of political intrigue will appeal to thriller fans.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) YA In 1953 Washington, DC, thirteen-year-old Richard is torn between the worldviews of his FBI-agent father and his new friend Vlad, a Czech immigrant with thrillingly bold ideas about literature, art, and politics. Influenced by the McCarthy hearings, Richard starts to question the veracity of those closest to him. Photographs and news summaries from the era add authenticity to this tale of would-be intrigue. Author's note appended.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(4) YA FBI agents, under the guise of clinical therapists, invite five outcast teens to a therapy group. In actuality, the teens are recruited to help solve a murder involving a former agent and a serum that bestows psychic powers. Drugged with the same serum, the teens use their new powers to investigate the crime. Despite over-the-top plotting, this thriller is a fast-paced, entertaining read.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(3) 4-6 Framed! series. As consulting detectives for the FBI, twelve-year-old Florian Bates (Framed!) and his best friend, Margaret, go undercover at a private school to determine who's behind a series of pranks that might involve the Chinese government, the U.S. president's daughter, and a centuries-old secret society. This compelling mystery is one layer of many in a complex detective story that also explores middle-school social dynamics.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) YA Naturals series. In this fourth book, Cassie and her fellow Naturals (teenage FBI profilers) close in on a generations-spanning society of sadistic serial murderers carrying out a dark ritual that may involve Cassie's missing mother. The web of crime the teens unravel is dense and complex, and each clue they discover is more chilling than the last. A compelling conclusion to a strong series.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) K-3 Protecting Our People series. Color photos and occasional question-and-answer sidebars accompany simple, choppily written texts on federal agents who protect our elected officials and American citizens. Beginning with a scenario portraying a crime-in-the-making, the books then describe the agents' daily work, the training they receive, and how they work with other agencies and with the public. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Protecting Our People titles: The CIA, Federal Air Marshalls, The FBI, SWAT Teams, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Secret Service.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) 4-6 Exceptionally observant twelve-year-old white boy Florian Bates, with the help of his new best friend, African American girl Margaret, uses T.O.A.S.T. ("Theory of All Small Things") to help the FBI solve an art-heist case at the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Ponti turns an improbable premise into a high-stakes, fast-paced story with appealing characters and a cleverly unfolding mystery.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) YA McCutcheon "M.D." Daniels, a teen in the Witness Security Program, is recruited into the FBI once it discovers his mixed-martial-arts skills, only to be subsequently disavowed and abandoned by the Bureau. Reconnecting with his father, M.D. seeks revenge on everyone who has targeted or betrayed his family, government and criminal alike. Gritty and testosterone-driven; the action and violence mark this for mature readers.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(4) 4-6 Agents of Government series. This series presents brief, informative histories of each organization, including inception, purpose and function, key personalities involved, and the role each group plays today. Peace Corps relates the idealism of this service organization as well as the difficulties surrounding its launch. Though the small-size type may be off-putting, the texts are accessible. Large archival photographs provide readers with additional insight. Websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Agents of Government titles: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Reserve System, National Transportation Safety Board, and Peace Corps.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(3) YA Naturals series. Cassie and her fellow teen crime specialists--the Naturals--are prohibited from crime-solving while the FBI evaluates their controversial appointment. But when a local murder hits close to home for one Natural, the rest of the team happily thwarts surveillance to investigate. With lively characters and a seamless whodunit plot, Barnes loses no momentum in this tense and entertaining sequel.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) YA Lane is a normal teen girl, but at night she attacks known criminals to punish them for their crimes. Lane's escapades as the "Masked Savior" satisfy her strange urges but lead her into the machinations of a longtime serial killer. Lane is a flat, blasé narrator whose lack of emotions readers may find either off-putting or intriguing in this unique--and violent--whodunit.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) YA Mathematical genius and expert hacker Farrah "Digit" Higgins (A Girl Named Digit) is loving MIT but hating her FBI-agent ex-boyfriend. She's ready to forget the FBI and the eco-terrorists they're trying to catch, but an old nemesis isn't ready to forget her. Digit's voice continues to feel witty and engaging, even in the midst of the book's high-stakes action scenes.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(4) 4-6 U.S. Special Forces series. These informative volumes highlight three Special Forces units' history, selection criteria, training, and weaponry. Notable accomplishments (especially anti-terrorism initiatives and hostage rescues) and controversies, as well as treatment in film, literature, and the media, are covered. Large color photos and well-placed sidebars support the main texts; the tiny type-size may be off-putting to some readers. There are three other fall 2014 books in this series. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these U.S. Special Forces titles: FBI Hostage Rescue, Green Berets, and Navy Seals.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) YA Seventeen-year-old Cassie, an exceptional people-reader, is the newest recruit for the FBI's program for teens with singular crime-solving talents. Cassie and her fellow prodigies get to know one another while honing their forensic skills. Then Cassie discovers an open case that might explain her missing mother's whereabouts. Smart and well paced, this mystery has all the addictive appeal of a TV crime procedural.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(2) YA This book chronicles the facts of Hoover's personal life and his half-century-long stranglehold on the FBI. The biography of an American villain, a history of America during the last century, and a meditation on what it means to be American in the present era--Aronson delivers another provocative book with an ambitious focus, sprawling and scattershot at times, but almost gloriously so. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012

(4) 4-6 FBI Story series. Each volume focuses on an aspect of the FBI's history and/or functions. The texts present anecdotes and background along with some editorializing. Though content overlaps, the series provides a well-rounded view of what the FBI is and what it investigates, from organized crime to kidnapping to terrorism. Copious photos lend accessibility. There are six other fall 2009 books in this series. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these FBI Story titles: The FBI and Organized Crime, The FBI Files, A History of the FBI, The FBI and National Security, The FBI's Most Wanted, and Investigative Techniques of the FBI.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) 4-6 FBI Story series. Each volume focuses on an aspect of the FBI's history and/or functions. The texts present anecdotes and background along with some editorializing. Though content overlaps, the series provides a well-rounded view of what the FBI is and what it investigates, from organized crime to kidnapping to terrorism. Copious photos lend accessibility. There are six other fall 2009 books in this series. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these FBI Story titles: The FBI and Organized Crime, The FBI Files, A History of the FBI, The FBI and National Security, The FBI's Most Wanted, and Investigative Techniques of the FBI.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) 4-6 FBI Story series. Each volume focuses on an aspect of the FBI's history and/or functions. The texts present anecdotes and background along with some editorializing. Though content overlaps, the series provides a well-rounded view of what the FBI is and what it investigates, from organized crime to kidnapping to terrorism. Copious photos lend accessibility. There are six other fall 2009 books in this series. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these FBI Story titles: The FBI and Organized Crime, The FBI Files, A History of the FBI, The FBI and National Security, The FBI's Most Wanted, and Investigative Techniques of the FBI.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax