How I Became a Spy: A Mystery of WWII London

2020 Oregon Book Award Winner for Young Adult Literature

From the award-winning author of The Great Trouble comes a story of espionage, survival, and friendship during World War II.

Bertie Bradshaw never set out to become a spy. He never imagined traipsing around war-torn London, solving ciphers, practicing surveillance, and searching for a traitor to the Allied forces. He certainly never expected that a strong-willed American girl named Eleanor would play Watson to his Holmes (or Holmes to his Watson, depending on who you ask).

But when a young woman goes missing, leaving behind a coded notebook, Bertie is determined to solve the mystery. With the help of Eleanor and his friend David, a Jewish refugee — and, of course, his trusty pup, Little Roo — Bertie must decipher the notebook in time to stop a double agent from spilling the biggest secret of all to the Nazis.

From the author of The Great Trouble, this suspenseful WWII adventure reminds us that times of war call for bravery, brains and teamwork from even the most unlikely heroes.

"Ms. Hopkinson slips lots of age-appropriate wartime history and a number of real individuals (including Eisenhower) — as well as practical details about codes and ciphers and how to break them — into this info-packed adventure for sleuth-loving readers." The Wall Street Journal

"This middle grade mystery novel starts with a bang and sends readers on a breakneck journey through World War II London." School Library Journal

"Hopkinson has written a cleverly plotted, page-turning mystery that vividly evokes wartime Britain... Fans of puzzles, mysteries, and historical fiction will be delighted by Hopkinson's latest." Booklist

Deborah Hopkinson has written more than 40 books for young readers. She is the author of the middle-grade novels The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, the Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel; A Bandit's Tale: The Muddled Misadventures of a Pickpocket; and Into the Firestorm: A Novel of San Francisco, 1906. Her picture books include Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt; Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book; Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book and a Junior Library Guild Selection; A Boy Called Dickens; and the ALA Notable Book Apples to Oregon. Visit her at DeborahHopkinson.com and follow her at @deborahopkinson.