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Going Rogue (Also Known As #2) – Robin Benway

Title: Going Rogue (Also Known As #2) by Robin Benway
Publishing Info: January 14, 2014 by Bloomsbury Publishing
Source: Received from the publisher for review purposes
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: December 19, 2013
Related Posts: Also Known As, Emmy & Oliver, Far From the Tree

    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 know that Robin Benway hadn’t always planned on writing a sequel to ALSO KNOWN AS but boy am I glad she did! GOING ROGUE was just a perfect sequel in every way: I got more of the characters I love, more action, more adventure, and thicker plots.

One thing I always fear about sequels is that if it’s been a while since I’ve read book one, I tend to forget some of what happened and even some of the characters, but Robin Benway did such a fantastic job with ALSO KNOWN AS that it was so easy to jump back into the lives of these characters right where we left off. These characters have made a lasting impression on me and reading even more about them in GOING ROGUE just further solidified their place in my heart. I love Maggie, of course, but Robin Benway does such a great job with her supporting characters and we even get a little bit more backstory about Maggie’s parents as well! The characters just feel so real and it made me that much more invested in the story!

GOING ROGUE really stepped it up from ALSO KNOWN AS. I was already in love with AKA, but we see a lot more action and heist and spy terms, we get a little bit more Jason Bourne to go with the already established Ocean’s 11. Spying is a dangerous job and we see a lot more of the perilous side in GOING ROGUE which may have led to some gasping and screaming on my side. Aside from my fear and concerns for the characters, I was so excited to see the level of action that occurs in GOING ROGUE and I’m glad we got to see totally different situations than we had in book one! I really wasn’t expecting it, but in a good way! I was surprised by how different this book was and it definitely keeps up the witty dialogue of ALSO KNOWN AS with an added bonus of more thrills!

I know I’ve already talked about the characters but seriously. Maggie. Roux. Jesse. ANGELO. How much did my love for Angelo grow in this book!? (Spoiler: A lot.) I know everyone loves Roux (and I do too) but Angelo has always been my favorite. I was also really excited to learn more about Maggie’s parents as we dig deeper into the Collective! We get a lot more backstory for both the characters themselves and how that ties into their history with the Collective and the new characters we meet are just as delightful!

Fans of ALSO KNOWN AS will not be disappointed with its sequel. It had made for a wonderful stand alone but I’m so happy its sequel came into existence (Thank you, Robin Benway!!!) and I’m hoping there will be more books in this series because I could honestly gobble them up forever! I guess that means I’ll just have to start onto Robin’s other books (Right? How have I not already??) to hold me over until then!

Maggie // Character Obsessions: Cracking safes, working on the impossible lock, protecting her family, taking down the bad guys.
I’ve always love Maggie’s spunk and we get another healthy dose of it in GOING ROGUE! She also starts to mature a lot more — in her relationship with Jesse, in her friendship with Roux, her protectiveness of her family, and her responsibilities to keep everyone safe. Maggie has a lot on her plate and she’s learning how tough it can be to balance everything and still maintain the secrecy of her nature as a spy.
Angelo // Character Obsessions: Secrecy, protecting Maggie’s family & friends, being a total badass.
Angelo is such a badass. He has this quiet calm, always keeping a level head and totally TCBing without anyone even knowing where he is or what he’s doing. I love when the quiet characters totally step into a take-charge role to protect someone and not giving any spoilers away or anything, but Angelo will go to great lengths to protect the ones he loves, no matter what that means. If I were the Grinch, Angelo is the one who makes my heart grow three sizes. I wish I knew him in real life.

Kept Me Hooked On: All things Robin Benway! I absolutely MUST devour the rest of her books this year! I love her writing, both the contemporary/funny/witty side and the spy/heist/caper side! I know her other books are more strictly contemporary but I’ve heard NUMEROUS great things about them and I seriously need to read them in 2014!
Left Me Wanting More: Of this series. I need more Maggie, more Roux, more Angelo. I need more safe cracking, lock picking, and spying. I need more sticky situations and international espionage. I just adored both ALSO KNOWN AS and GOING ROGUE!

Addiction Rating
BUY IT!

This one’s a keeper! Buy GOING ROGUE (and if you don’t have it already, pick up ALSO KNOWN AS too!) for your shelves. These books are so much fun and I love everything about this series.

BOOKS LIKE GOING ROGUE

(Click the cover to see my review!)

Title: Also Known As by Robin Benway
Publishing Info: February 26, 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing
Source: Netgalley
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: March 25, 2013
Related Posts: Going Rogue (Also Known As #2), Emmy & Oliver, Far From the Tree

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations. Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

ALSO KNOWN AS was my first Robin Benway book and SHAME ON ME for waiting so long! I know you guys are all raving over AUDREY, WAIT! (which I own now, but still haven’t read yet) and praised Robin’s wit and delightful characters. NOW I GET IT. This book was flat out hilarious — jokes, sarcasm, banter — ALSO KNOWN AS had it all. I was literally laughing out loud reading this book and now I can’t wait to go read more of Robin Benway’s books!

ALSO KNOWN AS, as you probably know, is about Maggie — a sixteen year-old-spy who gets her very first solo assignment. Maggie is clearly the highlight of this book. Her personality and sense of humor make the reader feel at ease and really invested in her story as well. I instantly wanted to be BFFs with Maggie and so I was right by her side as she went through wacky hijinks, flustering friendships, and her very first kiss.

We’re talking about spies here, so you know there are going to be some twists and turns! I actually did NOT see the twist coming. I had written it off as a cute but simple story. Turns out, ALSO KNOWN AS has a few more layers than I anticipated! The only complaint I can make about the plot is that I wish a few more twists had been introduced earlier on to gather just a little more excitement. I was totally invested in the story already, but that extra little twist would have added the “knock-me-off-my-feet” aspect to the book for me!

All of the characters were pretty amazing and stood on their own two feet. Each one had a big personality and leapt off the page! Obviously we know I love Maggie (duh) but I also liked her friend Roux (okay, she was a tad much at times, but that was the whole point), her love interest/assignment Jesse Oliver, her clueless-on-how-to-raise-a-real-teenager parents, and her almost mentor/family friend Angelo. I adored Maggie’s relationship with Angelo. He’s a great person for her to turn to when she needs to step away from her parents, away from her friends/assignment/distractions and get an honest yet gentle answer. He’s always calm and very wise.

ALSO KNOWN AS was a very quick read, but in a good way. I didn’t want to put it down! It was filled with everything I love: humor, suspense, romance, awesome characters, and a twist to keep me guessing. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun read and I cannot wait to read AUDREY, WAIT! and more from Robin Benway!

MAGGIE: Maggie was a hoot. I loved hearing her story as well as her direct speech to the reader. It’s so much fun when I feel like the characters are talking to me (if it’s pulled off well — And of course Robin Benway knows how to create a very personable narrator). I immediately wanted to be friends with her and wished she was a real person because I know she’d be a blast to hang out with!
JESSE: Jesse was a pretty great match for Maggie. I LOVED that he accepted her for all her wackiness and that’s why he ended up liking her. Nothing like loving a girl for the way she is!! He got a little silly himself at times and it made my heart melt! I love fun & spontaneous things like that!
ANGELO: I loved Angelo as Maggie’s mentor! Welll, I’m calling him a mentor. Really, he’s a family friend and a great resource/shoulder to lean on (or cry on) when Maggie has no one else to turn to. He was definitely one of my favorite characters…. Although really, they all were pretty great!