Amanda Noble, Special Agent
by Lesa Boutin

    AMANDA NOBLE, SPECIAL AGENT by Lesa Boutin
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 6+
    Release Date:  12/1/08
    Publisher:  Boot in the Door Publications
    Reviewed by:  Allison Fraclose
    Rating:  5 Stars


    Ever since Amanda Noble, Zookeeper Extraordinaire, began hosting the “Getting Up with the Chickens” portion
    of the morning show with her father, she’s gained all sorts of unwanted attention.

    Noble’s Ark, the zoo that her father owns, is doing well, and Amanda’s life has become a steady stream of school,
    work at the zoo, and hanging out with her friends, Kyler and Roz, punctuated by the occasional perks of free movie
    passes and excused traffic tickets. Now that Amanda has broken up with Brandon, she’s again being pursued by the
    overbearingly beefcake Sebastian, and harassed by his spoiled twin sister, Sabrina.

    But Amanda’s own love life suddenly gets thrown to the back burner when she finds out that her dad is now dating
    someone, for the first time since Amanda’s mother passed away. For some reason, he seems determined to keep it a
    secret, and Amanda begins to suspect that even more is out of place with her father’s relationship with the slinky
    Sydney.

    Amanda pieces together that Sydney is pressuring her father into something he doesn’t want to do. Is his sudden
    interest in animal trafficking mere research for the piece that the TV station has asked for, or could it be related to this
    thing with Sydney? Hopefully, Amanda can find out and keep her dad out of trouble…and keep herself distracted
    from the new, arrogant guy at school who suddenly seems to be showing up everywhere.

    I absolutely adored the first Amanda Noble book, and the second one picks up right where the first left off. For
    anyone who loves a bit of real-life girl power complete with some edge-of-your-seat action, this is the series for you.