A Copycat Conundrum [Misfits]
by Lisa Yee; illus. by Dan Santat
Intermediate, Middle School    Random    288 pp.
1/25    9780593564226    $14.99
Library ed.    9780593564233    $17.99
e-book ed.    9780593564240    $8.99

In the first installment of this series (A Royal Conundrum, rev. 1/24), twelve-year-old Olive Cobin Zang arrived at the Reforming Arts School near San Francisco. Eventually, the lonely homebody found her place as part of a diverse group of friends who dubbed themselves the Misfits. Now, the Misfits—undercover operatives for the secret agency NOCK—are swept into a new mystery. Their classmate Zeke has been receiving threatening messages, and seemingly random events—e.g., earthquakes, a runaway cable car, bank robberies, the discovery of an old bunker under the school—turn out to be connected. Santat’s black-and-white illustrations (final art not seen) lend a visual element to Yee’s conversational prose. Despite its high-tech gadgetry, this is an old-fashioned adventure tale with a pleasingly complicated mystery and a tremendously likable cast of sleuths (and even some Miss Marple allusions). As this installment concludes, Olive runs off to join her friends on a new escapade. Back matter includes agent and gadget profiles.

From the March/April 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.