A fun frolicking read. Olive goes to a special boarding school in San Francisco and is soon paired up in a pod with 4 other kids to secretly fight crime. Each of the members of the Misfits has a particular set of skills. When a giant school fundraiser brings a wealthy woman wearing an extremely valuable necklace, it seems a certain setup to get the Bling King and his ring to attempt to steal the jewels.
Olive and the group are called into action to set things right and save their school. ( )

3.66 or 4⭐ ( )

this kept us guessing all the way to the end, and while we found much of it over the top, it was still really fun. ( )

Olive Cobin Zang has always slipped under the radar but problems have a knack for always finding her. But nothing would prepare her for the once prison, now turned to a reforming arts boarding school she’s dropped off at: RASCH. There, she’s lumped in with a team of four other kids whose goal is to fight crime.

Turns out, RASCH is in danger of closing. If Olive and The Misfits can stop the heist of the century, maybe she can stay at the school where she finally feels like she belongs.

One thing I want to make clear on this, is that I would not deem this as a graphic novel. It’s a novel with illustrations for sure, but not a graphic novel with pages full of panels; it’s mostly text. So hence my surprise when asked for the ARC, received it and opened it to find it mostly text. Now, it’s still a great story! And super fun and I can see a lot of kid enjoy the “being a spy” aspect

Other than that, I enjoyed the middle grade spy/crime fighting book. Was some of it completely out there - yes. But it totally reads like a fun movie - and the illustrations here and there help with the film in my head. For those kids that like page turning action, this will do it for you.

*Thank you Random House for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ( )

This is a lighthearted and funny mystery featuring a bunch of kids at a very special boarding school. The main character is Olive, whose parents drop her against her will at a "reforming arts" school, where students go through an unusual evaluation to determine their talents. It turns out that Olive's group is chosen because of their potential as crimefighters, and they quickly become embroiled is solving a jewelry heist. The fate of their school depends on them, and through their friendship and creative thinking they save the day. ( )