I really liked the themes of family, friendship, and belonging. The main characters have lost their parents in some way or another. (Question: how did Constance Contraire was an orphan? I can't remember.) So in some ways, this book explores how the children make connections with each other and how they learn to trust each other on their top-secret mission.
I just loved the many different, zany characters. For some reason I thought that S.Q. was a spy all along. He was a bumbling, kind of spacey character who worked for the bad guys, but he was endearing in a way. And perhaps he do learn about his past in the later books. He just seems too nice of a guy to really be bad. Constance was a riot. Mr. Benedict was weird at first, but I grew to like him. Mr. Curtain was such a great bad guy, driving around in his wheelchair. Milligan was a secret favorite, even though he was depressed for most of the book.
This book is a nice fun read. I'll probably read the other books in the series . . . when I have time. :)
