#james ponti

[winwin17]

If you are looking for more wholesome characters & interactions like Morrigan and Jupiter's in Nevermoor, I highly recommend the City Spies series by James Ponti. While it's not a fantasy series and it's set in the real world, there are plenty of exciting kid spy adventures and adopted-father-figure moments.

Basically, it's perfect for people like me who are

A) asexual and feel like romance clutters up stories

B) have daddy issues and need to devour all the wholesome father figure interactions

C) still want to read exciting stories where there are realistic and relatable characters

[littengamer909]

Mother, soon after being poisoned, kidnapped, held in an abandoned building, and repeatedly and violently interrogated: how can i theater kid my way out of this one

[yourtwistedlies]

NEW CITY SPIES BOOK COMING OUT FEBRUARY 6TH 2024 AHHH ITS CALLED MISSION MANHATTAN I LITERALLY CANNOT WAIT.

adjsjdnwjqkakdnejwnakfurbtoamdkwkajdndiwlanebefakejwbfuegwlaoaoodkdbeebdgshososnsbegavadqdwxspbhfiscbaefyqaedtwvchcujgntoypwjslforngw

[tongue-acid-spider-nymph]

started reading City Spies by James Ponti today. bought my copy from a Half Priced Books! I’m 84 pages in & it’s amazing, I didn’t know I could still feel that childlike joy of getting interested in a new book, but years after my reading phase, here we are! I’m glad to keep reading :)

[the-neverseen]

💖 KOTLC Book 9: Stellarlune Barnes & Nobel Virtual Tour Notes 💖

Shannon was wearing an elephant finger puppet that she bought at a portland airport on her way home that reminded her of Ella! ♥

She knew she wanted at least 10 books right from the start. She knew that writing about the rebellions and all the reasons they came to be, along with all the details about them, would take a long time to really flesh them out well.

After book 5 the series was popular enough that they basically said they would give her as many books as it –reasonably–  takes to finish the series!

Dialogue is one of her strong points due to her screenwriting background in college.

When Sophie had to leave and only got to take one thing, she choose Ella because it’s what Shannon herself would take. 🥺

One moment she wrote in Stellarlune has been in the works since 2008! She was going to add it earlier, but the time wasn’t right yet. 😮

She’s on the downhill part of writing the series, working hard to wrap up all the storylines that have happened throughout the books.

She doesn’t really outline so she had an editor help make one for books 8, 9 and 10 so that she could wrap everything up as smoothly as possible to make everyone happy.

THERE COULD BE A BOOK 11

If she needs to make book 10 into two parts then she will do so! ("I might have to walk back the "only one more book!" thing, oops!")

The Movie is still happening, just slowly as they are in the very early stages of making it. She mentioned that it could even turn into a tv show??

There was a zoom poll (Shannon's answers are in bold) sci-fi/fantasy, banshee/imp, elven desserts/gnome veggies, talentless/pyrotechnic, and throwing stars/sword (she said she has too bad of an aim for throwing stars lol)

Her writing advice this year is about finding your style and what you like and don’t like. She reads books she doesn’t like so that she can find the weaker points in her writing. Likewise, find inspiration in books that you love!

Her favorite things to write are humor and dialogue, and it’s why there is a lot of each in the keeper series!

From the Q&A:

Q: Will we ever get to see what The Great Gulon Incident was?

A: “Not in one of the books. It will be in a short story eventually.” She also hinted at an entire short story book. (She said since it has been a running topic throughout the series, she’s not sure how to write it in a way that wouldn’t feel underwhelming. “Sophie would just be like “...Okay.””)

Q: Did you know Fitzroy Avery Vacker rhymes with Ritz Savory Cracker when you named him? “Please tell me yes. Please I need to know”

A: Shannon, “No, I really didn’t.” James, “You should just say yes, I would.” 😂

Q: Are you working on any new stories yet?

A: She doesn’t have time to flesh any out until she’s done with Keeper, but she has a notebook full of shiny new story ideas.

Q: Team Sofitz or Team Sokeefe?

A: They talked about love triangles and how it’s something that whole swaths of fans get very dedicated about, and can shape how you write your series. How it turns into trying to appease fans instead of what the characters would want. Talked about Susan Collins’ experience with it as well.

Shannon said she always wants her characters to make the choices that seem right to them in the moment, so she is solidly team Sophie for now. “Maybe Sophie will say I don’t want any of you! Basically, I’m team Sophie.” (TEAM SOPHIE FOR THE WIN) James said he's still team Dex lol

BONUS: 

Elephant finger puppets sightings @ 6:20, 6:26, 6:35, 6:50, 6:52, 6:54, 6:58pm 🐘

Shannon and James' friendship was really sweet, and the event never had an awkward moment or silence! (Both of their first books came out on the same day, and he read the email he sent her that day!)

Emoji reactions constantly scrolled during the event, we sent many waves of hearts, one of "O" faces, and hands waving until they ended the zoom call!

Overall the event was a lot of fun, and went really smoothly!! Can't wait to get my hands on that lovely B&N edition!

[fishyupmywishy]

City Spies Sexuality Headcanons

Sydney is a lesbian. I will not be elaborating at the moment.

Brooklyn is bi. She just gives off bi vibes.

Paris is a gay man. He just is.

Rio is pansexual and trans. Pronouns He/they and also loves to wear Sydney’s old skirts.

Kat is pan-romantic asexual. Charlotte was the first person she told.

Charlotte is also bisexual. Her first and current crush is Kat. If you say I’m wrong I will personally hunt you down and explain to you in great detail why I am right.

[hollymbryan]

Blog Tour + #Review: CITY SPIES: CITY OF THE DEAD by James Ponti (w/ #giveaway)!

Welcome to Book-Keeping and my stop on the Rockstar Book Tours blog tour for the fourth installment in the City Spies series by James Ponti, City Spies: City of the Dead, which releases next Tuesday, 7 February! If you’ve followed my reviews before, you’ll know what a huge fan I am of this series, so I’m thrilled to tell you all about this latest installment. You can also find my review and a giveaway below!

About the Book

title: City Spies: City of the Dead author: James Ponti publisher: Aladdin release date: 7 February 2023

In this fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies go codebreaking in Cairo in another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls. Codename Kathmandu, better known as Kat, loves logic and order, has a favorite eight-digit number, and can spot a pattern from a mile away. So when a series of cyberattacks hits key locations in London while the spies are testing security for the British Museum, it’s clear that Kat’s skill for finding reason in what seems like randomness makes her the perfect candidate to lead the job. And while the team follows the deciphered messages to Egypt and the ancient City of the Dead to discover who is behind the attacks and why, Kat soon realizes that there’s another layer to the mystery. With more players, more clues, and involving higher levels of British Intelligence than ever before, this mission is one of the most complex that the group has faced to date. And it’s also going to bring about a change to the City Spies…

Add to Goodreads  Purchase the Book Check out the Book Trailer

Grab the rest of the City Spies books now!

About the Author

JAMES PONTI (he/him/his) is the New York Times bestselling author of three middle grade book series: City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award lists and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy– nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. 

Connect with James: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

My 5-Star Review

If you’ve followed my reviews for any length of time, you may know just how much I love this middle grade series. My son and I have both read them all (though he hasn’t yet gotten his hands on this latest one!), and we’ve also read, both separately and out loud together, Mr. Ponti’s Dead City series, which we also love. (He has also read the Framed! series, though I have not.) Naturally I was going to jump at the chance to read and review book four! (You can find my reviews of book one here and book two here.)

While I suppose you technically could read this as a standalone, I would highly recommend reading the first three books first -- you’ll get a much better feel for the characters, and they’re totally all worth reading! In each book, a different one of our “city spies” (their codenames are each the cities in which they were found) is the alpha, or leader, of the mission. In book four, it’s Kat’s turn, and she leads in several missions throughout the book, which take the spies from London to Berlin to, ultimately, Cairo and Luxor, Egypt. Kat has always been a favorite character of mine -- she has Asperger’s and is able to see patterns amid all the chaos of life. She’s truly brilliant and refreshingly honest and plain-spoken! The spies continue hot on the heels of Umbra in this installment, and there’s a surprise addition to the City Spies team that no one was expecting. I literally read the entire book in one sitting; I just couldn’t stop flipping the pages!

I highly, highly recommend this series for all middle grade readers (will be especially good for reluctant readers!), as well as anyone who just enjoys a good spy thriller (one appropriate for kids, of course). This installment continues the unbroken string of five-star reviews for each book in the series. And with *that ending*, I can’t wait to read book five!

Rating: 5 stars!

**Disclosure: I received a copy of the book from the publisher for purposes of this blog tour. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review of the book.

About the Giveaway

One (1) lucky winner will receive a finished copy of City Spies: City of the Dead by James Ponti! This one is US only and ends on 6 February 2023. Enter via the Rafflecopter below, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Blog Tour + James’ Tours

Here’s the schedule for this second and final week of the blog tour, as well as James’ schedule of tours for the book launch!

Blog Tour, Week Two:

1/30/2023 - Nerdophiles - Review 1/30/2023 - Eye-Rolling Demigod's Book Blog - Review/IG Post

1/31/2023 - Wanderingwitchreads - TikTok Review/IG Post 1/31/2023 - Review Thick And Thin - Review/IG Post

2/1/2023 - @ChristenKrumm - IG Review 2/1/2023 - Two Points of Interest - Review

2/2/2023 - Book-Keeping - Review/IG Post 2/2/2023 - @bookmama85 - IG Review

2/3/2023 - OneMoreExclamation - Review/IG Post 2/3/2023 - @froggyreadteach - IG Review

James’ launch tours:

Monday, February 7, 2023 at 6:00pm CT Virtual launch event hosted by Blue Willow Bookshop (Houston, TX) In conversation with Kelly Yang (author of NEW FROM HERE and FINALLY SEEN)

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 at 7:00pm ET In-person event hosted by Little Shop of Stories (Decatur, GA) In conversation with Laurel Snyder (author of ORPHAN ISLAND and CHARLIE & MOUSE)

Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 6:00pm ET In-person event hosted by Malaprop’s (Asheville, NC) In conversation with Alan Gratz (author of REFUGEE, GROUND ZERO, and TWO DEGREES)

Friday, February 10, 2023 at 5:00pm ET In-person event hosted by RJ Julia Booksellers (Madison, CT) In conversation with Lauren Tarshis (author of the I SURVIVED series)

Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 3:00pm ET In-person event hosted by Books of Wonder (New York, NY) In conversation with Sayantani DasGupta (author of THE FIRE QUEEN series), Chris Grabenstein (author of DOG SQUAD and THE SMARTEST KID IN THE UNIVERSE), and Karina Yan Glaser (author of THE VANDERBEEKERS series)

Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 2:00pm CT In-person event at St. Louis Public Library hosted by The Novel Neighbor (St. Louis, MO) In conversation with George Jreije (author of SHAD HADID AND THE ALCHEMISTS OF ALEXANDRIA)

Monday, February 13, 2023 at 7:00pm CT In-person event hosted by Wild Rumpus Books for Young Readers (Minneapolis, MN) In conversation with Jacqueline West (author of THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE and LONG LOST)

Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at 5:30pm ET In-person event hosted by Quail Ridge Books (Raleigh, NC) In conversation with Kwame Mbalia (author of the TRISTAN STRONG series)

Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 10:30am ET In-person event hosted by Politics & Prose (Washington, D.C.)

Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 2:00pm ET In-person event hosted by The International Spy Museum (Washington, D.C.)

Saturday, February 25, 2023 at 2:00pm ET In-person event hosted at Lake Highland Prep School hosted by Writer’s Block Bookstore (Orlando, FL) In conversation with Jerry Craft (author of NEW KID and CLASS ACT)

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Forbidden City | Author: James Ponti | Publisher: Aladdin (2022)

[diamond-doezend]

This is for all the book nerds out there. Go read the Dead City trilogy by James Ponti.

Dead City

Blue Moon

Dark Days

I promise you that these books are so good. The first one is at least. I still haven’t been able to find the other two. STILL!!! These books are so underrated and I need more people to know about them. They have a very Rick Riordan vibe to them, but with a paranormal twist instead of mythology.

[nobooksnotravel]

Place: Washington DC

Age range: 9+

Genre: juvenile fiction, mystery

Plot: Get to know the only kid on the FBI Director’s speed dial and several international criminals’ most wanted lists all because of his Theory of All Small Things in this hilarious start to a brand-new middle grade mystery series.

So you’re only halfway through your homework and the Director of the FBI keeps texting you for help…What do you do? Save your grade? Or save the country?

If you’re Florian Bates, you figure out a way to do both.

Florian is twelve years old and has just moved to Washington. He’s learning his way around using TOAST, which stands for the Theory of All Small Things. It’s a technique he invented to solve life’s little mysteries such as: where to sit on the on the first day of school, or which Chinese restaurant has the best eggrolls.

But when he teaches it to his new friend Margaret, they uncover a mystery that isn’t little. In fact, it’s HUGE, and it involves the National Gallery, the FBI, and a notorious crime syndicate known as EEL.

Can Florian decipher the clues and finish his homework in time to help the FBI solve the case?

Kirkus Reviews praised the “solid, realistic friendship bolstered by snappy dialogue,” and School Library Journal said “mystery buffs and fans of Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series are in for a treat.” (Taken from publisher)

[fuoridalcloro]

“Quanto può durare un amore impossibile? Un amore impossibile, che ha avuto anche solo un istante di possibilità, ma per qualche normalissimo e sadico, o assurdo e inevitabile motivo non può svolgersi, non può viversi, un amore che è ma non può esistere, un amore che non ci sarà mai tempo a scalfire, né abitudine a spegnere... Il guaio, meraviglioso e terribile guaio, è che basta anche solo un attimo per creare un ricordo, e ciò che sopravvive alla dimenticanza è destinato, o forse dovrei dire condannato, all'eternità. Un amore impossibile è possibile che resista a tutto, anche ad altri amori, perché lascia sempre intatto il desiderio che brilla nel ricordo, e nel ricordo si ama davvero, forse anche di più. Quanto può durare un impossibile? Un vero amore impossibile è per sempre.”

Robert James Waller - I ponti di Madison County

[thisisabernieblog]

Dangerous Ideas with Lee Camp.

Pro Israel mobs and the police state attack peaceful pro Palestinian protesters at UCLA, Lee is joined by Jay Ponti and James Fauntleroy discussing all things about Israel's ongoing genocide.

Cable news watchers are dumb as fuck according to polls.

US State Department announces human rights violations by Israeli troops, but standard policy is to keep sending weapons.

"'Vote Blue no matter who' they said, and then the who turned out to be a police state" - Edward Snowden.

Plus big news on the destruction of the NordStream pipelines (if you're subscribed to leecamp.locals.com)

Subscribe at leecamp.locals.com or leecamp.net.

[best-childhood-book]

[cutulisci]

Le dichiarazioni d’amore più belle della letteratura:

1. «Vorrei che tu venissi da me in una sera d’inverno e, stretti insieme dietro i vetri, guardando la solitudine delle strade buie e gelate, ricordassimo gli inverni delle favole, dove si visse insieme senza saperlo.»

Dino Buzzati - La boutique del mistero

2. «Non sono sicuro di averti dentro di me, né di essere dentro di te, e neppure di possederti. E in ogni caso, non è al possesso che aspiro. Credo invece che siamo entrambi dentro un altro essere, che abbiamo creato e che si chiama Noi.»

Robert James Waller - I ponti di Madison County

3. «Tu sei veramente una fiamma che scalda ma bisogna proteggere dal vento. A volte non so se un mio gesto tende a scaldarmi o a proteggerti. Allora m’immagino di fare le due cose insieme, e questa è tutta la mia e la tua tenerezza come una cosa sola.»

Cesare Pavese a Bianca Garufi

4. «E senza di te io sono lontana 

non so dire da cosa ma lontana, scomoda un poco perduta, come malata, un po’ sporco il mondo lontano da te, più nemico, che punge, che graffia, sta fuori misura.»

Mariangela Gualtieri - Il mondo che graffia, se non sei accanto a me

5. «Scese, evitando di guardarla a lungo, come si fa col sole, ma vedeva lei, come si vede il sole, anche senza guardare.»

Lev Tolstoj - Anna Karenina

6. «Ho lottato invano. Non c’è rimedio. Non sono in grado di reprimere i miei sentimenti. Lasciate che vi dica con quanto ardore io vi ammiri e vi ami.»

Jane Austen - Orgoglio e pregiudizio

7. «Se tu ti ricordi di me, allora non importa se tutto il mondo mi dimentica.»

Haruki Murakami - Kafka sulla spiaggia

8. «Saremo felici o saremo tristi, che importa? Saremo l’uno accanto all’altra. E questo deve essere, questo è l’essenziale.»

Gabriele D’Annunzio

9. «Ti amo, cara Connie, di questa parola so tutto il peso – l’orrore e la meraviglia – eppure te la dico, quasi con tranquillità. L’ho usata così poco nella mia vita, e così male, che è come nuova per me.»

Cesare Pavese a Constance Dowling

10. «Per qualche motivo che ignoro mi piaci moltissimo. Molto, niente di irragionevole, direi quel poco che basta a far si che di notte, da solo, mi svegli e non riuscendo a riaddormentarmi, inizi a sognarti.»

Franz Kafka - Lettere a Milena

11. «Sei entrata per caso in una vita di cui non andavo fiero, e da quel giorno qualcosa ha cominciato a cambiare. Prima di te, fuori di te, non aderivo a nulla. Quella forza per cui ogni tanto mi prendevi in giro è sempre stata solo una forza solitaria, una forza di rifiuto. Con te ho accettato più cose. Ho imparato a vivere, in un certo senso. Per questo forse il mio amore è sempre stato pervaso da una gratitudine immensa.»

Albert Camus a Maria Casarès

12. «Ho sceso, dandoti il braccio, almeno un milione di scale e ora che non ci sei è il vuoto ad ogni gradino.»

Eugenio Montale

- https://x.com/poesiaitalia/status/1692772938200539376?s=46&t=34dYe_n2Br4FRHOah3j69Q -

[needlesandnilbogs]

Notes on City Spies: Mission Manhattan

(copied from discord by way of blogspot)

P4: Kat is in fact 14 now.

P6 Sydney or Paris is 16. Also ily kat.

P8 awwwww Rio making a friend p11 lol mood

P12 oooh oh dear

P23 PERSON IN GLOBE?????

P33 ooh new motherism we love. Also I bet the bomb is in the tiara.

P37 and this dude would be in on it.

P53 another very Murderbot line.

P62 CAIRO NOOOOOO

P67 awwww, Rio has such a big heart I love him

P69 any time they play tourists things go wrong. Just saying.

P70 lol he named this lady after his editor

P76 lol James PONTI and the PONTE, hmmmm? Also I love kat so much

P78 clemmie?

P86 wait clemmie and mother never officially divorced? DUDE

P103 I LOVE BROOKLYN SO MUCH

P104-5 I LOVE KAT TOO MAYBE MORE THAN BROOKLYN

P106 TRU AND C ARE FRIENDS??????

P108 very diplomatic, Ponti.

P110 oh boy. Gertie, huh???

P114 tru is grandma now. Also fic this story

P130 lol that's such a sibling moment I'm love

P133 yes Monty, this is about the haggis (alas this means Monty doesn't keep kosher or else they get kosher haggis) (wait, is kat vegetarian? Look for textual support for this)

P136 oh dear... this is not going to lead to PROBLEMS, is it?

P139 awwwwwwwww

P145 awww more support for my brooklyn&beny family fics

P168 oh NICE ONE PARIS SO PROUD

P175 oh no the clemmie sads but also MONTY CALLED MOTHER CAIRO'S DAD TO ALL THEIR FACES IT'S PROGRESS

P186 note to self Brooklyn, beny, kat pov of that missing scene

P192 FINALLY RIO RECRUITMENT

P207 RIO I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

P224 oh boy

P233 YESSSS KAT

P244 Rio I love you so much

P246 yet again the nautilus shows up

P271 OH NO I HOPE EVERYONES OKAY

P316 oh nooooo

P318 it has been 13 months since start of book 1

P323 awww at least he's being honest about it?

P326 nooooo!!!

P330 patience and fortitude.... yesssssssss paciencia y fortaleza

P344 I love when the adults have fun with things and also when Monty's just like yeah there's the confident kids I'm raising, tell me what's going on, and SHES PROUD OF PARIS AAAAAA

P353 I love you Sydney

P372 OH THERES THAT LINE I LOVE U RIO

P379 YESS YES YES STACKS FTW THEY SAVED THE DAY WITH LIBRARY POWER

P381 YESSSS REAL NAME THIS GIRL

P384 "kat, you're incredible" "I get that a lot" LOVE LOVE LOVE ON ALL PARTS AND IM SO PROUD OF MY GIRLIE

p389 lolllll Mrs. G best new character now

P394 I LOVE YOU BEATRIZ

P399 lol C ily

P406 ohhhh clemmie. Oh boy. Well, that's a sequel hook. (not evil au when)

Team eval notes: awwwww Cairo's getting to know them!!! I need to write this scarab in universe fic tho. Also!!! Kat being kind with primes!!!!!!!

DONE I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE. Total time 2hrs 5 min.

I also wish to make clear that I have about half of that missing scene written and it is eventually going to make it to ao3

[yourtwistedlies]

Comfort piece of media (movie, show, book, etc) and why?

for a book, i’d have to say tlt by uncle rick, vanished! by james ponti, or literally re-reading nightfall by shannon messenger like every single day 😭😭 all of them because they’re just so nostalgic and every time i read like, tlt or smth i feel like im in middle school trying to finish the book before my sports practice 😭😭😭😭😭😭

basically a comfort book for me is a book i obsessed over in middle school (w/ some exceptions) lmao

a movie though.. a muppets christmas carol or daddy day care or smth?? i don’t really have one but i do like those 2000’s and early 2010’s comedy movies and what not

also sam and cat :D i used to love that freaking show