Bayport High’s Varsity cheer squad is made up of the hottest of the hot. But this A-list is dangerous in more ways than one. The Squad is act...
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May 12, 2008
Jennifer
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Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com
Toby hates cheerleaders. She could care less about the God Squad, the most popular girls in school.
Then she finds two coded messages in her locker inviting her to try out for the squad. At first she thinks these messages are a joke, but then curiosity gets the better of her.
The first meeting is just an introduction to the squad, without practicing. At 5:30 the next morning, she attends her first practice. Toby More...
Toby hates cheerleaders. She could care less about the God Squad, the most popular girls in school.
Then she finds two coded messages in her locker inviting her to try out for the squad. At first she thinks these messages are a joke, but then curiosity gets the better of her.
The first meeting is just an introduction to the squad, without practicing. At 5:30 the next morning, she attends her first practice. Toby More...
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Dec 23, 2008
Becky
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If you'd told me at the beginning of sophomore year that I was going to end up a government operative, I would have thought you were crazy, but if you'd told me I was destined to become a cheerleader, I would have had you committed, no questions asked. At that point in time, there were three things in life that I knew for certain: 1)I was a girl who'd never met a site she couldn't hack or a code she couldn't break, 2) I had a roundhouse that could put a grown man in the hospital, and 3) I w More...
Jul 09, 2010
Hannah
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Ah, this book was so cool! Jennifer Lynn Barnes is one of many authors on my "love" list, and for a good reason. Sophomore Toby Klein, our protagonist who's also an exceptional hacker, is the social pariah of Bayport High. (I personally think she's awesome, but I guess Bayport's students don't appreciate combat boots as I do.) Considering Toby's so unpopular, how does she get on the varsity cheer squad? Well, the squad is actually a cover for a group of underage government operatives a
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Apr 30, 2010
Jilian
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originally posted at curledupkids.com
The last thing Toby Klein ever wants to be compared to is a cheerleader. She’s nothing like them – they do roundoffs and back flips; she does roundhouses and Jujitsu. Cheerleaders like skirts and body glitter, and Toby is more of a combat boots and black pants kind of a girl. So why is she getting notes in her locker from the cheerleading squad – scribbled in purple glitter ink, no less – demanding she attend a recruiting meeting after school? Whe More...
The last thing Toby Klein ever wants to be compared to is a cheerleader. She’s nothing like them – they do roundoffs and back flips; she does roundhouses and Jujitsu. Cheerleaders like skirts and body glitter, and Toby is more of a combat boots and black pants kind of a girl. So why is she getting notes in her locker from the cheerleading squad – scribbled in purple glitter ink, no less – demanding she attend a recruiting meeting after school? Whe More...
Feb 12, 2010
Arya
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Toby is NOT cheerleader material. . .so when she is sent an invite to the elite cheerleading tryouts she is understandably suspicious. She is not going to become one of those girls even if they have some silly notion that she might make a good pom-pom waving cheerleader. . .and then she finds the message, encoded into the invite:
Come Alone
Toby is intruiged, obviously cheerleaders are not smart enough to encode a message! So who is trying to embarass her? Then she gets More...
Come Alone
Toby is intruiged, obviously cheerleaders are not smart enough to encode a message! So who is trying to embarass her? Then she gets More...
Aug 11, 2009
Emily
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High school sophomore Toby Klein is not exactly cheerleader material. She wears combat boots, is a third degree black belt, and spends her spare time hacking into very secure computer systems. So when “the God squad,” as they are frequently referred to, sends her coded notes inviting her to try out, Toby is bewildered and curious, but has no intention of wearing a short skirt and sporting pom-poms. Then she learns that The Squad is a top-secret government program that trains and uses the girl
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Aug 03, 2009
Reggie
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This book was a TEN on the twists and turns scale. The ending was so unexpected. I thought I knew what was going to happen but I was wrong.
I couldn't help but notice it's kind of similar to The Specialists Series. In both books, each person on the team has a special skill. And it's kind of ironic how both series are in the perspective of a computer whiz.
I loved the characterization of Toby. She's sassy, sarcastic, and smart. But the zero to hero thing is a little unrealistic. More...
I couldn't help but notice it's kind of similar to The Specialists Series. In both books, each person on the team has a special skill. And it's kind of ironic how both series are in the perspective of a computer whiz.
I loved the characterization of Toby. She's sassy, sarcastic, and smart. But the zero to hero thing is a little unrealistic. More...
May 01, 2011
Danna
rated it:
Sometimes there is nothing more entertaining than a good YA novel. The Squad: Perfect Cover was a page-turner that I finished in a day, filled with adventure, excitement, and surprises. Toby Klein, social outcast and computer-hacker is shocked to find herself being hounded as a Bayport High Varsity cheerleader recruit. It turns out that the squad of vapid and clueless, popular, pretty girls is actually a government operative training to be CIA agents. Using bulletproof bras, bubble gum bombs
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Jun 25, 2008
Ashley
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What a book! I seriously just picked it up at Walmart before our beach trip, and I was thoroughly impressed. I have a huge respect for cheerleaders, so how do you think reading about high school cheerleaders as clever, beautiful world-saving spies went over for me? Yes, really well. And another plus, I was laughing out loud about every second page, and I had a huge grin on my face the entire book.
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Jul 13, 2011
Cheryl
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Who knew I would enjoy a book that had cheerleaders in the backdrop? I am so much like Toby, sarcasm and all, that it was like reading an biography of myself, well minus the cheerleading and the secret agent parts, maybe. I am the smart-mouthed techie! Too hilarious. It was like she was reading my mind. I was laughing out loud throughout most of the book. I stayed away from the popular crowd in high school and in college until my last year when I decided it was time to grace them with my presenc
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Feb 01, 2008
Hollie
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A new fresh idea for teenage fiction. CIA meets high school cheerleading. Reminded me a little bit of the movie "Cody Banks" but from a cheerleader's perspective. I could have done without the language, but overall I thought it was a very interesting book.
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Nov 06, 2011
Nicci
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I do not even remember exactly how I stumbled across this, but I remember being completely intrigued by the summary. I am a complete sucker for a good spy story, especially in YA. This sounded like it was fun, so I decided to get it through inter-library loan at my library.
Toby was a fabulous narrator from the beginning. Tough, snarky, and always protecting her hilarious younger brother, she stole my heart from the first page. Her tone is very sarcastic, but at the same time her hea More...
Toby was a fabulous narrator from the beginning. Tough, snarky, and always protecting her hilarious younger brother, she stole my heart from the first page. Her tone is very sarcastic, but at the same time her hea More...
Feb 10, 2011
Stephanie
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Toby Klein is a sixteen year old girl attending Bayport High. She's a rebel, fierce, brave and a social outcast. She starts to receive some encrypted messages from the popular Varsity Cheerleading Squad about upcoming try-outs. What do the cheerleaders want with her? She just wants to melt into the background and protect her little brother, Noah, from school bullies. Well, after some curiosity that Toby has surrounding the mysterious notes, she decides to go to the try-outs just because it
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Sep 25, 2009
stephanie
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this was light-hearted and fun. better than reading the second book - i once again love reading things in order! sigh. i wish i had this time. stinking library not having this one.
toby is still fun, but toby turns out definitely not be my favorite. lucy rocks. i love lucy and the twins and zee and brooke and chloe and bubbles . . . i wish we saw more of april.
it's a lot of fun, and it definitely takes the "cheerleaders are dumb" stereotype and turns it on its More...
toby is still fun, but toby turns out definitely not be my favorite. lucy rocks. i love lucy and the twins and zee and brooke and chloe and bubbles . . . i wish we saw more of april.
it's a lot of fun, and it definitely takes the "cheerleaders are dumb" stereotype and turns it on its More...
Oct 02, 2011
Stacy
rated it: 
Perhaps I would have liked this book more if I hadn't read the Gallagher Girls series (Ally Carter.)
Similar idea - high school girls training to be secret agents. Except that in this book, it's all about perfection. Perfect hair, perfect accessories, perfect make up, perfect wardrobe. Complete makeovers and everything pink. Pulling off missions by flaunting their bodies and flirting. Cheerleaders are untouchable - head of the social hierarchy, vice principal obeying their every whim, More...
Similar idea - high school girls training to be secret agents. Except that in this book, it's all about perfection. Perfect hair, perfect accessories, perfect make up, perfect wardrobe. Complete makeovers and everything pink. Pulling off missions by flaunting their bodies and flirting. Cheerleaders are untouchable - head of the social hierarchy, vice principal obeying their every whim, More...
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Sep 25, 2008
Nian
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Toby Klein’s world turns upside down when she is asked to join the cheerleading—in a secret code, too! Toby is sure she’s made a mistake: cheerleaders are the least likely of people to be writing messages in codes. But she’s wrong. They’re not just cheerleaders—they’re working undercover for the government, training to be a CIA agent and going on life-or-death missions. They’re the perfect cover, because who would expect a group of ditzy blondes to be skilled in using weapons of mass destruction
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Oct 02, 2008
Sara
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I liked this book a lot. The concept is so cool: High school cheerleaders are really government agents and they make the perfect spies because no one would ever suspect a ditzy, peppy, popular cheerleader of being smart enough to do anything. Of course, the way everything unfolds is completely far-fetched because there's virtually no training involved, etc., but hey, I'll suspend my disbelief in favor of entertainment!
The whole book takes place over the span of only a few days, but More...
The whole book takes place over the span of only a few days, but More...
May 12, 2008
Caitlín
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At first this book was fun, but then the characters' constant predictable comments and reactions became rather tiresome. All of them had a personality difference from the others to make them distinct, but the author must think we have five-second memory and so must remind us that fact every time a character spoke. For instance, there's Brooke, the Squad leader, who is in charge all the time; Zee, an extremely-early high school grad with a PhD who can analyze anything; Chloe, who is second in com
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Apr 20, 2011
Jamie
rated it:
So. Remember how I have a problem with telling? Yeah... I got really annoyed with Toby telling me how sarcastic she was, instead of just being sarcastic. In fact, I wanted to create a drinking game, wherein I did a shot every time she refrained from making a sarcastic comment. (Of course, she never said what the sarcastic thing she didn't say was.) Alas, I don't drink.
My other hangup was pretty basic: I didn't believe it. I couldn't suspend my disbelief. Seriously? A bunch of cheerlead More...
My other hangup was pretty basic: I didn't believe it. I couldn't suspend my disbelief. Seriously? A bunch of cheerlead More...
Jan 02, 2010
Abby
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Alias meets Bring It On in this great, funny novel about cheerleader espionage. Toby is surprised when she gets a note in her locker inviting her to try out for the varsity cheerleading squad. She'd think it was a joke except that there's a code hidden inside the note. And hacker Toby is just too intrigued to ignore it. Suddenly Toby is caught up in a world she couldn't have imagined... the varsity cheerleaders at Bayport High are actually a group of highly trained spies and they want her to joi
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Aug 03, 2011
Louisse
rated it:
I first discovered The Squad at Ally Carter's blog and I decided to read them. As you can see from the title it's a spy book and I love spy books. I'm a huge fan of Ally Carter and I enjoyed this book. I love how the cheerleaders are spies and how secretive they are. I especially love the romance, adorable! Jennifer Lynn Barnes takes you to a new level of sisterhood. I enjoyed this book and I'm sure you will too.
Nov 20, 2010
Tweller83
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"High school sophomore Toby Klein enjoys computer hacking and wearing combat boots, so she thinks it is a joke when she is invited to join the cheerleading squad. She soon learns cheering is just a cover for an elite group of government operatives known as the Squad."
Fun, chick lit. Nothing in it to keep it from middle school. Kissing is the most sexual content and drinking is discussed but no one in the book actually partakes. Lots of discussion of breasts and butts, but n More...
Fun, chick lit. Nothing in it to keep it from middle school. Kissing is the most sexual content and drinking is discussed but no one in the book actually partakes. Lots of discussion of breasts and butts, but n More...
Jan 12, 2010
Jodysegal
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I stumbled across these in the wrong sequence- so I just read the first in the series. Still fun, kick-ass, and smart. In this first novel, Toby Klein goes from being a high school misfit who hacks into government computers and uses her killer tae kwon do to defend her brother from jocks to becoming an overnight cheerleading sensation/ government secret agent. This high school is not boring.
Apr 05, 2011
Wendela23
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 06, 2010
Suzanne
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This was a silly, fun book about high school cheerleaders who are CIA-tyoe agents undercover. It kind of reminds me of the Pollifax novels (only not an old lady!) My students are getting a big kick (no pun intended) out of these once I tell them they do not have to be a cheerleader to love these. In fact the main character is about as un-cheerleader like as it comes.
Sep 18, 2011
Sarah
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Misfit girl is recruited to join the exclusive cheerleading squad which turns out to be a cover for secret CIA operatives. Interesting concept and look at people's perceptions of young women, but it just begins to scratch the surface of these conversations. It's a series, so maybe it goes deeper in future books? Review forthcoming on slatebreakers.com
Apr 16, 2011
Writerlibrarian
rated it:
Not so bad. It really could have been awful. It wasn't. More for the 11-13 young girls crowd. The characters are interesting and the author does try to go beyond the Charlie angels cheerleaders cliche. This is one series I don't have problems getting for the library. Evaluating the series was the main reason for reading this.
Apr 28, 2010
Amethystprincess
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I love this book, I had once read the book maybe when I had first gotten it, but my goal before I send any book off using paperback swap is to re-read or read it for the first time and that is what I did with this book. You can read my full review of the book at my blog post here:
The Squad: Perfect Cover
I hope taht if you do read it or come across it you enjoy it as much as I did.
The Squad: Perfect Cover
I hope taht if you do read it or come across it you enjoy it as much as I did.
Sep 30, 2011
Grace
rated it:
I thought this book was pretty good. It was really funny and although it was a little unrealistic, it wasn't hard to believe, if that makes any sense. I am a very big Gallagher Girls Series fan and thought this was along the same lines as them. I would definitely recommend it.
