A Goodreads user asked Stuart Gibbs:

Hi Mr Gibbs, I was wondering if there will be any representation of BIPOC or the LGBTQ community in Spy School? I know that Jawa has many ethnicities, but other than that, there aren't BIPOC in your books.& I totally see Jawa and Chip getting together, and I see Zoe as bi. I'm not criticizing, I love Spy School, but I think it could use some more diversity and I just want to know your plans for future books. - Louisa

Stuart Gibbs First of all, who says Jawa is the only representation of BIPOC in SS? I never say what the ethnic background of any character is except Jawa, and that's only because his is so complicated.

Secondly, while I recognize that I have heterosexual crushes in SS, most of the characters in that series are quite young, and so, it doesn't make sense to say what everyone's sexual orientation is if it doesn't factor into the story. While I do want to represent diversity, I also don't want to declare that a character is LGBTQ simply to do it.

That said, I have revealed characters to be LBGTQ in my other series.

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