If you're here, that probably means you saw the website mentioned in my book City Spies Forbidden City. It also means that you're inquisitive and clever, just like the characters who make up the City Spies team. I wanted to put this site up to say thank you for anyone who enjoys the books well enough to check on the things mentioned in the stories. It means the world to me that you enjoy these characters and these books. If you want to find out more about City Spies or my other books, please visit JamesPonti.com. (You can click the book to go there.) But there are a few things here, including dossier profiles written by readers like you. Thanks!
James Ponti
Welcome to All Roads Lead to Audrey
My favorite City Spies character is definitely Paris. Paris is the backbone of the team, the leader, and is always calm and collected. He doesn’t lead every mission, but he is always there to turn to in a crisis. For the FARM, Paris is the leader because everyone feels confidence in him. He may be less spontaneous than Sydney, but he takes more risks than Kat. Overall, he’s more experienced and knows Mother well.
Paris is unique because he is not a singular skill sort of guy. While Brooklyn is a master hacker, and Rio a magician, Paris is just Paris. His character pairs well with others, from Rio’s food addiction to Brooklyn’s lack of experience. An inspiration to ordinary people, Paris proves that being clever and compassionate can be just as important as having one special ability.
- Charlie, age 13, New York
Brooklyn is the youngest member of the City Spies. She is super smart and is great at computer hacking.
One time, Brooklyn was able to hack into an astronaut’s computer just to tell her happy birthday while she was aboard the International Space Station. And she did all of this on an outdated laptop.
Brooklyn has a lot of talent for only being 12 years old. She was recruited by the City Spies in the Kings County Family Court in Brooklyn, New York. This is why everyone calls her Brooklyn.
She really loves reading graphic novels, just like both of us. She loves being able to sleep in, which is very relatable. However, she can’t do much of that anymore since she’s a spy. She’s fiercely loyal to those she loves and as sisters, we feel that way about each other so we really like that about her.
Sometimes she second guesses if she fits in or what others really think about her. As teen and preteen girls, we think about this a lot. It’s one of the things that makes her feel so real.
These are just a few of the reasons are why Brooklyn is our favorite City Spy.
- Ansleigh and Addi, Florida
Kat:
Kat is a small town girl from Monjo, Nepal. She was found by Mother and Monty at a UNICEF transitional learning center in Kathmandu. The city for why they call her Kat, short for Kathmandu.
Her original name is Amita Bishwakarma. Her cover name is Supriya Rai. She is 13 and is in 7th grade (S1 in Scotland). She lives at the FARM along with the other City Spies. She attends Kinloch Abbey. She is a wonderfully gifted mathematician and cryptographer! She loves to solve puzzles and hates if patterns are broken. For example if someone sits in the wrong chair for dinner it annoys her and they end up moving. She is brutally honest and not good at small talk. Some people find it rude but the City Spies (and me) like her the way she is. Plus just like Sydney said “If a bit of social awkwardness is what you need for those big brains it’s well worth it."
Kat is extremely caring and funny to all of the City Spies. Kat’s brilliance shines through the series and helps the City Spies to solve many important codes. Any opportunity she gets, she helps her old school in Nepal by donating money. That’s another sign of her golden heart. That’s it for now, if you want to learn more about my favorite character Kat read about her in the amazing City Spies series by Mr. Ponti.
-Shakthi, 6th Grader, Texas
Rio is one of the most relatable characters in a book I’ve ever read. He’s the type of kid to get a bad first impression of someone and hold a grudge against them, but he has a lot of redeemable qualities as well. His witty personality, ability to be impressed easily, and his prioritization for food over anything else kept me smiling throughout the series. When Rio gets over a grudge, he does his best to make up with the person who annoyed him, and it works—mostly. Overall, he’s a very fun character to read about and I hope I get to learn more about him in the third book!
- Chloe, age 16, New Jersey
Australia may have three sheep for every person, but Sydney doesn’t move along with the herd. The second oldest member of the City spies is known for her rebellious streak, from releasing frogs during church services, to building bombs.
Recruited for the City Spies at Wallangarra School for Girls in Australia, Sydney was a plague to the teachers and staff there. In fact, when she was recruited, Mother was pretending to be arresting her after she blew the head off of a statue of the school’s founder.
This isn’t just for fun, though. Sydney is driven by her moral compass and sense of justice, and if there’s something she can do to right the world’s wrongs, she’ll do anything to get it done, even if it means making explosives out of black market fireworks. Loyalty and honesty drive Sydney, and courage is never an issue for her. That’s why instead of being a sheep, Sydney is an alpha wolf.
- Elizabeth, 13 years old, Florida
