City Spies

The group of children and two adults that makes up the City Spies is its own unique type of family. Each of the people within it either lost their family or didn’t have one, and they come together to support, guide, and love one another. Although they have their conflicts akin to family squabbles, they each accept one another for who they are. Each person assumes a role within the family as well, with Mother acting as the leader and emotional rock, Monty as the adult female influence, and the children each as their own supporting role. Paris is the oldest child and adopts an older brother role in the group. He goes from being a lone refugee living in an abandoned factory to part of a loving unit. When Mother loses his family, seemingly to Umbra’s influence, he spends years searching for his children. Along the way, he meets and adopts each of the five children that now live with him at the FARM. When each child joins, they change their name to signify their place of origin and symbolize their initiation into the family. Sara becomes Brooklyn, and this decision sends her on a path of growth, overcoming challenges, and developing deep bonds. By the time the mystery of Le Fantôme is solved, Brooklyn feels fully accepted and integrated as a member of the City Spies family. To express this shift, she gifts her snow globe to Mother, stating, “I don’t need it anymore […] I found my family” (367).

The unconventional nature of the family that makes up the City Spies is a demonstration of how Ponti’s characters challenge norms around family. While a stereotypical family unit would be composed of parents and children of the same bloodline, the City Spies illustrate that a family is much more than blood. It is instead a feeling that one gets when surrounded by people who work together, care for one another, and accept each other’s flaws and foibles. The City Spies each bring their own histories, experiences, and quirks to the group, and each is in their own way an essential part of an interconnected web. Rather than the diversity amongst the group becoming its downfall, it acts as the defining strength and reason for their success.

Concepts of crime and justice are presented as philosophical questions and moral gray areas in Ponti’s City Spies. The very nature of spy work demands an ability to see through the black-and-white definitions of crime and legal activity and do what is necessary to protect others, improve quality of life, and fight for justice. Questions of how justice and crime are defined are posed early on, as in the novel’s exposition Brooklyn explains how she was deemed a criminal and not her foster parents. Brooklyn does technically break the law by hacking the juvenile justice system but does so in an effort to save herself and many other children from an abusive situation. Mother recognizes the nuance in Brooklyn’s actions, as he often breaks the law on behalf of justice and finding his own children. He steals identification and lies and manipulates others; at a glance, all of this appears to make him a villain. On the contrary, Mother is one of many multi-faceted heroes in the novel.

When Brooklyn and Sydney break into the foster home to retrieve Brooklyn’s shoebox, Sydney tells Brooklyn, “This is what justice feels like. This is what we’re all about” (50). Brooklyn is overwhelmed with joy and confusion, as it seems she has finally found people who view the world the way she does. Sydney is a pinnacle of justice and is discovered unintentionally by Mother when she destroys the statue of a racist headmistress at her school. Sydney states the nature of justice clearly: “You don’t have to be part of a group to understand that they’re being mistreated […] Justice doesn’t require a membership. Just a sense of right and wrong” (132). This is something that each member of City Spies possesses and is one of their core values as a unit. It is also the reason why Charlotte was asked to leave the team after it was discovered she was using her hacking skills to steal money. Mother clarifies that stealing for the sake of greed is not a value held by the group. Charlotte eventually realizes her wrongdoings and apologizes for her betrayal. The shared values of justice among the members of the City Spies are what solidify them as a unit and inspires them to sacrifice time, energy, and their own safety to save others. The contrast between the City Spies’ altruistic intentions and the sinister greed of Le Fantôme illustrates how intent and outcome influence the judgment of an act as moral or immoral.