Also Known As Books in Order

Robin Benway's Also Known As books take a familiar teen problem, figuring out who you are, and wrap it in a spy story with safes, secret files, and a lot of quick thinking. At the center is Maggie Silver, a teenage safecracker who has grown up working alongside her international-spy parents. She can handle codes and covert missions. What she has much less practice with is staying in one place long enough to make real friends.

That is what gives the series its hook. In Also Known As, Maggie's first solo assignment sends her into a New York private school, where blending in is somehow harder than breaking into things. She has to get close to Jesse Oliver, the son of a man tied to her mission, while also trying not to blow her cover. Along the way she meets Roux, who becomes one of the best parts of the series, a sharp, funny friend who keeps the books grounded even when the plot gets bigger.

This is a spy series that never forgets high school can feel like enemy territory.

New York matters here. For Maggie, it is not just another stop on the map. It is a chance to imagine a steadier life, with the same school, the same friends, and maybe even the same boy for more than a few weeks. Benway gets a lot of mileage out of that tension. Maggie is excellent at cracking safes because she has been trained for it since childhood. Being honest, trusting people, and deciding what kind of normal life she wants, that is the harder job.

In Going Rogue, the story widens without losing the core cast. Maggie has Jesse and Roux in her life now, which means the spy world no longer feels safely separated from the personal one. When her parents are accused of a serious theft, Maggie has to clear their names, and the danger stops being theoretical in a hurry. The action moves from Manhattan to Paris, but the real tension comes from loyalty, secrecy, and the cost of letting people close.

The tone stays light on its feet, even when the stakes rise. These books are fast, funny, and romantic in a very readable YA way, but there is also a warm family thread running through them. Maggie's parents are part of the story, not just offstage adults, and the series keeps asking whether a girl raised for deception can build something honest with the people she loves.

If you want a teen spy setup with banter, crushes, and a heroine who is competent without feeling untouchable, this is what to expect from Also Known As and Going Rogue.