Imagine if you were whisked away from your normal life and were enrolled in an elite CIA spy school without a choice. This is what happened to Ben Ripley, an average twelve year old who gets his big break in the world of espionage. In Spy School, a novel set in Washington, D.C., Ben Ripley gets the opportunity of a lifetime when the CIA offers him a scholarship to an elite spy school, but this big break throws him into the daily life of a spy, and he struggles to stay alive. In Spy School, the author shows the similarities and differences between Ben and Erica, another student at Spy School. In Spy School, Ben and Erica show some differences with the way they handle pressure. For example, at one point in the story, Ben shows that he is brave but doesn’t know it yet. For example, Ben states “”I gulped. “I’ve been here five minutes and I already have to face an entire platoon of enemy commandos?”(18-19). This excerpt from the text shows that he is scared, but he will persevere and won’t back out of his problem. That trait shows his real bravery. On the other hand, Erica is very cool and collected in the heat of a battle and she knows it. For example, Ben states, “But perhaps the most attractive thing about her was how calm and confident she was in the midst of a battle”(18-19). Ben exemplifies Erica’s confidence on the battlefield in this statement. He shows this by saying the words “Calm and confident”. Also, this statement by Ben shows the differences of their actions on