Spies as a Coming-of-Age Novel

"Spies" can be considered a coming-of-age novel because it shows the changes brought about by Stephen's growing up process. The spying adventure helps Stephen mature and move on to adulthood.

The most noticeable change that affects Stephen is related to the way in which he understands events.

Stephen´s hypotheses on what is going on in chapters 4 and 5

         All along the novel, Keith and Stephen create different hypotheses about the adult world and all the events they can´t understand. Sometimes, these hypotheses can be illogical and childish, but they can also help us construct our own theories of what is going on. As in a real investigation, the children gradually gather new pieces of information, which make their hypotheses transform. The evolution of these changes can be clearly seen in chapters 4 and 5.