Wednesday, September 16, 2015

BOOK REVIEW: MASTERMINDS


MASTERMINDS
Gordon Korman
Harper Collins
2015

Available: Hardcover, paperback

   Five kids. Five viewpoints.
   Serenity, New Mexico is the perfect community, crime-free and peaceful. Everyone's parents are employed. Every backyard has a pool. The small community and has a small school. There are only thirty kids and for the most part they all get along. This isn't to say don't have best friends, but in a town where honesty and personal integrity are held in the highest esteem, it seems that the kids are almost as perfect as their perfect parents. That is until
Eli's best friend Randy is banished and sent to a private boarding school. All because he talked Eli into riding his bike past the town limits. Randy's parting words to Eli is that something screwy is going on. Without Randy to hang with, Eli finds himself teaming up with a new group of friends. Together they come to suspect the adults in town have a secret and the kids decide to investigate. What they find out is unbelievable.
    This was a highly entertaining book, told from five kids' viewpoints. Although the voices aren't radically different, their prospective on what is happening is. The clues are well paced and the kids likable. The action and suspense are great. Can't say more as it would spoil the read. As soon as I finished the book I immediately logged on-line to see if I could get the second book in the series. Unfortunately it's not out yet.

Target audience: Grades 7-9
Mystery / Suspense: Excellent
Kid appeal: Great

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