Masterminds #2 - Criminal's Destiny

SPOILER ALERT - This is the second book of a series.  I strongly advise you to read the first book, and besides the first one is the best book of the series.  You can find the book talk here.

Our second book begins with our crew hanging out at the dormitory school in Colorado, but it doesn't take long for the Purple People Eaters to find them and the chase is on. They are on the run and learn that just telling the police will not solve their problems, but only expound them.  While one the run, our main character are faced with a dilemma - Should they break the law to try and survive, and if they do, does that stem from their DNA.  Are they becoming the criminals?  Can they escape their dreaded past?

There are many twists and turns, suspense, action, and excitement as they search for the truth, make their way back to Serenity, and even try to break someone out of jail.  And who could forget the agonizing question, "WHAT HAPPENED TO HECTOR?"  Many questions will be answered so make sure you don't miss book two in this thrilling series - Masterminds.

Masterminds

Kids, students, and life-long readers,

TEACHER ALERT - This is a great read aloud for class, and will keep the student guessing the entire time.  Great for predicting and characterization.

If you have read any of my blog posts, you know that Gordan Korman is one of my favorite authors.  When I first picked up this book, I knew nothing about it, but it is now part of my top ten list.

This story features five teenagers living in the town of Serenity - the happiest city in America.  All houses are the same with everything that children need from pools to basketball hoops in their driveway.  Some of our main characters love the life that Serenity offers, while others speak of leaving as soon as they can.  It won't take the reader long to see that this is not your ordinary town from the classes that are taught to the activities the children do.

The plot thickens when Eli is working on his computer and after an electrical surge is able to see the real internet.  American history that has been taught to him does not match.  The Boston Tea Party was not an actual tea party between the British and American to discuss their differences????  This is enough to lead Eli and crew to find the truth of Serenity and their lives.  There will be countless predictions and questions to keep you guessing the climactic reveal of their backstory.  And adventure and suspense will continue to build as they continue to take risk after risk to find the truth

Ungifted - Student

Slacker

Kids, students, and life-long readers,

One of my favorite authors, Gordon Korman, is back with a realistic fiction novel entitled, Slacker. Cameron is a 7th grade boy that has one love in his life - video games.  This slacker's life revolves around nothing but any type of electronic game from Clash of Clans to Rule the World.  But all this is about to change when his love of video games causes a fire in their house and broken down door.  His parents have had enough and it is time for Cameron to break out and interact more with real kids. Cameron has to join an extra-curricular club.

No problem for our main character and his two friends who create a fake school club to keep Mom and Dad happy.  And that is where the dominos start to fall.  The author introduces more and more characters who are tied to this fake club, and before Cameron knows what is happening, this fake club has a guidance counselor and a growing member list.  With no way to stop it PAG - Positive Action Group - starts to make a difference in the dying community but enemies start to arise that want to halt PAG's success and reveal Cameron for the slacker he is.

The chapters in this book will switch between many different characters, giving you many different viewpoints and opinions during the plot.  Just because this is a Realistic Fiction doesn't mean there aren't many questions that need answering and even some surprises at the end.

AUTHOR: Gordon Korman

GENRE: Realistic Fiction, Humor

GRADE LEVEL: 5-7