Criminal Destiny Masterminds Book 2 by Gordon Korman

The first installment ended on a cliff hanger - actually they had driven over a cliff as the five, now four, kids managed their escape from Serenity. Today I read the second book in this series all in one gulp. I thoroughly enjoyed the premise and roller coaster ride of the first book but for my taste the second spent a bit too much time on recapping book one. 

I do agree with Kirkus who said of book two: Oddly paced with little payoff, this sequel falls victim to middle-volume slump.

Later this week I will dip into book three and hope all of the crazy parts of this story are somehow resolved.

So, what has happened here. Some crazy scientists masquerading as parents have set up a perfect small town. Four of the kids have discovered the truth that they are actually clones and these people are not their parents and the kids themselves ARE the experiment. What is this experiment? Is criminality inherited or acquired? These kids are clones of very dangerous criminals. The town that has been raising them has kept them completely sheltered from the outside world. Even the sports they play have been selected because they don't contain violence. All internet information is also censored.

The kids have escaped after hatching an elaborate plan - they are all criminal masterminds after all. Now they need to expose what has happened AND try to secure the release of the other kids. They decide to track down the other scientist who was part of this project but pulled out. She is a mega rich lady living several hundred miles away. They do reach her, but she won't help although luckily she does give them some money. Next the kids decide to track down one of the criminals. In a crazy scene they head back to Serenity, discover it is deserted, the find a list of their clone 'parents' in the trashed factory and set off again in another stolen car - yes I told you these kids have criminal skills even though they are only 14. 

They do find the jail, they do find the prisoner, they also find their friend Hector who they thought had died during their original getaway but of course in this roller coaster thriller nothing goes completely to plan. AND yes book two ends on another cliff hanger although this time it is not a cliff thank goodness. You can see the ending of book two from the scene on the cover!

Read more here on the author page. Here is the trailer:

This series is great for the phase between reading middle grade and young adult, so if you're a fifth, sixth, or seventh grade, this will be very enjoyable.  Ponderings of a bibliophile

Cat-and-mouse chase scenes deliver the thrills as the kids try to keep half a step ahead of their pursuers, while the sheltered escapees’ rude introduction to the outside world is rife with comedic confusion, from discovering the joy of junk food to untangling the mysteries of idiom. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Masterminds by Gordon Korman

Korman is awesome. This book was not only exciting, but thought provoking as well. 

Definitely buying a copy and waiting avidly for the sequel! Ms Yingling

This town is very small. The parents either work at the plastics factory or work in the town as the teacher, doctor, mayor or as shopkeepers. The other group of men are security guards called the Surety. The kids call them Purple People Eaters.

As the story opens one of the kids named Randy convinces Eli (his father is the local doctor) to travel outside the town perimeter but as they reach the edge of town Eli becomes very unwell. Helicopters arrive and he his taken to hospital. Not long after this Randy is sent away but the reason does not sound feasible. Eli enlists the help of three other kids from the town - Malik, Tori and Hector. There is something strange about the factory which 'supposedly' makes plastic traffic cones. Who are these kids? What is really going on in that factory? Why did Eli get so sick? Surely there is something strange about the street names and even the local newspaper does not seem entirely trustworthy. Then Eli is somehow able to access the 'real' internet and so the kids begin to unravel a set of lies that will upset everything they think they know about their lives and families. 

Boy oh boy this book is a wild ride! I was totally engrossed from beginning to end following the lives of these four kids and the weird-sounding community where they live with the prophetic name of Serenity. I do need to warn you this is book one in a trilogy and the ending of book one is a cliffhanger - I plan to borrow book two from the library on my next visit. 

Blurb: Eli Frieden lives in the most perfect town in the world: Serenity, New Mexico. Everyone has a great house, with a pool. Money problems and crime are unheard of. Honesty and integrity are valued above all else. The thirty kids who live there never lie. They know it’s a short leap from that to the awful problems of other, less fortunate places. Eli has never left Serenity … until, one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens that it changes everything. Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and it soon becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a shocking discovery, linking their ideal community to some of the greatest criminal masterminds ever known.

This review has lots of plot details: This amazing book is perfectly paced, building in tension as Eli, Tory, Hector, and the other children discover the truth about their town and their lives, and as they try to figure out what they should do about the incredibly difficult situation they have been put in. The chapters alternate between the characters so that we get to see things through several different pairs of eyes, which gives us a wonderful insight into the feelings reactions of Eli and his friends. Readers will be eager to find out if children who have been living in a controlled environment all their lives will be able to truly be who they are. 

Companion book:

Eventown

Which cover do you like? I prefer the second one. This book was published in 2016 but it is still available. 

Here are the covers of books two and three:

Update: Here's my blog post about Criminal Destiny

Criminal Destiny: Follow Eli, Tori, Malik, and Amber as they try to discover the truth of their origins and carve a life for themselves in an outside world that is unfamiliar, baffling, and dangerous. But Project Osiris and its enforcers, the Purple People Eaters, are hot on their trail. They’re free for now. But for how long …? (Here is the review from Ms Yingling)

Payback: After a serious betrayal from one of their former friends, the clones of Project Osiris are on the run again. Now separated into pairs, Eli and Tori and Amber and Malik are fighting to survive in the real world. Amber and Malik track down the one person they think can help them prove the existence of Project Osiris, notorious mob boss Gus Alabaster, also known as Malik's DNA donor. But as Malik gets pulled into the criminal world-tantalized by hints of a real family-his actions put him and Amber into greater danger. Eli and Tori get sucked into even bigger conspiracies as they hunt down Project Osiris's most closely guarded secrets-who does Eli's DNA come from? With a surprising new ally and another cross-country adventure, the four will have to work together to overcome the worst parts of themselves if they are going to end Project Osiris once and for all. (Take a look at this review from Ms Yingling)

Gordon Korman writes thrilling stories that are sure to appeal to readers aged 10+. Years ago I read books from three of his trilogies - Island; Everest and Dive. Each of these have around 175 pages and are perfect for reluctant readers. Look for this one too:

The Unteachables