M Freeman has been home schooled her whole life, until she is suddenly whisked away to a special school for the children of criminal masterminds. Once there she realizes that her tutors and parents have been teaching her skill that help her excel in her new and challenging environment. The problem with a school that trains people to be criminals is that there is no way to know whom to trust. Do her new friends really want to help her succeed, or do they have ulterior motives of their own. So here is another, "kid goes away to an unusual school and discovers she has special abilities" book. I think this is the 4th or 5th one with that basic outline I have read this year. The premise and characters in this one are interesting because of the moral ambivalence inherent in a life of crime. The writing is good, and there are some exciting action sequences and clever heists that take place. Everything was going along pretty well, and I was enjoying the book right up until the very end. Without giving too much away, let me just say the final "bang"' so to speak was so outside the realm of reality that I was left scratching my head. Really? Didn't the author, or the editor for that matter, ever take a science class? I think the book could have had a good ending with very little re-writing. Oh well. The highly improbable science might not bother a young reader, I guess, but it pretty much ruined the story for me. (277 p)
No comments:
Post a Comment