Perhaps the main thing I remember about my experience with Masterminds is that I started the entire series on a summer weekend, and I ended it on the same weekend. Gordon Korman is known for his children's literature, never falling short of delivering a short but captivating novel. The Masterminds series, or for the sake of this post, book one of the series, Masterminds, is no stranger to this. There is not much philosophy to take away from Masterminds, but everything from the action and the plot twists to the characters and world-building is unexpectedly beguiling. I read the first book, the focus for today, Masterminds, then after closing that opened the second book, Criminal Destiny, and then the final book, Payback.
The book opens with Eli Frieden, the main protagonist, playing with his best friend, Randy. At this point, the reader assumes that the setting is some rural neighborhood like any other. However, the reader quickly learns that something is off about the setting. Absolutely everyone in Serenity, New Mexico lives the same - they all have big houses, pools, nice cars, no signs of corruption, and the population is alarmingly low. No children in Serenity have ever questioned its utopian nature. One day, Eli goes on a bike ride to the edge of town and suddenly becomes horribly sick. The town's police, the Surety, save him. The cause of his sudden sickness is unknown. Soon after, Randy receives a letter that says that he has to go live with his grandparents outside of Serenity. The suspicions of the Serenity's children arise and are further fed by a note left by Randy that said something was wrong about Serenity and its adults. He was actually sent to a boarding school, not his grandparents. Eli's sudden sickness was meant to happen because of a barrier in the town. Now, Eli and his friends Tori Pritel, Amber Laska, and Malik Bruder are determined to solve the mystery that Randy left behind. The book from here on is a series of action-packed events. They discover that they cannot trust anyone in Serenity. By the end of the book, they finally find their way out of it to discover who they truly are.
The summary above did convey the main events of the story, but I left most of the details out. To truly enjoy and understand this book, you would need to read it for yourself. I wasn't sure I would like this book, but it really defied my expectations. To truly understand the creativity of Masterminds, you first need to be aware of the basic hero's journey template. There is the ordinary world, the call to adventure, the crossing into the new world, the tests, the ordeal, and the reward and return. Many people may call Masterminds a hero's journey because of the character development and adventurous feel. However, Masterminds actually breaks the norm: the hero never starts in the ordinary world... Masterminds is more of a journey to the ordinary world than from the ordinary world. There is no external help and guidance for the children, unlike how, in other works of fiction, there is often a more powerful and experienced second figure to guide the protagonist towards their true goal. Though it is a book written for children, Masterminds does a very good job of showing how isolated Eli's situation is: all of the adults he ever trusted in his life are suddenly enemies. Eli and his friends have to use their minds over intimidation and strength to get to the core of the looming mystery around Serenity and themselves (this mystery is solved in the next few books). The action sequences in the book are invigorating, to the point, and suspenseful. Any action Eli makes his life hang further on edge. The book is written so no description is unnecessary, every interaction is meaningful, and there are little to no boring parts in general.
Perhaps what stands out the most in Masterminds are the characters themselves. The story makes a natural selection of who will go on the journey based on the personality and talent of the character. Eli is adept in technology and has a goal of finding out who he truly is but also ultimately wants to meet Randy again. Malik Bruder is a bully to people he doesn't like but is deeply affectionate towards people he does like. He is also the strongest person in the group. Amber Laska is intelligent, very organized, and also reckless. Tori Pritel is exceptional with logic and determined. In Masterminds and throughout the series, all of these skills are vital for the success of the entire group. Every character has its strengths and weaknesses. This comes to a big theme of Masterminds: teamwork. Eli and his friends have to fend for themselves in their increasingly complex world, and they have to make the most of their skills. It is not an obligation, rather a necessity for the whole group to look out for each other. With their time spent together, all of the kids build good relationships with each other, another positive theme.
Overall, from my perspective, Masterminds was a surprisingly fun read. I don't have much going against it, besides that it was a little easy to read at times. I enjoyed the action, the suspense, the mystery, and the characters. You never know what is going to happen next, and that's what I appreciate the most about this series.
My rating:
9.9/10
Nice review! I remember reading this book before and was amazed by the suspense and plot twists as you were. I agree with your rating of 9.9/10. I also remember how each character fit into a specific part of their group so each person was vital. It made the characters so much more valuable so you were always on edge. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this book, but it seems like an intriguing story. The "backwards journey" is an interesting concept. You go into a lot of detail, describing why the book works so well. I definitely want to take a look into this.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved this series when I read it, and I definitely think your review does the first book justice. I really liked how you talked about the hero's journey aspect of the story and how it gets sort of reversed. I also like your descriptions of the characters and I agree that they are an important part of the story,
ReplyDeleteI haven't read your book (yet), but it sounds like a suspenseful and action-packed story. You really its key parts well and I'm thinking about reading it in the future. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I remember reading this series a while ago. I don't remember it very much but I remember that I really enjoyed reading it because of all of the unexpected plot twists. Your review talks about all of the important aspects of the book, like how each character has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it was a generally positive review with almost nothing negative. Until reading this review, I had forgotten about the series, but now I am thinking about giving it another chance.
ReplyDeleteReally good review! I read the first book in this series and I remember that I read it all in one weekend, like you did. I didn't even know this was the first in a series, and now I really want to finish it. I liked how you explained the character dynamic, and I especially remember how vividly each character was described and introduced. Good Job.
ReplyDelete