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Please Don't Tell My Parents #1
Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain
Penelope Akk wants to be a superhero. She's got superhero parents. She's got the ultimate mad science power, filling her life with crazy gadgets even she doesn't understand. She has two super powered best friends. In middle school, the line between good and evil looks clear. In real life, nothing is that clear. All it takes is one hero's sidekick picking a fight, and Penny and her friends are labeled supervillains. In the process, Penny learns a hard lesson about She's good at it. Criminal masterminds, heroes in power armor, bottles of dragon blood, alien war drones, shape shifters and ghosts, no matter what the super powered world throws at her, Penny and her friends come out on top. They have to. If she can keep winning, maybe she can clear her name before her mom and dad find out.
405 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 14, 2014
411 people are currently reading
4338 people want to read
About the author
Richard Roberts
24 books418 followersI've been writing for a long, long time. A long, long, long time. Do you remember when dirt was invented? I was using it to scratch out stories. Getting published was harder, but now I'm hooked up with Curiosity Quills and I have real books in paper, and you should buy some!
As a writer my fascination has always been children's literature, especially children's lit that is also adult lit. For some reason, this means that instead I write gothic light romance for fun, and very dark and tragic young adult books for passion. I love seeing the world through the eyes of strange people, and I believe that happy endings must be earned the hard way. There's a reason my friends started calling me Frankensteinbeck.
I could talk about how great my writing is until I turn blue, but I should let an expert do that for me. Check out the Kirkus Review for Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth!
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-rev...
As a writer my fascination has always been children's literature, especially children's lit that is also adult lit. For some reason, this means that instead I write gothic light romance for fun, and very dark and tragic young adult books for passion. I love seeing the world through the eyes of strange people, and I believe that happy endings must be earned the hard way. There's a reason my friends started calling me Frankensteinbeck.
I could talk about how great my writing is until I turn blue, but I should let an expert do that for me. Check out the Kirkus Review for Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth!
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-rev...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 364 reviews
October 4, 2014
This book was so fun I was downhearted when it ended. Penny and her two friends kept me guessing and excited with their capers. It took a couple chapters before the excitement started, but once it did I savored every page of it.
What I Liked
For characters who got carried away and into deeper trouble when they were trying to get out of it, Penny, Ray, and Claire were marvelously competent. They made Penny the leader of the team because she was super smart. Furthermore, they actually listened to her, avoiding the trap super people on a team commonly fall into in other books of all age categories. Known as The Inscrutable Machine, Penny's team practiced teamwork. They knew when to fight and preen, and when to retreat. They learned from their mistakes and took heed of advice. Not to say they were not reckless because they absolutely were when they could have ceased their mischief at any time. However, they controlled their recklessness greater than I ever expected.
Penny, Ray, and Claire were so mature that I often forgot that they were young teens on the cusp of high school and not full blown teens. I loved that there was never any condescension against their age. Penny and her friends were dangerous kids and the other characters treated them like dangerous kids. The danger was real no matter that the characters were sometimes playful about it.
While I loved the entire team, Penny was my favorite character. I loved how the book presented her as the star in more than just making her first person viewpoint as the exclusive viewpoint of the book. She had issues so it was easy for me to relate to her. One of her issues was living up to her parents' expectations, and that was something I totally understood. She had tenacity so it was easy for me to root for her. Hurray for a kickass heroine! Not only that, it was her super intelligence that made her kickass. I loved that the book made being smart cool and a revered trait of strength.
Finally, I also loved the fact she didn't let her crush on Ray preoccupy her mind. There was a love triangle between her, Ray, and Claire but thankfully, it didn't disrupt their friendship. I loved that the book never made a big deal of the issue and that the issue was kept in the background where it rightfully belonged. The issue popped up occasionally but it always dropped back down in deference to more important priorities, like surviving the next battle. Young Adult protagonists should take notes from this Middle Grade protagonist.
What I Didn't Like
I didn't like Ray's character development. One, it was severely lacking compared to his friends. I learned a lot about Penny and her family, and Claire and her family. But I didn't learn anything about Ray and his family except for the fact that they were vanilla humans and not as rich as his friends' family.
Two, I didn't like how he kicked his human talent of intelligence to the curb once he acquired his superpower. I understood his inferiority complex. Nobody likes feeling helpless and seeing injustice. I only wished he had come to realize his complex and that he was overcompensating. It would have been wonderful if he worked with Penny on her inventions and plans. It was such a shame that he pigeonholed himself as the team's muscle.
The second thing was Generic Girl, one of the superheroes our team fought. It was weird how she appeared practically once and never appeared again till the end like an almost forgotten afterthought. She could have easily been the one to stop The Inscrutable Machine if she persevered, especially when she and Penny knew each other's secret identities. Not to mention the fact that the community of supers worried about her as much as they worried about The Inscrutable Machine. That worry disappeared after it was mentioned once. The plot piece was a loose end, and I didn't like it.
What I Had Mixed Feelings
I worried a bunch about the karma The Inscrutable Machine would reap. They were dangerous kids and they were marvelously competent. However, it didn't change the fact that they were still kids, and they were kids going against superheroes and seriously bad people instead of sidekicks their age towards the end. Not to mention the collateral damage.
It was amazing and unrealistic how the gang prevailed every time. The book description was true to its words. Penny and her friends did always come out on top. That said, it was more delightfully and relievingly amazing to me than it was annoyingly unrealistic.
On one hand, it bothered me that Penny and her friends got off scot-free with some of the characters none the wiser, especially towards the end. On the other hand, I derived enormous amount of entertainment in the book being purely a work of youth escapism. Ultimately, this was the hand that won out.
Conclusion
I rate Please Don't Tell my Parents I'm a Super Villain 4-stars for I really liked it. Totaling 384 pages, the book is big and indulgent. I highly recommend the book if you're looking for a super fun superheroes read.
What I Liked
For characters who got carried away and into deeper trouble when they were trying to get out of it, Penny, Ray, and Claire were marvelously competent. They made Penny the leader of the team because she was super smart. Furthermore, they actually listened to her, avoiding the trap super people on a team commonly fall into in other books of all age categories. Known as The Inscrutable Machine, Penny's team practiced teamwork. They knew when to fight and preen, and when to retreat. They learned from their mistakes and took heed of advice. Not to say they were not reckless because they absolutely were when they could have ceased their mischief at any time. However, they controlled their recklessness greater than I ever expected.
Penny, Ray, and Claire were so mature that I often forgot that they were young teens on the cusp of high school and not full blown teens. I loved that there was never any condescension against their age. Penny and her friends were dangerous kids and the other characters treated them like dangerous kids. The danger was real no matter that the characters were sometimes playful about it.
While I loved the entire team, Penny was my favorite character. I loved how the book presented her as the star in more than just making her first person viewpoint as the exclusive viewpoint of the book. She had issues so it was easy for me to relate to her. One of her issues was living up to her parents' expectations, and that was something I totally understood. She had tenacity so it was easy for me to root for her. Hurray for a kickass heroine! Not only that, it was her super intelligence that made her kickass. I loved that the book made being smart cool and a revered trait of strength.
Finally, I also loved the fact she didn't let her crush on Ray preoccupy her mind. There was a love triangle between her, Ray, and Claire but thankfully, it didn't disrupt their friendship. I loved that the book never made a big deal of the issue and that the issue was kept in the background where it rightfully belonged. The issue popped up occasionally but it always dropped back down in deference to more important priorities, like surviving the next battle. Young Adult protagonists should take notes from this Middle Grade protagonist.
What I Didn't Like
I didn't like Ray's character development. One, it was severely lacking compared to his friends. I learned a lot about Penny and her family, and Claire and her family. But I didn't learn anything about Ray and his family except for the fact that they were vanilla humans and not as rich as his friends' family.
Two, I didn't like how he kicked his human talent of intelligence to the curb once he acquired his superpower. I understood his inferiority complex. Nobody likes feeling helpless and seeing injustice. I only wished he had come to realize his complex and that he was overcompensating. It would have been wonderful if he worked with Penny on her inventions and plans. It was such a shame that he pigeonholed himself as the team's muscle.
The second thing was Generic Girl, one of the superheroes our team fought. It was weird how she appeared practically once and never appeared again till the end like an almost forgotten afterthought. She could have easily been the one to stop The Inscrutable Machine if she persevered, especially when she and Penny knew each other's secret identities. Not to mention the fact that the community of supers worried about her as much as they worried about The Inscrutable Machine. That worry disappeared after it was mentioned once. The plot piece was a loose end, and I didn't like it.
What I Had Mixed Feelings
I worried a bunch about the karma The Inscrutable Machine would reap. They were dangerous kids and they were marvelously competent. However, it didn't change the fact that they were still kids, and they were kids going against superheroes and seriously bad people instead of sidekicks their age towards the end. Not to mention the collateral damage.
It was amazing and unrealistic how the gang prevailed every time. The book description was true to its words. Penny and her friends did always come out on top. That said, it was more delightfully and relievingly amazing to me than it was annoyingly unrealistic.
On one hand, it bothered me that Penny and her friends got off scot-free with some of the characters none the wiser, especially towards the end. On the other hand, I derived enormous amount of entertainment in the book being purely a work of youth escapism. Ultimately, this was the hand that won out.
Conclusion
I rate Please Don't Tell my Parents I'm a Super Villain 4-stars for I really liked it. Totaling 384 pages, the book is big and indulgent. I highly recommend the book if you're looking for a super fun superheroes read.
September 14, 2019
+Reto Popsugar #37. Un libro acerca de alguien con superpoderes+
3.7 mad-scientist stars
Superheroes, supervillains, aliens and fallen angels oh my
Penelope Akk has 13 y.o. , she is the daughter of 2 retired superheroes: Brian "Brainy" and Beatrice "The Audit" Akk; they are mathematical type of heroes, and everybody knows them. Los Angeles is like a sunny version of Gotham, you lift a rock and find a superheroe or a supervillain. Her best friends are Claire and Ray, kind of the geeky kids of their middle grade school.
It’s pretty safe around the school, which helps. The poor heroes all live south of here, and do a lot of patrolling in South Central, and the rich heroes live just north. Me and Claire were the only kids of openly admitted superheroes in school, but muggers and drug dealers and what all knew this was the most dangerous neighborhood in the city for them. Here, and Chinatown. I couldn’t tell you why Chinatown, I’d just heard my folks say it. Superhero gossip.
Penny anxiously awaits the moment when her powers manifest ... but there is a small problem when she realizes that she is actually a ... mad scientist.
Of course there is a kind of misunderstanding and hides it from his parents, thinking that at any time he can change sides and play everything as a joke. Because really ... being a supervillain is a lot of fun.
These guys are very adventurous and want to just have a good time without actually measuring consequences (with a few strokes a little more realistic like Ray's problems at home, or the loneliness of a villain father) with a bit of irony to the movies of superheroes, and the whole book is in a style more similar to "The Incredibles" and "Teen Titans"(animated series) than anything else. Nevermind Penny's incomprehensibly clueless parents , and those terrible bad advisers as best friends leading her astray. You know about good intentions, no?
The Good:
A scientist tech girl! She rocks. Penny is pretty naive , I think overprotected by her parents. She easily follow the plans of the others, however she is the 'brain' in the operations.
Whatever happened, I needed to stay in charge of The Inscrutable Machine. I hated to think what Claire and Ray could and would get away with if I didn’t hold them back.
The not-so-good:
Ray is a litle s*, he is good at science but became with the power this superteen all brash and innuendo . Her relashionship with Claire and the Voice power reminds me of junior version of Joker(or the Penguin) and Harley.
In another hand, Claire
(About Claire)She has those looks, and she’s generous and kind. Is it any wonder her Mom got a full pardon when she retired? Of course, she’d saved the world a couple of times. What kind of crazy supervillain tries to destroy the world?
Half of them.
There are another 4 books , I'd like to try another one.
I had to be honest with myself. The whole thing was fun. Other than not having a choice, I had a natural talent for being a supervillain and I got a big kick out of it. Who’d have thought? I had to hope I’d find heroism just as natural!
3.7 mad-scientist stars
Superheroes, supervillains, aliens and fallen angels oh my
Penelope Akk has 13 y.o. , she is the daughter of 2 retired superheroes: Brian "Brainy" and Beatrice "The Audit" Akk; they are mathematical type of heroes, and everybody knows them. Los Angeles is like a sunny version of Gotham, you lift a rock and find a superheroe or a supervillain. Her best friends are Claire and Ray, kind of the geeky kids of their middle grade school.
It’s pretty safe around the school, which helps. The poor heroes all live south of here, and do a lot of patrolling in South Central, and the rich heroes live just north. Me and Claire were the only kids of openly admitted superheroes in school, but muggers and drug dealers and what all knew this was the most dangerous neighborhood in the city for them. Here, and Chinatown. I couldn’t tell you why Chinatown, I’d just heard my folks say it. Superhero gossip.
Penny anxiously awaits the moment when her powers manifest ... but there is a small problem when she realizes that she is actually a ... mad scientist.
Of course there is a kind of misunderstanding and hides it from his parents, thinking that at any time he can change sides and play everything as a joke. Because really ... being a supervillain is a lot of fun.
These guys are very adventurous and want to just have a good time without actually measuring consequences (with a few strokes a little more realistic like Ray's problems at home, or the loneliness of a villain father) with a bit of irony to the movies of superheroes, and the whole book is in a style more similar to "The Incredibles" and "Teen Titans"(animated series) than anything else. Nevermind Penny's incomprehensibly clueless parents , and those terrible bad advisers as best friends leading her astray. You know about good intentions, no?
The Good:
A scientist tech girl! She rocks. Penny is pretty naive , I think overprotected by her parents. She easily follow the plans of the others, however she is the 'brain' in the operations.
Whatever happened, I needed to stay in charge of The Inscrutable Machine. I hated to think what Claire and Ray could and would get away with if I didn’t hold them back.
The not-so-good:
Ray is a litle s*, he is good at science but became with the power this superteen all brash and innuendo . Her relashionship with Claire and the Voice power reminds me of junior version of Joker
In another hand, Claire
(About Claire)She has those looks, and she’s generous and kind. Is it any wonder her Mom got a full pardon when she retired? Of course, she’d saved the world a couple of times. What kind of crazy supervillain tries to destroy the world?
Half of them.
There are another 4 books , I'd like to try another one.
I had to be honest with myself. The whole thing was fun. Other than not having a choice, I had a natural talent for being a supervillain and I got a big kick out of it. Who’d have thought? I had to hope I’d find heroism just as natural!
January 7, 2015
I have a read a lot of superhero novels. There isn't a nerdier, more ridiculous premise, not even dragon fantasy or space opera, and also hardly a fantasy/sci-fi premise harder to do well as a book. Some authors just revel in the cheesiness of a four-color universe, others try to take them seriously, some tackle superheroes "scientifically" and make them just another science fiction concept.
Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain is more towards the four-color end of the spectrum, but it's not cheesy. Instead, it's written as if it takes place in a standard kid's superhero comic universe, and then plays it straight. Every genre convention is observed and taken seriously. Penelope Akk and her friends live in a world with an extensive superhero mythos of its own — there is magic (which Penelope's super-scientist dad refuses to acknowledge) and there was a secret alien invasion that all the heroes and villains know about but most of the "civilian" world does not, there are unspoken rules governing conduct between heroes and villains which most (but not all) of the villain observe, and in Northeast West Hollywood Middle School, there are numerous children of superheroes (and villains).
Penelope Akk's father is Brian Akk, a super-genius inventor, and her mother is the Auditor. Her friend Claire in the daughter of the retired super-seductress the Minx. Her friend Ray is... well, we don't learn much of anything about his parents in this book, though what little we do learn implies that they aren't good.
When Penelope's powers start to manifest, her parents are proud but tell her it will probably take four years for them to develop enough for her to become a full-fledged superhero. Little do they know that Penelope's gift for mad science is evolving at record speed, and soon Penelope is creating gadgets even her father couldn't conceive. When she concocts a formula that triggers Claire and Ray's powers, the three of them decide to get a start on their own superhero careers... except an ill-timed run-in with a sidekick who also happens to be their school's Mean Girl puts them on the wrong side of a public brawl, and suddenly the three of them are... villains!
Worse, they discover they're really good at it.
This is a fun, young adult romp with enough homage to classic superhero tropes to entertain even an adult (if you like superheroes). If your favorite character has always been the mad scientist/gadgeteer/supergenius type - the Reed Richards, the Tony Stark, the Lex Luthor - then this book is for you. Penelope's power has almost a mind of its own as she goes into a sort of trance state in which she starts building things that could only exist in a world with superhero physics, but she also turns out to have a genius for plotting and tactics. She and her friends go from one battle to the next, cleaning the clocks of much more experienced superheroes and supervillains, and making a name for themselves: The Inscrutable Machine.
Richard Robert's superhero universe is well-rendered - it has exactly the feel of a long-running comic book universe with its own history and continuity, established old timers, mighty powers whose names are spoken with awe, old battles and grudges, a big pool into which these three middle schoolers are now wading.
It seems like most of the negative reviewers complain that this book isn't "heroic" enough - Penelope and her friends stumble into being bad guys through mischance, but although they're never evil, and plan to "reform" eventually, they discover they kind of like making chumps out of heroes and proving they can hold their own against grown-ups. Thus, they embark on a number of schemes that are, let's face it, worse than criminal mischief, all while telling themselves they'll just go straight before their parents find out. This hardly makes them the noblest of "heroes" (though they remain rather adorable), but it does make them believable thirteen-year-olds, whose moral lobes haven't fully developed yet.
I actually thought this book treated its middle-school protagonists with surprising maturity - they act like kids, but kids on the threshold of adulthood. They are smart enough to compete with adults, but not wise enough to know when they shouldn't. They are starting to feel the rush of hormones, and you can tell that Claire is going to be big trouble when puberty really hits.
Mostly, though, the powers, the supers, and the battles were just awesome.
I give it 4.5 stars for pure fun, but your mileage will vary unless you are a superhero devotee like me. The book was a little bit bloated - there are a lot of extraneous scenes that were interesting but probably could have been cut. Also, the one point I got hung up on, challenging my suspension of disbelief even in a superhero novel, was the Inscrutable Machine's ability to fool their parents and keep their secret identities. Penelope's parents are both supergeniuses, and as a supervillain, she goes around calling herself "Bad Penny" - now come on!
But, I'm still rounding up to 5 stars because it hooked me hard enough to definitely buy the sequel!
Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain is more towards the four-color end of the spectrum, but it's not cheesy. Instead, it's written as if it takes place in a standard kid's superhero comic universe, and then plays it straight. Every genre convention is observed and taken seriously. Penelope Akk and her friends live in a world with an extensive superhero mythos of its own — there is magic (which Penelope's super-scientist dad refuses to acknowledge) and there was a secret alien invasion that all the heroes and villains know about but most of the "civilian" world does not, there are unspoken rules governing conduct between heroes and villains which most (but not all) of the villain observe, and in Northeast West Hollywood Middle School, there are numerous children of superheroes (and villains).
Penelope Akk's father is Brian Akk, a super-genius inventor, and her mother is the Auditor. Her friend Claire in the daughter of the retired super-seductress the Minx. Her friend Ray is... well, we don't learn much of anything about his parents in this book, though what little we do learn implies that they aren't good.
When Penelope's powers start to manifest, her parents are proud but tell her it will probably take four years for them to develop enough for her to become a full-fledged superhero. Little do they know that Penelope's gift for mad science is evolving at record speed, and soon Penelope is creating gadgets even her father couldn't conceive. When she concocts a formula that triggers Claire and Ray's powers, the three of them decide to get a start on their own superhero careers... except an ill-timed run-in with a sidekick who also happens to be their school's Mean Girl puts them on the wrong side of a public brawl, and suddenly the three of them are... villains!
Worse, they discover they're really good at it.
This is a fun, young adult romp with enough homage to classic superhero tropes to entertain even an adult (if you like superheroes). If your favorite character has always been the mad scientist/gadgeteer/supergenius type - the Reed Richards, the Tony Stark, the Lex Luthor - then this book is for you. Penelope's power has almost a mind of its own as she goes into a sort of trance state in which she starts building things that could only exist in a world with superhero physics, but she also turns out to have a genius for plotting and tactics. She and her friends go from one battle to the next, cleaning the clocks of much more experienced superheroes and supervillains, and making a name for themselves: The Inscrutable Machine.
Richard Robert's superhero universe is well-rendered - it has exactly the feel of a long-running comic book universe with its own history and continuity, established old timers, mighty powers whose names are spoken with awe, old battles and grudges, a big pool into which these three middle schoolers are now wading.
It seems like most of the negative reviewers complain that this book isn't "heroic" enough - Penelope and her friends stumble into being bad guys through mischance, but although they're never evil, and plan to "reform" eventually, they discover they kind of like making chumps out of heroes and proving they can hold their own against grown-ups. Thus, they embark on a number of schemes that are, let's face it, worse than criminal mischief, all while telling themselves they'll just go straight before their parents find out. This hardly makes them the noblest of "heroes" (though they remain rather adorable), but it does make them believable thirteen-year-olds, whose moral lobes haven't fully developed yet.
I actually thought this book treated its middle-school protagonists with surprising maturity - they act like kids, but kids on the threshold of adulthood. They are smart enough to compete with adults, but not wise enough to know when they shouldn't. They are starting to feel the rush of hormones, and you can tell that Claire is going to be big trouble when puberty really hits.
Mostly, though, the powers, the supers, and the battles were just awesome.
I give it 4.5 stars for pure fun, but your mileage will vary unless you are a superhero devotee like me. The book was a little bit bloated - there are a lot of extraneous scenes that were interesting but probably could have been cut. Also, the one point I got hung up on, challenging my suspension of disbelief even in a superhero novel, was the Inscrutable Machine's ability to fool their parents and keep their secret identities. Penelope's parents are both supergeniuses, and as a supervillain, she goes around calling herself "Bad Penny" - now come on!
But, I'm still rounding up to 5 stars because it hooked me hard enough to definitely buy the sequel!
May 6, 2014
Has any of you ever watched Sky High? It's a super cool - and very underrated - movie about a kid whose parents are superheroes and he wants to be like them, but seems to be normal despite going to a high school designated to educate the future heroes and sidekicks. Well, the concept of Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain is pretty familiar in some plot points with that.
Penelope "Penny" Akk has it rough. Her parents are the retired heroes Audit and Brainy Akk, two super geniuses, and the middle school girl cannot wait to get her own powers. Everyone keeps telling her to wait, but what do they know? She's so close to unlocking them, she can just feel it! So when her powers do come in a rather abrupt manner, she knows it will be better to keep it a secret and surprise her family later, when she has full control of them. But things never go as planned. A science fair goes wrong, and then her best friend slash crush, Ray Viles, goes picking a fight with Miss A, Original's sidekick. What's a girl to do? What else? She stands by his side and fights, too, and with the help of their friend, Claire Lutra, they win. Too bad they can't celebrate their victory. Now word is out that they're the new black in supervillainy - and heroes and sidekicks won't stop chasing them until they're down! Can Penny stop this madness that her secrets and rash decisions have caused and convince the public she's actually one of the good guys, before her parents find out? And what if, despite denying it, she's actually good at being bad?
As Penny herself would say... Criminy! Who would have thought that I would end up cheering for supervillains? And middle school ones at that! But it's true. The Inscrutable Machine was one team I wouldn't mind to keep as the bad guys!
Penny and her friends were the most refreshing trio I have read - ever since the all-too-famous Golden Trio, that is. They had their ups and downs, and the usual "problems" a middle schooler faces in life, but they tried to see the bright side, and always had a plan to get out of each mess they created - even if their plan rarely worked. They were, first and foremost, a TEAM. Sure, they came at odds with each other, and not all of their feelings were pure. Claire was too self-absorbed and shallow, Ray was a bit too much of a materialist and tended to forget he was the one who got the girls in the heroes' wanted list, and Penny would sometimes forget of anything else other than her own powers and would get unreasonably jealous of Ray mooning over Claire. Oh, yes, I almost forgot about the love trianle. Yeah, there was one, too.
BUT! (And it's a big but, mind you)
Here's the thing. You just can't stay mad at them. Or find it in your heart to dislike the romantic confusion among them. Why? Because Richard Roberts is apparently a genius in what he's doing! Early in the story, Penny informs the reader about the situation:
Love triangles suck.
When I read that line, I freaked out. I hate love triangles. I avoid them as much as possible. But it turns out that Penny's admission of the problem did the trick, as it served to give a light and humoristic atmosphere. Sure, she was jealous of Claire because of Ray's attraction to her, but she never let that get in the way of their teamwork. She sulked a bit, but that was it. Claire was a shallow and sometimes naive girl, but she would cut her own arm off for her friends - and proved to be more mature and observative in rare occasions. As for Ray, while we never really found out what was his family situation was, it looked like he had missed out on lots of material goods, so it was somewhat natural for him to get dazzled by the sparkles that came with super powers and the cookies that the dark side had to offer.
Now, don't go thinking it was just the characters that kept the story interesting. Not at all! Mr. Roberts has a way with words that makes you unwind and enjoy yourself, as you witness the adventures of this unlikeable trio. Their powers were a delight to read into full development. Their comments and the dialogues through the book were funny and sarcastic, and it was often hard to remember that, hellooo, these are NOT adults we're dealing with, but little kids! The only times when their age showed was when they "fangirled" or when they screwed up - and since this writer has obviously done his homework, this happened a lot, and with all the times having a specific gap between them so that it would not get boring AND add to the suspense and the character growth.
With a plot that is so familiar and yet so new, three main characters that crack you up and make you want to cuddle with them, villains and heroes that never stay on their respectful sides but venture in gray areas whenever it suits them, and lots of fancy, intriguing gadgets, it's no wonder why I recommend this book wholeheartedly. The Inscrutable Machine are sure to guarantee you the best of times!
***I was given an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated in this review is solely mine, and no compensation was given or taken to alter it.***
Read this and other reviews at: http://cupcakesandpopcorn.wordpress.com/
Penelope "Penny" Akk has it rough. Her parents are the retired heroes Audit and Brainy Akk, two super geniuses, and the middle school girl cannot wait to get her own powers. Everyone keeps telling her to wait, but what do they know? She's so close to unlocking them, she can just feel it! So when her powers do come in a rather abrupt manner, she knows it will be better to keep it a secret and surprise her family later, when she has full control of them. But things never go as planned. A science fair goes wrong, and then her best friend slash crush, Ray Viles, goes picking a fight with Miss A, Original's sidekick. What's a girl to do? What else? She stands by his side and fights, too, and with the help of their friend, Claire Lutra, they win. Too bad they can't celebrate their victory. Now word is out that they're the new black in supervillainy - and heroes and sidekicks won't stop chasing them until they're down! Can Penny stop this madness that her secrets and rash decisions have caused and convince the public she's actually one of the good guys, before her parents find out? And what if, despite denying it, she's actually good at being bad?
As Penny herself would say... Criminy! Who would have thought that I would end up cheering for supervillains? And middle school ones at that! But it's true. The Inscrutable Machine was one team I wouldn't mind to keep as the bad guys!
Penny and her friends were the most refreshing trio I have read - ever since the all-too-famous Golden Trio, that is. They had their ups and downs, and the usual "problems" a middle schooler faces in life, but they tried to see the bright side, and always had a plan to get out of each mess they created - even if their plan rarely worked. They were, first and foremost, a TEAM. Sure, they came at odds with each other, and not all of their feelings were pure. Claire was too self-absorbed and shallow, Ray was a bit too much of a materialist and tended to forget he was the one who got the girls in the heroes' wanted list, and Penny would sometimes forget of anything else other than her own powers and would get unreasonably jealous of Ray mooning over Claire. Oh, yes, I almost forgot about the love trianle. Yeah, there was one, too.
BUT! (And it's a big but, mind you)
Here's the thing. You just can't stay mad at them. Or find it in your heart to dislike the romantic confusion among them. Why? Because Richard Roberts is apparently a genius in what he's doing! Early in the story, Penny informs the reader about the situation:
Love triangles suck.
When I read that line, I freaked out. I hate love triangles. I avoid them as much as possible. But it turns out that Penny's admission of the problem did the trick, as it served to give a light and humoristic atmosphere. Sure, she was jealous of Claire because of Ray's attraction to her, but she never let that get in the way of their teamwork. She sulked a bit, but that was it. Claire was a shallow and sometimes naive girl, but she would cut her own arm off for her friends - and proved to be more mature and observative in rare occasions. As for Ray, while we never really found out what was his family situation was, it looked like he had missed out on lots of material goods, so it was somewhat natural for him to get dazzled by the sparkles that came with super powers and the cookies that the dark side had to offer.
Now, don't go thinking it was just the characters that kept the story interesting. Not at all! Mr. Roberts has a way with words that makes you unwind and enjoy yourself, as you witness the adventures of this unlikeable trio. Their powers were a delight to read into full development. Their comments and the dialogues through the book were funny and sarcastic, and it was often hard to remember that, hellooo, these are NOT adults we're dealing with, but little kids! The only times when their age showed was when they "fangirled" or when they screwed up - and since this writer has obviously done his homework, this happened a lot, and with all the times having a specific gap between them so that it would not get boring AND add to the suspense and the character growth.
With a plot that is so familiar and yet so new, three main characters that crack you up and make you want to cuddle with them, villains and heroes that never stay on their respectful sides but venture in gray areas whenever it suits them, and lots of fancy, intriguing gadgets, it's no wonder why I recommend this book wholeheartedly. The Inscrutable Machine are sure to guarantee you the best of times!
***I was given an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated in this review is solely mine, and no compensation was given or taken to alter it.***
Read this and other reviews at: http://cupcakesandpopcorn.wordpress.com/
October 14, 2016
The mad science contraptions were super fun, I really admired the author's inventive mind.
February 17, 2016
Read three times.
8/24/14
review... later... sleep... soon...
8/26/14 edited to add:
This. was. AMAZEBALLS.
characters = fantastic!
plot = RIVETING!
worldbuilding = Amazing!
There were so many moments of Epic. Cool.
and the maniacal laughter... THE MANIACAL LAUGHTER!!!!
I picked two quotes out of it which I felt conveyed teh awesome without spoiling a zinger or just spoilering in general.
I AM *>DYING<* FOR A SEQUEL!!!!
and my mad science spree has OFFICIALLY BEGUN!!!
11/23/14
I really love this book. It's so funny and I love the characters! When I was cruising the author's site just now, I found out that an edited copy is going to be released... sometime XD I'MMA BUY IT!!! This was the best mad scientist book that I found so far (well and Agatha Heterodyne XD) and last time my mad science spree fizzled because I couldn't find any good stuff. I love you Robert Richards!!!
2/6/2016
Just as entertaining the third time around!
-Noticed a continuity error with Rage and Ruin's hair colors in the Spider's den.
8/24/14
review... later... sleep... soon...
8/26/14 edited to add:
This. was. AMAZEBALLS.
characters = fantastic!
plot = RIVETING!
worldbuilding = Amazing!
There were so many moments of Epic. Cool.
and the maniacal laughter... THE MANIACAL LAUGHTER!!!!
I picked two quotes out of it which I felt conveyed teh awesome without spoiling a zinger or just spoilering in general.
I AM *>DYING<* FOR A SEQUEL!!!!
and my mad science spree has OFFICIALLY BEGUN!!!
11/23/14
I really love this book. It's so funny and I love the characters! When I was cruising the author's site just now, I found out that an edited copy is going to be released... sometime XD I'MMA BUY IT!!! This was the best mad scientist book that I found so far (well and Agatha Heterodyne XD) and last time my mad science spree fizzled because I couldn't find any good stuff. I love you Robert Richards!!!
2/6/2016
Just as entertaining the third time around!
-Noticed a continuity error with Rage and Ruin's hair colors in the Spider's den.
Want to read
December 23, 2016I LOVE THE TITLE AND THE CONCEPT SO MUCH!!!! I WANT TO READ IT ASAP!
April 1, 2016
I'm not sure what to think about this book. On the one hand the premise is interesting and the superhero world is very cool (kinda like a YA version of Astro City). On the other, this book is waaaay too long, waaaay to YA, and kinda feels like it was meant to be a Nickelodeon TV show. To be fair, it is labeled YA, but for some reason I thought it would resonate with me too as a long-time comic book reader. Nope. Guess I'm just OA (old adult).
May 29, 2020
I requested a copy of Supervillain from Netgalley (in exchange for my honest review)because the title caught my attention and sounded like a fun piece of fluff, but the message it sends isn't good.
It starts off really well with Penny and her friends Ray and Claire being quite engaging and positive. Penny's obsession with becoming a superhero like her parents at an unnaturally young age does get a tad annoying, and when her powers start to develop a pattern of her blacking out and inventing something, blacking out and inventing something it becomes tedious. I almost gave up at page 100. Obviously from the title, something goes awry and Penny and her friends turn to the dark side instead of being superheroes.
*********added about 6 years later, possible spoilers ahead*************************
I don't feel there was enough reason and motivation for them to turn that way given how they were raised (though Ray's home life is a mystery despite some allusions to it being bad). It also seemed unbelievable that Penny's brainiac parents couldn't put 2 and 2 together (her mother is The Audit after all) and suspect Penny and her friends were the trio, The Inscrutable Machine. I thought explaining Penny's blackouts and lack of knowledge of what she invented and how to use it as a by product of her human brain's inability to translate her superpower a bit of a cop out for the author. It saved him from explaining things and making them workable in a real life context. Also, the main characters were awfully mature and not realistic in their actions and how they handled the situations they were placed in nor were Penny's parents in leaving her at home alone for possibly up to 2 weeks. That's not even legal in most (any?) states. Penny appears to have a good relationship with her parents so not turning to them for help didn't seem right even given that they don't appear to really be paying attention to her when she tries to tell them that her powers are really developing fast. I don't think enough detail was given to the negative consequences of what the children end up doing. We get no internal dialog or verbal dialog between the characters on how they're feeling about what they're doing and why or why not they're feeling a certain way by their actions. Penny never addresses the blackouts, her headaches and the way her body is affected by teleportation either.
On the positive side, Roberts has written a rather unique book with an interesting setting and diverse characters.
So, I can see this being an appealing book for kids because the characters are basically running their own lives with little parental involvement and they are successful at it. Since they don't appear to have regrets at living an unlawful life and most of their decisions are poor, I would recommend parents read along with their kids and discuss what happens or what could have happened and why or why not the choices the 3 kids make are good or bad. I was originally going to give this a "like" rating, but the more I think about it and the message it sends, the less I like it. I'm not a goody two shoes kind of person who thinks all books should impart a positive lesson (I love the fluff) and I don't think a child would be damaged by reading this, but it does deliver a poor message and the characters are bad examples to an age group which needs positive guidance and role models.
It starts off really well with Penny and her friends Ray and Claire being quite engaging and positive. Penny's obsession with becoming a superhero like her parents at an unnaturally young age does get a tad annoying, and when her powers start to develop a pattern of her blacking out and inventing something, blacking out and inventing something it becomes tedious. I almost gave up at page 100. Obviously from the title, something goes awry and Penny and her friends turn to the dark side instead of being superheroes.
*********added about 6 years later, possible spoilers ahead*************************
I don't feel there was enough reason and motivation for them to turn that way given how they were raised (though Ray's home life is a mystery despite some allusions to it being bad). It also seemed unbelievable that Penny's brainiac parents couldn't put 2 and 2 together (her mother is The Audit after all) and suspect Penny and her friends were the trio, The Inscrutable Machine. I thought explaining Penny's blackouts and lack of knowledge of what she invented and how to use it as a by product of her human brain's inability to translate her superpower a bit of a cop out for the author. It saved him from explaining things and making them workable in a real life context. Also, the main characters were awfully mature and not realistic in their actions and how they handled the situations they were placed in nor were Penny's parents in leaving her at home alone for possibly up to 2 weeks. That's not even legal in most (any?) states. Penny appears to have a good relationship with her parents so not turning to them for help didn't seem right even given that they don't appear to really be paying attention to her when she tries to tell them that her powers are really developing fast. I don't think enough detail was given to the negative consequences of what the children end up doing. We get no internal dialog or verbal dialog between the characters on how they're feeling about what they're doing and why or why not they're feeling a certain way by their actions. Penny never addresses the blackouts, her headaches and the way her body is affected by teleportation either.
On the positive side, Roberts has written a rather unique book with an interesting setting and diverse characters.
So, I can see this being an appealing book for kids because the characters are basically running their own lives with little parental involvement and they are successful at it. Since they don't appear to have regrets at living an unlawful life and most of their decisions are poor, I would recommend parents read along with their kids and discuss what happens or what could have happened and why or why not the choices the 3 kids make are good or bad. I was originally going to give this a "like" rating, but the more I think about it and the message it sends, the less I like it. I'm not a goody two shoes kind of person who thinks all books should impart a positive lesson (I love the fluff) and I don't think a child would be damaged by reading this, but it does deliver a poor message and the characters are bad examples to an age group which needs positive guidance and role models.
April 3, 2014
If you had the choice, would you be a superhero or a supervillain. I'm guessing most people will say "superhero", I mean, a lot of people are raised on Marvel/DC comics (I had... Teen Titans so I think that counts). Penelope Akk, the protagonist of this book, and the one asking you not to tell her parents that she's a supervillain, wants to be a superhero as well. The problem is, she's good at being a supervillain.
In a community of superheros and their kids (think of the movie The Incredibles), Penelope is the daughter of two superheroes whose identity isn't a secret. Her dad is a genius scientist and her mom is known as The Audit (I'm sure you can guess what her power is). So when Penelope finds out that her superpower is here, she's more than a little excited.
But as she tries to master her powers with the help of her friends, they end up in a fight with a jerk sidekick and suddenly, they're supervillains, called The Inscrutable Machine. Penelope becomes Bad Penny (and she hates her name), her friend Claire, who has the power of adorableness becomes e-Claire and Ray, the human-turned-superpowered human is Reviled. Penny finds that she enjoys supervillainy, but she does want to turn to the good side.
What I liked about this book was the superhero and supervillain community. Not everyone is a superhero/supervillain, in fact, you can see that LA is totally used to them, but they have this predictable dynamic. There are truce areas and they have a code of conduct. Of course, you can even switch sides. What Penny and her friends do is to shake up the whole scene, which made for an interesting read. Of course, through the course of their destruction and daily lives, a host of interesting characters are introduced.
Penny and her friends are an interesting bunch too. There's Penny, who's clearly mad scientist material. She's totally crushing on Ray (but she doesn't know/won't admit it), which is why she's sometimes jealous of her best friend Claire, who's adorable. Claire is the daughter of The Minx, a literally charming superhero who used to be a supervillain. Ray was the least interesting of the tree, but then again, Penny and Claire are really interesting. The three of them have a dynamic that makes them a very strong team.
This book has strong characters, an interesting setting and inventions that I love. In fact, I think my little brother (age 10) would be perfect for this book, since he loves inventing stuff. Not just my brother though, this is a fun book that I think will appeal to a large age-group; after all, I enjoyed it too.
I hear that there's a sequel in progress and I'm eagerly waiting for it.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
In a community of superheros and their kids (think of the movie The Incredibles), Penelope is the daughter of two superheroes whose identity isn't a secret. Her dad is a genius scientist and her mom is known as The Audit (I'm sure you can guess what her power is). So when Penelope finds out that her superpower is here, she's more than a little excited.
But as she tries to master her powers with the help of her friends, they end up in a fight with a jerk sidekick and suddenly, they're supervillains, called The Inscrutable Machine. Penelope becomes Bad Penny (and she hates her name), her friend Claire, who has the power of adorableness becomes e-Claire and Ray, the human-turned-superpowered human is Reviled. Penny finds that she enjoys supervillainy, but she does want to turn to the good side.
What I liked about this book was the superhero and supervillain community. Not everyone is a superhero/supervillain, in fact, you can see that LA is totally used to them, but they have this predictable dynamic. There are truce areas and they have a code of conduct. Of course, you can even switch sides. What Penny and her friends do is to shake up the whole scene, which made for an interesting read. Of course, through the course of their destruction and daily lives, a host of interesting characters are introduced.
Penny and her friends are an interesting bunch too. There's Penny, who's clearly mad scientist material. She's totally crushing on Ray (but she doesn't know/won't admit it), which is why she's sometimes jealous of her best friend Claire, who's adorable. Claire is the daughter of The Minx, a literally charming superhero who used to be a supervillain. Ray was the least interesting of the tree, but then again, Penny and Claire are really interesting. The three of them have a dynamic that makes them a very strong team.
This book has strong characters, an interesting setting and inventions that I love. In fact, I think my little brother (age 10) would be perfect for this book, since he loves inventing stuff. Not just my brother though, this is a fun book that I think will appeal to a large age-group; after all, I enjoyed it too.
I hear that there's a sequel in progress and I'm eagerly waiting for it.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
May 18, 2017
It was okay.
What I was expecting: A kid gains superpowers and decided to mess around with it while doing either actual supervillain stuff or in between things (e.g. just doing whatever she wants).
What I end up with: A kid gaining superpowers and for some illogical reasons, the kid and her friends went down the path of a supervillain. Despite supposedly being mature or smart, they aren't.
A lot of things just don't make a whole lot of sense. Penny is from a superhero family. The father is smart. The mother is the law (essentially). And there is absolutely no hints of Penny being oppressed. So there shouldn't be any rebellious emotions where Penny would become a supervillain. Claire is from a single mom, who just does whatever she wants. Claire's mom tries to keep Claire straight (good guy) but also does a lot of in between stuff. Ray is a mystery but from the initial impressions, he's a good kid as well. A good, geeky kid with family issues. And they are all "smart" kids.
But what did we end up with half way through the book? 3 idiots. Ray tossed out his smartness to be a brute. Claire tossed out whatever smartness she had to be an attention whore. Penny tossed out her sillyness and tried to think smart but fails. For some reason, both Ray and Claire is purposely trying to go down the road of being supervillains, thinking that they can pull out any time. Penny is not trying a whole lot to pull them out of it, or even keep them in line.
Seriously, that is already a big issue. Idiotic characters pulling the plot along is a big issue for me. Another type of plot development I dislike is the "blackmailing/hostage" type. I'm not sure what it's actually called but it's when the protagonists has to do something due to the antagonist directly threatening the protagonist (e.g. Mario has to keep saving Princess Peach because Bowser keeps on kidnapping her).
Anyways, in the end, everything solves itself out. But at that point, things just get too illogical and unreasonable. And I just lose more and more interest. I like well crafted and written stories, not ones pulled along via poorly constructed tropes.
P.S.
What I was expecting: A kid gains superpowers and decided to mess around with it while doing either actual supervillain stuff or in between things (e.g. just doing whatever she wants).
What I end up with: A kid gaining superpowers and for some illogical reasons, the kid and her friends went down the path of a supervillain. Despite supposedly being mature or smart, they aren't.
A lot of things just don't make a whole lot of sense. Penny is from a superhero family. The father is smart. The mother is the law (essentially). And there is absolutely no hints of Penny being oppressed. So there shouldn't be any rebellious emotions where Penny would become a supervillain. Claire is from a single mom, who just does whatever she wants. Claire's mom tries to keep Claire straight (good guy) but also does a lot of in between stuff. Ray is a mystery but from the initial impressions, he's a good kid as well. A good, geeky kid with family issues. And they are all "smart" kids.
But what did we end up with half way through the book? 3 idiots. Ray tossed out his smartness to be a brute. Claire tossed out whatever smartness she had to be an attention whore. Penny tossed out her sillyness and tried to think smart but fails. For some reason, both Ray and Claire is purposely trying to go down the road of being supervillains, thinking that they can pull out any time. Penny is not trying a whole lot to pull them out of it, or even keep them in line.
Seriously, that is already a big issue. Idiotic characters pulling the plot along is a big issue for me. Another type of plot development I dislike is the "blackmailing/hostage" type. I'm not sure what it's actually called but it's when the protagonists has to do something due to the antagonist directly threatening the protagonist (e.g. Mario has to keep saving Princess Peach because Bowser keeps on kidnapping her).
Anyways, in the end, everything solves itself out. But at that point, things just get too illogical and unreasonable. And I just lose more and more interest. I like well crafted and written stories, not ones pulled along via poorly constructed tropes.
P.S.
March 24, 2014
Full review at http://thebookshelfgargoyle.wordpress... (April 9)
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
Ten Second Synopsis:
Penny contemplates the major question facing superpowered individuals since the superpowers first appeared: will she use her powers for good or evil? Well, evil obviously. Duh.
I was hoping I'd absolutely love this book because it looked to be just the kind of book that would float my boat - supervillainy, gadgets, humour...supervillainy...but instead I found it to be just an okay read. Which is fine. Really, it' okay.
The thing I most liked about the book was the premise - the fact that I haven't come across a lot of superhero content in this age bracket recently, the fact that the superhero bit was paired with a sort of coming-of-age theme...these were really positive aspects in my opinion. There was just something about the execution that didn't quite hit the mark for me.
I did feel that the pacing of the story was a little slow, as there are a lot of incidental scenes in between the major pieces of action and the reveals that move the plot forward. I did tend to lose interest a little in these parts and just wanted to jump straight to the next bit of action.
Overall I think this will appeal to readers of both genders who are looking for a twist on the traditional going-through-puberty type of friendship story, and love books with action and humour throughout.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
Ten Second Synopsis:
Penny contemplates the major question facing superpowered individuals since the superpowers first appeared: will she use her powers for good or evil? Well, evil obviously. Duh.
I was hoping I'd absolutely love this book because it looked to be just the kind of book that would float my boat - supervillainy, gadgets, humour...supervillainy...but instead I found it to be just an okay read. Which is fine. Really, it' okay.
The thing I most liked about the book was the premise - the fact that I haven't come across a lot of superhero content in this age bracket recently, the fact that the superhero bit was paired with a sort of coming-of-age theme...these were really positive aspects in my opinion. There was just something about the execution that didn't quite hit the mark for me.
I did feel that the pacing of the story was a little slow, as there are a lot of incidental scenes in between the major pieces of action and the reveals that move the plot forward. I did tend to lose interest a little in these parts and just wanted to jump straight to the next bit of action.
Overall I think this will appeal to readers of both genders who are looking for a twist on the traditional going-through-puberty type of friendship story, and love books with action and humour throughout.
August 9, 2016
Penelope is the bomb. I *really* enjoyed this young mad scientist. She's smart and funny and real and sympathetic. The moments when she's inventing or fighting alongside her friends were exciting and often hilarious.
In this world, superheroes and super-villains are a known quantity. There's an organization for each side. Penelope is the daughter of two superheroes and has always expected that she will grow up to be a hero, too. But when her powers manifest, they seem…villainous. And that complicates things.
Very enjoyable read.
In this world, superheroes and super-villains are a known quantity. There's an organization for each side. Penelope is the daughter of two superheroes and has always expected that she will grow up to be a hero, too. But when her powers manifest, they seem…villainous. And that complicates things.
Very enjoyable read.
May 29, 2020
Original Review at Jaunts & Haunts
2/5
DNF.
I normally don’t rate my DNF’s, but I read enough of this book to give my full opinion on the writing and what did and didn’t work.
I wanted to like this book, really I did. But in the end, there were too many flaws that I couldn’t ignore that seriously affected my reading experience.
This book pulled me in because of its superhero concept. I’ve always loved superheroes since I was a comic-crazed kid in the 90’s.
However, that’s almost where the positives end for me.
I think the main issue I had with this novel was the characters. I didn’t like the main character. There, I said it. Initially I did. She seemed like a bright young girl with a very awesome future ahead of her since her parents are superheroes/superscientists.
But as things progressed, the main character seemed way too mercurial, to the point of being bipolar. I get that kids are shifty with their emotions and decisions at times, but the main character was all over the place.
The moment that did it for me was when the main character was adamant about saving a friend and not being a villain, but ended up doing the most villainy thing while literally muahaha’ing maniacally. Not only was the execution extremely cheesy and unbelievable, but the character’s entire personality became forfeit at that point. That was when I put the book down and moved on to something else.
Flow also suffered. Conversations start off well only to have sudden mentions of other things that don’t make any sense or have characters suddenly appear in conversations before they enter the scene, causing confusion.
Also related to flow, the writing was off frequently enough to make my reading a chore. The bits where the main character tried to use her powers were disjointed and didn’t make enough sense. I think that was what the author was going for since the main character doesn’t really know what she’s doing, but it always drew me out of the story and left me wanting a lot more. It just didn’t work for me.
Ultimately, I can’t recommend this book, but who knows? Give the preview a try. It could be the perfect book for you, just don’t be surprised if it doesn’t meet your expectations.
2/5
DNF.
I normally don’t rate my DNF’s, but I read enough of this book to give my full opinion on the writing and what did and didn’t work.
I wanted to like this book, really I did. But in the end, there were too many flaws that I couldn’t ignore that seriously affected my reading experience.
This book pulled me in because of its superhero concept. I’ve always loved superheroes since I was a comic-crazed kid in the 90’s.
However, that’s almost where the positives end for me.
I think the main issue I had with this novel was the characters. I didn’t like the main character. There, I said it. Initially I did. She seemed like a bright young girl with a very awesome future ahead of her since her parents are superheroes/superscientists.
But as things progressed, the main character seemed way too mercurial, to the point of being bipolar. I get that kids are shifty with their emotions and decisions at times, but the main character was all over the place.
The moment that did it for me was when the main character was adamant about saving a friend and not being a villain, but ended up doing the most villainy thing while literally muahaha’ing maniacally. Not only was the execution extremely cheesy and unbelievable, but the character’s entire personality became forfeit at that point. That was when I put the book down and moved on to something else.
Flow also suffered. Conversations start off well only to have sudden mentions of other things that don’t make any sense or have characters suddenly appear in conversations before they enter the scene, causing confusion.
Also related to flow, the writing was off frequently enough to make my reading a chore. The bits where the main character tried to use her powers were disjointed and didn’t make enough sense. I think that was what the author was going for since the main character doesn’t really know what she’s doing, but it always drew me out of the story and left me wanting a lot more. It just didn’t work for me.
Ultimately, I can’t recommend this book, but who knows? Give the preview a try. It could be the perfect book for you, just don’t be surprised if it doesn’t meet your expectations.
July 7, 2021
I've been a hero geek as long as I can remember. I read comics, watch hero shows and movies, used to co-own a comic shop, and have sold novels and short stories in the genre. I consider myself something of an expert. This book features middle-school main characters, and I believe is targeted at that audience, but fit a slot in a reading challenge for me so I gave it a shot.
Turns out, I loved it. This was a great story with a good first person focused POV character. The world is well-fleshed out, with a believable background and some great detail about heroes and villains work in this world. I was really impressed.
Penny Akk is the daughter of two (mostly) retired superheroes and wants nothing more than for her powers to kick in. Her to friends, Claire and Ray, share similar dreams. Then, Penny gets a nudge from her developing power and goes on an inventing spree. She not only comes up with gadgets for herself, but helps push her friends in the superpowered direction.
The three of them end up with codename, diverse abilities, and then end up being called supervillains through a series of misunderstandings. Penny wrestles with wanting to be a hero but enjoying the rush of her budding villainy. Her friends just seem happy to along with whatever comes, taking their cues from their leader.
Things get stranger as Penny and company get dragged into the villain side despite their best intentions. She struggles with trying to get out of her increasing connections to the villains, keeping her secret from her parents, and a budding love interest.
I went in to this curious and came out loving it. I'm going to be reading the rest of this series as I get the chance. Strongly recommended for fans of superheroes or anyone who likes a well built world with some fun new characters and spins on powers.
Turns out, I loved it. This was a great story with a good first person focused POV character. The world is well-fleshed out, with a believable background and some great detail about heroes and villains work in this world. I was really impressed.
Penny Akk is the daughter of two (mostly) retired superheroes and wants nothing more than for her powers to kick in. Her to friends, Claire and Ray, share similar dreams. Then, Penny gets a nudge from her developing power and goes on an inventing spree. She not only comes up with gadgets for herself, but helps push her friends in the superpowered direction.
The three of them end up with codename, diverse abilities, and then end up being called supervillains through a series of misunderstandings. Penny wrestles with wanting to be a hero but enjoying the rush of her budding villainy. Her friends just seem happy to along with whatever comes, taking their cues from their leader.
Things get stranger as Penny and company get dragged into the villain side despite their best intentions. She struggles with trying to get out of her increasing connections to the villains, keeping her secret from her parents, and a budding love interest.
I went in to this curious and came out loving it. I'm going to be reading the rest of this series as I get the chance. Strongly recommended for fans of superheroes or anyone who likes a well built world with some fun new characters and spins on powers.
January 3, 2016
My 8-year-old daughter read this and loved it so much that she insisted I read it too. The supervillains are pretty fluffy and lightweight (more toward the capers & mayhem end of the spectrum rather than the wholesale killing & destruction end, though some darker deeds are mentioned in passing), so it's not too scary for young kids. If you prefer villainy to be taken more seriously, that's understandable, but this is not going to be the book for you.
In this book's world, superheroes and supervillains are a commonly known and accepted part of life -- nobody bats an eye at riding a bus with people in supervillain outfits. They do keep their identities secret, though. The main character, Penelope (Penny), is the daughter of two superheroes, and at the beginning of the book she's impatient for her own superpowers to kick in. When they do, she finds out that she's a Mad Scientist. She'll be thinking about a problem, then go into a sort of trance while she invents a gadget that solves that problem. Her parents think it'll take months or even years for her powers to be fully developed and come under her control, but Penny has other ideas. One of the first things she invents is a serum that brings her powers fully out -- as well as those of her two best friends! The three of them, in an ill-thought-out effort to punish a science fair cheater, end up on the wrong side of a superhero. Just like that, they've become the youngest known supervillain team. They didn't set out to be supervillains, but they figure they'll have fun with it for a while and then make a splashy turn to the superhero side. But it doesn't go quite that smoothly.
The writing style is brisk and witty. I suppose it should be frustrating that Penny doesn't just come clean to her parents when things start to get out of hand, but come on. We were all 13 once. Of course she doesn't. It's fun to watch how she makes decisions that seem reasonable according to her framework, but she just keeps getting in deeper. She's not bad or dumb, just not quite as on top of things as she thinks she is.
Of the side characters, easily the most fun are the other supervillains we meet. The superhero adults -- the authority figures, in other words -- are well-meaning but they just wouldn't understand, whereas the supervillains are free and accepting and just doing their own thing without all those boring rules. Between that and the whole "adolescence brings on abilities that you don't fully understand or control" metaphor, I think the author has a good feel for what it's like to be that age.
You have to just let some things ride -- it's pretty implausible that nobody figures out who Bad Penny and her associates are, plus there are all the usual Physics Doesn't Work That Way moments. But I was able to suspend my disbelief just fine on those points. I did have a couple of issues. There were some interesting characters who got introduced and then more or less dropped, though they may get more development in subsequent books. Also, I thought it ended rather abruptly. (The ending was also quite different from the ending I thought it was heading for, but that's not a complaint!) But I enjoyed it enough that I'll try the sequel, and my daughter has already read them both more than once.
In this book's world, superheroes and supervillains are a commonly known and accepted part of life -- nobody bats an eye at riding a bus with people in supervillain outfits. They do keep their identities secret, though. The main character, Penelope (Penny), is the daughter of two superheroes, and at the beginning of the book she's impatient for her own superpowers to kick in. When they do, she finds out that she's a Mad Scientist. She'll be thinking about a problem, then go into a sort of trance while she invents a gadget that solves that problem. Her parents think it'll take months or even years for her powers to be fully developed and come under her control, but Penny has other ideas. One of the first things she invents is a serum that brings her powers fully out -- as well as those of her two best friends! The three of them, in an ill-thought-out effort to punish a science fair cheater, end up on the wrong side of a superhero. Just like that, they've become the youngest known supervillain team. They didn't set out to be supervillains, but they figure they'll have fun with it for a while and then make a splashy turn to the superhero side. But it doesn't go quite that smoothly.
The writing style is brisk and witty. I suppose it should be frustrating that Penny doesn't just come clean to her parents when things start to get out of hand, but come on. We were all 13 once. Of course she doesn't. It's fun to watch how she makes decisions that seem reasonable according to her framework, but she just keeps getting in deeper. She's not bad or dumb, just not quite as on top of things as she thinks she is.
Of the side characters, easily the most fun are the other supervillains we meet. The superhero adults -- the authority figures, in other words -- are well-meaning but they just wouldn't understand, whereas the supervillains are free and accepting and just doing their own thing without all those boring rules. Between that and the whole "adolescence brings on abilities that you don't fully understand or control" metaphor, I think the author has a good feel for what it's like to be that age.
You have to just let some things ride -- it's pretty implausible that nobody figures out who Bad Penny and her associates are, plus there are all the usual Physics Doesn't Work That Way moments. But I was able to suspend my disbelief just fine on those points. I did have a couple of issues. There were some interesting characters who got introduced and then more or less dropped, though they may get more development in subsequent books. Also, I thought it ended rather abruptly. (The ending was also quite different from the ending I thought it was heading for, but that's not a complaint!) But I enjoyed it enough that I'll try the sequel, and my daughter has already read them both more than once.
November 20, 2017
My best friend recommended this book to me, and all was thinking through the first 100 pages is, this is so her. This is so her.
Not really ME, but so her.
And then the plot started, and it was ME.
So about the first 100 pages of this are world-building, but not in a bad way. Like, I mean the entire book could have been world-building like that and I thin it would’ve stood on it own. I mean, it was hilarious and awesome and you really got to know the characters REALLY well.
((It actually brings to mind Origin by Jessica Khoury, which I also described as world-building for the first 100 pages. Out of the two, this one is DEFINITELY better, and that is one of my favorite books.))
Now, about the characters… I don’t know how you can’t just love them all! Even the villains, are so captivating and funny and awesome. Lucyfar, Bull, Cybermancer… all of them. In fact, some of the more unlikable characters were among the heroes. Mech, for instance.
That might be because we did not interact with the heroes as much as we did with the villains, but whatever! It was awesome!
I was just a little confused (all right, a lot confused) on who Claudia is. I mean, she must have been mentioned during the first 100 pages, but I guess I forgot about her and then she showed up a later and I’m still wondering who she is. Was she one of Marcia friends? I think so, I can’t be sure.
This is the best, I love the Inscrutable Machine, and I can’t wait for book 2.
Not really ME, but so her.
And then the plot started, and it was ME.
So about the first 100 pages of this are world-building, but not in a bad way. Like, I mean the entire book could have been world-building like that and I thin it would’ve stood on it own. I mean, it was hilarious and awesome and you really got to know the characters REALLY well.
((It actually brings to mind Origin by Jessica Khoury, which I also described as world-building for the first 100 pages. Out of the two, this one is DEFINITELY better, and that is one of my favorite books.))
Now, about the characters… I don’t know how you can’t just love them all! Even the villains, are so captivating and funny and awesome. Lucyfar, Bull, Cybermancer… all of them. In fact, some of the more unlikable characters were among the heroes. Mech, for instance.
That might be because we did not interact with the heroes as much as we did with the villains, but whatever! It was awesome!
I was just a little confused (all right, a lot confused) on who Claudia is. I mean, she must have been mentioned during the first 100 pages, but I guess I forgot about her and then she showed up a later and I’m still wondering who she is. Was she one of Marcia friends? I think so, I can’t be sure.
This is the best, I love the Inscrutable Machine, and I can’t wait for book 2.
June 8, 2016
I laughed out loud in several places reading this. It's a unique take on super heroes and the world make sense without being overburdened with explanation and details. Plus the characters are believable.
It misses out on five stars because there was a short portion where I started to get incredibly frustrated with how the characters, especially the main, were sort of passively pulled from one situation to another. I think there was a theme that supervillainy was addictive or that they were out of control, something like that, but for several chapters they just seemed to get pulled or pushed along with me really understanding their motivations for acting.
However, this slump only lasted for a bit. Not long enough that I was seriously tempted to put it down. Then they managed to get things "back on track" for the climax.
Parental concerns: while there is violence, it's not explicit and there's a suggestion that since the characters have "healing" elements, no one the kids hurt will be down for long.
Some alcohol passed around in front of and offered to the kids, though they turn it down (still seemed odd).
And some mild innuendo mostly dealing with the revealing costumes of certain super-women (not explicit).
It misses out on five stars because there was a short portion where I started to get incredibly frustrated with how the characters, especially the main, were sort of passively pulled from one situation to another. I think there was a theme that supervillainy was addictive or that they were out of control, something like that, but for several chapters they just seemed to get pulled or pushed along with me really understanding their motivations for acting.
However, this slump only lasted for a bit. Not long enough that I was seriously tempted to put it down. Then they managed to get things "back on track" for the climax.
Parental concerns: while there is violence, it's not explicit and there's a suggestion that since the characters have "healing" elements, no one the kids hurt will be down for long.
Some alcohol passed around in front of and offered to the kids, though they turn it down (still seemed odd).
And some mild innuendo mostly dealing with the revealing costumes of certain super-women (not explicit).
May 31, 2020
2.5 stars
I buddy read this with Jonny and lets just say it didn't go as good as we hoped it would. You can read his review here.
I don't really have much to say about this book. It sounded intriguing but it didn't quite work for me. It's told from the perspective of a 13 year old which is fine I have no problems reading from a younger perspective at all. My issue with this character is that she couldn't seem to make up her mind. Yes I know 13 year olds change their mind on things a million times and I get it to an extent but here it really got annoying. I thought toward the end that she finally had made up her mind and I was like ok but oh no she had to change her mind again.
Also some of the superpowers were lame and how the main characters powers were "described" felt like a cop out and just lazy to me. I was into it enough to want to finish it but I want be continuing on with the series.
I buddy read this with Jonny and lets just say it didn't go as good as we hoped it would. You can read his review here.
I don't really have much to say about this book. It sounded intriguing but it didn't quite work for me. It's told from the perspective of a 13 year old which is fine I have no problems reading from a younger perspective at all. My issue with this character is that she couldn't seem to make up her mind. Yes I know 13 year olds change their mind on things a million times and I get it to an extent but here it really got annoying. I thought toward the end that she finally had made up her mind and I was like ok but oh no she had to change her mind again.
Also some of the superpowers were lame and how the main characters powers were "described" felt like a cop out and just lazy to me. I was into it enough to want to finish it but I want be continuing on with the series.
August 23, 2016
A charming superhero teen novel.
Penelope (Penny) Akk's world if full of heroes, villains and people with extraordinary powers. And she herself can't wait for her superpowers to kick in. Her are retired super genius parents superheroes so it's only a matter of time. And then they do and.... things get a bit hectic. Being a "Mad Scientist" and making gadgets left and right could just get into trouble. Especially if after just a little scuffle with the school primadonna, she get labeled as a supervillain.
Roberts manages to create a fun and lighthearted world full of cool characters and cool gadgets for Penny to make and explore. The characters are fun and the story hits just the right notes to keep the novel balanced.
Recommended for anyone who likes a good lighthearted story about a teen supervillain and her friends.
Penelope (Penny) Akk's world if full of heroes, villains and people with extraordinary powers. And she herself can't wait for her superpowers to kick in. Her are retired super genius parents superheroes so it's only a matter of time. And then they do and.... things get a bit hectic. Being a "Mad Scientist" and making gadgets left and right could just get into trouble. Especially if after just a little scuffle with the school primadonna, she get labeled as a supervillain.
Roberts manages to create a fun and lighthearted world full of cool characters and cool gadgets for Penny to make and explore. The characters are fun and the story hits just the right notes to keep the novel balanced.
Recommended for anyone who likes a good lighthearted story about a teen supervillain and her friends.
October 20, 2022
Penny está impaciente por obtener sus superpoderes, y aunque sus padres le han repetido que a ellos les aparecieron en la universidad, ella no está dispuesta a esperar. El que aparezcan a sus trece años le da tiempo de planear algo grandioso para sorprender a sus padres, pero tras una misión para evitar que su amigo Ray destruya la feria de ciencias escolar, todos creen que ella y sus amigos son supervillanos. ¿Debería corregirlos o aprovechar la diversión?
~~~
Como buena fanática de Boku no Hero Academia, en cuanto leí la sinopsis supe que esta historia me iba a encantar. En personajes tan jóvenes, hay una apreciación diferente de lo que significan los superpoderes, en comparación con adultos. La candidez sumada a la inmadurez e inestabilidad emocional puede llevar a hacer descubrimientos increíbles o las metidas de pata más épicas.
En este mundo parecido al nuestro donde la mitad de la población manifiesta superpoderes, como hija de dos superhéroes retirados, Penny está obsesionada con obtener los suyos, y que sean algo más impresionante que la capacidad de invención de su padre o los de análisis y deducción de su madre. Intenta estimularlos con un invento de su padre, pero sin éxito, no sabe la suficiente ciencia para construirlo; hasta que incapaz de enfocarse en nada más, construye una máquina propia. No sabe cómo lo hizo ni para qué sirve, pero los adultos están impresionados por su máquina de batería infinita, movimiento automático y con reconocimiento de voz. Pero además de unas palmaditas, solo le dicen que ese estallido de poder no se repetirá hasta dentro de cuatro años, por lo menos... pero sí se repite en apenas unos días, primero con inventos sencillos y cosas más complejas conforme empieza a controlar su poder. Solo sus amigos Claire y Ray saben de sus poderes, y la ayudan en secreto a establecer su propia "guarida" para experimentar. Gracias a un suero que Penny inventa para ayudar a Claire en las pruebas de porristas, de repente sus dos amigos también despiertan superpoderes; pero después de un enfrentamiento nocturno con una abusona de la escuela, todos los medios los están catalogando de villanos por los estropicios causados al edificio
y destruir la feria de ciencias. Penny está escandalizada por su mala reputación, y quiere hacer ver a todos que son héroes, pero los villanos de LA quieren poner a prueba a los advenedizos, y después de un par de enfrentamientos, la reputación de The Inescrutable Machine como supervillanos se cimenta. Consolada con la posibilidad de cambiar a héroes cuando crezcan, Penny está feliz de poder seguir con sus inventos y hacer entretenidas misiones con sus amigos. Hasta que el líder de los supervillanos los contacta y los amenaza con revelar sus identidades al mundo si no cumplen sus órdenes. Tal vez ser un supervillano es más peligroso de lo que creían.
Al principio Penny es un poco insoportable con su obsesión con los superpoderes, pero una vez que los consigue, vemos otros rasgos de su personalidad que la convierten en una niña bastante entrañable. Es inteligente, astuta, sabe planear sobre la marcha y sobre todo es una excelente amiga. Inventa varios artilugios que ayudan a sus amigos y se preocupa por ellos en todo momento. Claire es la necesaria amiga optimista y de personalidad burbujeante que los otros dos necesitan y Ryan es el más osado que las instiga a superar sus miedos y arriesgarse más (aunque llega un momento en que resulta preocupante lo emocionado que está ante el peligro). Ninguno de los tres es perfecto, porque son preadolescentes ególatras, después de todo, pero la amistad que tienen y las metas que se fijan, intentando superarse continuamente, hacen que su grupo sea muy equilibrado y que sus aventuras sean muy entretenidas.
La trama es bastante ligera y avanza a un ritmo ágil, desde el dominio de los tres con sus poderes, hasta empresas sencillas primero y más arriesgadas después. Las batallas son emocionantes y el clímax está lleno de tensión.
El que The Inescrutable Machine pueda conservar sus identidades ocultas de sus padres hay que achacarlo a esa miopía típica de los cómics (ya saben, no reconocen a Clark Kent sin los lentes XD). ¿De qué otra forma unos padres super inteligentes como los de Penny no van a reconocer a su propia hija por la voz en los videos de sus enfrentamientos? ¿O por el hecho de que The Inescrutable Machine son 3 niños de la edad de su hija y una se llama Bad Penny y la otra E-clair...? Y que casualidad que el tercer miembro use una gorra negra como la de Ray. Y que más casualidad que la líder del grupo tiene poder de invención igual que su hija. Además hay que suspender la incredulidad en el hecho de que la madre de Claire esté de acuerdo en que su hija de 13 años sea supervillana, ande peleando con villanos y hasta la contacte con compañías poco recomendables, lejos de ser la madre comprensiva que "respeta las decisiones de su hija" como alega, me pareció una irresponsabilidad.
Una lectura bastante refrescante y entretenida que vale la pena continuar.
¿Qué Disfruté?
El mundo normal mezclado con las personas con superpoderes. La sociedad está acostumbrada a ver las batallitas y gente volando, pero todo en un ámbito civilizado.
¿Qué Prefiero Olvidar?
Que estos niños sean tan imprudentes. Ir a la guarida de los supervillanos como si fueran a la casa de la abuela es de lo más estúpido. ¿Por qué vas a preferir meterte a la boca del lobo que contarle a tus papás superhéroes que te están chantajeando?
Citas
If you followed the same path I did, I would still be proud of you, but, if I’d known then what I know now, I’d have made different choices. I’m hoping I can pass on my harder lessons and you can have all the fun without the mistakes
~~~
Como buena fanática de Boku no Hero Academia, en cuanto leí la sinopsis supe que esta historia me iba a encantar. En personajes tan jóvenes, hay una apreciación diferente de lo que significan los superpoderes, en comparación con adultos. La candidez sumada a la inmadurez e inestabilidad emocional puede llevar a hacer descubrimientos increíbles o las metidas de pata más épicas.
En este mundo parecido al nuestro donde la mitad de la población manifiesta superpoderes, como hija de dos superhéroes retirados, Penny está obsesionada con obtener los suyos, y que sean algo más impresionante que la capacidad de invención de su padre o los de análisis y deducción de su madre. Intenta estimularlos con un invento de su padre, pero sin éxito, no sabe la suficiente ciencia para construirlo; hasta que incapaz de enfocarse en nada más, construye una máquina propia. No sabe cómo lo hizo ni para qué sirve, pero los adultos están impresionados por su máquina de batería infinita, movimiento automático y con reconocimiento de voz. Pero además de unas palmaditas, solo le dicen que ese estallido de poder no se repetirá hasta dentro de cuatro años, por lo menos... pero sí se repite en apenas unos días, primero con inventos sencillos y cosas más complejas conforme empieza a controlar su poder. Solo sus amigos Claire y Ray saben de sus poderes, y la ayudan en secreto a establecer su propia "guarida" para experimentar. Gracias a un suero que Penny inventa para ayudar a Claire en las pruebas de porristas, de repente sus dos amigos también despiertan superpoderes; pero después de un enfrentamiento nocturno con una abusona de la escuela, todos los medios los están catalogando de villanos por los estropicios causados al edificio
y destruir la feria de ciencias. Penny está escandalizada por su mala reputación, y quiere hacer ver a todos que son héroes, pero los villanos de LA quieren poner a prueba a los advenedizos, y después de un par de enfrentamientos, la reputación de The Inescrutable Machine como supervillanos se cimenta. Consolada con la posibilidad de cambiar a héroes cuando crezcan, Penny está feliz de poder seguir con sus inventos y hacer entretenidas misiones con sus amigos. Hasta que el líder de los supervillanos los contacta y los amenaza con revelar sus identidades al mundo si no cumplen sus órdenes. Tal vez ser un supervillano es más peligroso de lo que creían.
Al principio Penny es un poco insoportable con su obsesión con los superpoderes, pero una vez que los consigue, vemos otros rasgos de su personalidad que la convierten en una niña bastante entrañable. Es inteligente, astuta, sabe planear sobre la marcha y sobre todo es una excelente amiga. Inventa varios artilugios que ayudan a sus amigos y se preocupa por ellos en todo momento. Claire es la necesaria amiga optimista y de personalidad burbujeante que los otros dos necesitan y Ryan es el más osado que las instiga a superar sus miedos y arriesgarse más (aunque llega un momento en que resulta preocupante lo emocionado que está ante el peligro). Ninguno de los tres es perfecto, porque son preadolescentes ególatras, después de todo, pero la amistad que tienen y las metas que se fijan, intentando superarse continuamente, hacen que su grupo sea muy equilibrado y que sus aventuras sean muy entretenidas.
La trama es bastante ligera y avanza a un ritmo ágil, desde el dominio de los tres con sus poderes, hasta empresas sencillas primero y más arriesgadas después. Las batallas son emocionantes y el clímax está lleno de tensión.
El que The Inescrutable Machine pueda conservar sus identidades ocultas de sus padres hay que achacarlo a esa miopía típica de los cómics (ya saben, no reconocen a Clark Kent sin los lentes XD). ¿De qué otra forma unos padres super inteligentes como los de Penny no van a reconocer a su propia hija por la voz en los videos de sus enfrentamientos? ¿O por el hecho de que The Inescrutable Machine son 3 niños de la edad de su hija y una se llama Bad Penny y la otra E-clair...? Y que casualidad que el tercer miembro use una gorra negra como la de Ray. Y que más casualidad que la líder del grupo tiene poder de invención igual que su hija. Además hay que suspender la incredulidad en el hecho de que la madre de Claire esté de acuerdo en que su hija de 13 años sea supervillana, ande peleando con villanos y hasta la contacte con compañías poco recomendables, lejos de ser la madre comprensiva que "respeta las decisiones de su hija" como alega, me pareció una irresponsabilidad.
Una lectura bastante refrescante y entretenida que vale la pena continuar.
¿Qué Disfruté?
El mundo normal mezclado con las personas con superpoderes. La sociedad está acostumbrada a ver las batallitas y gente volando, pero todo en un ámbito civilizado.
¿Qué Prefiero Olvidar?
Que estos niños sean tan imprudentes. Ir a la guarida de los supervillanos como si fueran a la casa de la abuela es de lo más estúpido. ¿Por qué vas a preferir meterte a la boca del lobo que contarle a tus papás superhéroes que te están chantajeando?
Citas
If you followed the same path I did, I would still be proud of you, but, if I’d known then what I know now, I’d have made different choices. I’m hoping I can pass on my harder lessons and you can have all the fun without the mistakes
December 18, 2016
Generally silly and harmless fun. There are a few little nitpicks I have about it, but for the most part it's not too bad. The only thing that really annoyed me is that the author keeps talking about things that he hasn't really described or even mentioned before as if we should already know what they are. Past events, characters that just sort of show up that the characters seem to know, but have never actually been introduced before anywhere in the book. Things like that. It made me wonder if maybe this was not the first book in the series, but it appears to be, so, *shrug* I dunno, it was okay, but that one little thing really annoyed me. It's pretty clean as far as language, sex, and violence go, so I'd definitely say it's kid safe.
Did not finish
September 14, 2015I'm having a great deal of trouble reading this, which has nothing to do with the writing. You know what your fingers feel like after handling newspaper for a while? Whatever the cover of this book was printed with feels like this ALL THE TIME. Every time I pick it up to try reading it, I read the same few sentences and then put it down because I need to wash my hands.
Seriously hesitant to pick up anything else from Curiosity Quills Press because of this issue.
Seriously hesitant to pick up anything else from Curiosity Quills Press because of this issue.
December 18, 2020
(Not sure what happened but I somehow ended up listening to this and not #0.5 of the series on 12/15/2020. Updating books.)
Notes:
- Narration by Emily Woo Zeller was great!
- I believe this series is more MG range than YA but it's not dumbed down.
- I wanted a fun story and this one delivered. Great story about young teens learning how to use their superpowers.
Cheers to libraries having a great selection for digital loans. =)
Notes:
- Narration by Emily Woo Zeller was great!
- I believe this series is more MG range than YA but it's not dumbed down.
- I wanted a fun story and this one delivered. Great story about young teens learning how to use their superpowers.
Cheers to libraries having a great selection for digital loans. =)
May 26, 2020
Gewoon leuke YA urban fantasy die zich afspeelt in een modern Los Angeles waar superhelden en superschurken echt bestaan. Een meisje genaamd Penny, de dochter van twee briljante superhelden ontdekt dat zij ook superkrachten heeft, superkrachten die het beste passen bij het klassieke idee van een kwade genius, maarliefst. Ze vindt een mechanisch polsbandje uit dat blijkt te leven en allerlei materialen kan consumeren en scheiden in elementaire delen. Samen met twee vrienden vormt zijn een groepjes jonge superschurken genaamd Tuhe Inscrutable Machine maar als hun capriolen meer en meer aandacht beginnen te trekken en meer en meer serieuze gevolgen krijgen zal ze toch moeten beslissen: wil ze een schurk blijven, of toch een held worden?
Het verhaal is goed geschreven en speelt leuk met de cliché's van het superhelden genre maar weet vooral de cliché's van de Young Adult categorie niet te ontwijken. Zeker wel de moeite van het lezen waard maar ik voel niet direct een enorme drang om de andere boeken in deze reeks ook te lezen.
Het verhaal is goed geschreven en speelt leuk met de cliché's van het superhelden genre maar weet vooral de cliché's van de Young Adult categorie niet te ontwijken. Zeker wel de moeite van het lezen waard maar ik voel niet direct een enorme drang om de andere boeken in deze reeks ook te lezen.
June 8, 2021
I really wanted to like this. I'm a sucker for super-geniuses and superheroes. That's why I picked it up, even though I'm not the target demographic.
So maybe I'm too adult or too old to enjoy this (although I have enjoyed exceptional MG novels, such as those by Nancy Farmer).
But srsly? The girl comes across more like a shallow ditz than a nerd. She invents something cluelessly, without any understanding of it. Just, voila! I guess being an inventor is childishly easy, and it doesn't have to follow any rules or make sense.
It was too nonsensical for me, and I wasn't feeling engaged with these kids. I get that gatekeepers (agents, publishers) are burned out on dysfunctional families and troubled kids, but I think that overcoming great odds is an important ingredient in making a likable protagonist. I wasn't seeing that here.
The three main character kids have happy families, they're rich, they're destined to be powerful, and they have no apparent obstacles. The author tells us that they're sort of outcasts, and there's a mean girl at school, but it's all told rather than shown. I wasn't seeing any plausible signs of those things.
Did not finish at about 50 pages in.
So maybe I'm too adult or too old to enjoy this (although I have enjoyed exceptional MG novels, such as those by Nancy Farmer).
But srsly? The girl comes across more like a shallow ditz than a nerd. She invents something cluelessly, without any understanding of it. Just, voila! I guess being an inventor is childishly easy, and it doesn't have to follow any rules or make sense.
It was too nonsensical for me, and I wasn't feeling engaged with these kids. I get that gatekeepers (agents, publishers) are burned out on dysfunctional families and troubled kids, but I think that overcoming great odds is an important ingredient in making a likable protagonist. I wasn't seeing that here.
The three main character kids have happy families, they're rich, they're destined to be powerful, and they have no apparent obstacles. The author tells us that they're sort of outcasts, and there's a mean girl at school, but it's all told rather than shown. I wasn't seeing any plausible signs of those things.
Did not finish at about 50 pages in.
September 22, 2018
I was a little disappointed when I finished this one. I was hoping to be really enamored by the story, but in the end, it felt too disjointed for me to get really into it. I think a part of that is to blame on myself - I know I gravitate towards stuff that's generally more heroic, especially when it comes to superhero stuff. And I know my personal tastes tend to go towards things that are more consistent in tone - this book kind of bounces around a bit on how it wants to deal with the juxtaposition of superheroes and regular life.
For what it's worth, there was a lot of stuff here that I liked. The zany inventions felt perfectly in place here, and I liked how Penny's power work - though I do kind of agree with another reviewer who said that her blackouts when inventing were kind of a cop out. That being said, when it comes to comic book logic, sometimes the less that's said, the better. And too many powers don't come with a logical or scientific explanation. Might as well go with the blackouts rather than try to explain super science. I can't fault the author there.
I like the characters...for the most part. I like Penny, as we get to know her the most. She's really looking forward to getting her powers and then being a superhero, but things don't go according to plan. When she gets her powers, things happen, and her best friend Claire ends up getting her powers earlier than expected as well. Ray also happens to develop powers. A spoiler note on this:
Misunderstandings happen, and due to a combination of poor decisions and bad timing, Penny and her friends get labelled as super villains instead of heroes. And as they continue on, they keep digging themselves in deeper and deeper, until they find themselves not only entrenched in the supervillain community...they also enjoy it. And they're pretty good at it.
Like I said, it's a fun book. There's a lot of cool bits and inventive uses of powers. But for me, one of the bigger problems was an inconsistent tone. Sometimes the whole thing was kind of treated as an almost satirical take on superheroes, and other times, it plays it straight. Sometimes they're using melted candy to hold down heroes and other times, cops are shooting at them and villains are outright trying to kill them, while civilians die. There's a weird truce between super villains and super heroes where they more or less don't try to investigate who the others are, or mess with their families. And the villains even announce when they're pulling heists and other antics. It's kind of an odd scenario. Why allow it to go on? Were they just at too much of a stalemate? It feels like a weird game where the rules are defined by some unspoken third party. I like the idea of the villains having this secret tight knit community, but the truce between them and the heroes feels really odd, especially since they often end up trying to kill one another. And don't normal people get a say in this?
The other problem I had was with the characters. I liked Penny for the most part, but there were some problems there. Claire was cute, but I was hoping for more development from her, and more explanation into some of her fears and freakouts that happened. Ray was my least favorite. For this I have to use spoiler tags:
Reviews for this one are pretty high, and I do think it was written well. Chances are most people will enjoy it more than I did. I'm not sure I'll continue on with the series - if I do, it won't be right away. A fun read, but not what I was really looking for.
For what it's worth, there was a lot of stuff here that I liked. The zany inventions felt perfectly in place here, and I liked how Penny's power work - though I do kind of agree with another reviewer who said that her blackouts when inventing were kind of a cop out. That being said, when it comes to comic book logic, sometimes the less that's said, the better. And too many powers don't come with a logical or scientific explanation. Might as well go with the blackouts rather than try to explain super science. I can't fault the author there.
I like the characters...for the most part. I like Penny, as we get to know her the most. She's really looking forward to getting her powers and then being a superhero, but things don't go according to plan. When she gets her powers, things happen, and her best friend Claire ends up getting her powers earlier than expected as well. Ray also happens to develop powers. A spoiler note on this:
Misunderstandings happen, and due to a combination of poor decisions and bad timing, Penny and her friends get labelled as super villains instead of heroes. And as they continue on, they keep digging themselves in deeper and deeper, until they find themselves not only entrenched in the supervillain community...they also enjoy it. And they're pretty good at it.
Like I said, it's a fun book. There's a lot of cool bits and inventive uses of powers. But for me, one of the bigger problems was an inconsistent tone. Sometimes the whole thing was kind of treated as an almost satirical take on superheroes, and other times, it plays it straight. Sometimes they're using melted candy to hold down heroes and other times, cops are shooting at them and villains are outright trying to kill them, while civilians die. There's a weird truce between super villains and super heroes where they more or less don't try to investigate who the others are, or mess with their families. And the villains even announce when they're pulling heists and other antics. It's kind of an odd scenario. Why allow it to go on? Were they just at too much of a stalemate? It feels like a weird game where the rules are defined by some unspoken third party. I like the idea of the villains having this secret tight knit community, but the truce between them and the heroes feels really odd, especially since they often end up trying to kill one another. And don't normal people get a say in this?
The other problem I had was with the characters. I liked Penny for the most part, but there were some problems there. Claire was cute, but I was hoping for more development from her, and more explanation into some of her fears and freakouts that happened. Ray was my least favorite. For this I have to use spoiler tags:
Reviews for this one are pretty high, and I do think it was written well. Chances are most people will enjoy it more than I did. I'm not sure I'll continue on with the series - if I do, it won't be right away. A fun read, but not what I was really looking for.
June 3, 2017
Review coming...
July 14, 2014
Суперзлодеи в главных ролях. Лос-Анджелес, переполненный людьми и существами со сверхспособностями. Непрекращающаяся борьба добра и зла. Чайна-таун, в выходные открытый только для злодеев. Комьюнити безумных ученых. Сумасшедшие изобретения и инопланетные технологии. Бонусом — масштабная битва в библиотеке и легендарная The Librarian собственной персоной.
Книжка получилась отменной и здорово повеселила, хотя начало было не особо многообещающим. Первые сто страниц герои (13-летние школьники) всячески старались приобрести суперспособности и развить их, но их продвижение в этом направлении было хаотичным. Вроде бы делали что-то ребята, но по большей части им просто везло, а в промежутках следовали скучные будничные сценки из жизни тинейджеров. Школа, столовка, популярность, друзья, влюбленности, группа поддержки и прочая лабуда. На сотой странице я отчаялась наскрести хотя бы два балла для этой книжки, и тут..
разразилась СУПЕРЗЛОДЕЙСКАЯ ВАКХАНАЛИЯ. Ребята, сами того не желая, стали в глазах общественности злодеями. В начале они, конечно, пытались обелить свое имя, показать, что это было всего лишь недопонимание, но им никто не поверил, потому что слишком уж они хороши в роли злодеев :) И очень скоро ребята поняли, что это и является их призванием — сеять хаос среди порядка, красть редкие магические артефакты, вламываться в технически оснащенные супергеройские квартирки и нарушать покой рядовых спасителей мира.
Отдельно про главных героев. Повествование ведется от лица Пенни (она же Пенелопа Акк), и это редкий случай, когда рассказчик в лице девочки не раздражает. Никаких соплей. Конфликт интересов коснулся ее сильнее всех остальных, потому как ее родители — супергерои, а мама так вообще Аудит, гроза всех злодеев, раскалывающая их на раз-два. Пускай Пенни не знает, как работает ее дар, и не отличается особой физической силой, зато возмещает все своими изобретениями. Самой-самой ее фишечкой является магически заговоренные монетки, несущие оппонентам bad luck ;)
Клэр владеет ментальной силой и являет собой сплошное милашество. Чего стоит один только ее суперзлодейский костюм (teddy bear pajamas) и криповатая армия тряпичных кукол)
Рэй прошел самое интересное перевоплощение — из щуплого ботанистого паренька он превратился в галантного злодея. Масочка и британский акцент в наборе. Если у двух барышень уже были задатки сверхспособностей благодаря родителям, то Рэй получил быстроту и силу немного читерским способом. Что не делает его менее очаровательным)
О взрослых злодеях я могу написать целый трактат. Самое интересное — у них точно такие же тревоги, как и у простых смертных. Каждый повстречавшийся злодейский персонаж имеет ярко выраженную индивидуальность и не маячит меж сюжетных линий ради проформы – нет, эти ребята еще нескоро забудутся) Отдельный респект Lucyfar, которую я полюбила заочно уже за одно имя, а познакомившись поближе – за непробиваемую демоническую харизму <3
После прочтения этой книжки я осознала, насколько погрязла в банальных историях про «хороших парней», которые спасают мир. Здесь же главные герои — злодейские детки, причем не по праву наследования, а по собственному замыслу. Спасибо Ричарду Робертсу, он показал, что спасать мир горазды не только те, кто попадает под категорию «хороший», — с этим делом справятся и злодеи, если дать им шанс. Безбашенная kickass-книжка :)
Пару слов о том, что сбивает с курса.
annikeh.net
Книжка получилась отменной и здорово повеселила, хотя начало было не особо многообещающим. Первые сто страниц герои (13-летние школьники) всячески старались приобрести суперспособности и развить их, но их продвижение в этом направлении было хаотичным. Вроде бы делали что-то ребята, но по большей части им просто везло, а в промежутках следовали скучные будничные сценки из жизни тинейджеров. Школа, столовка, популярность, друзья, влюбленности, группа поддержки и прочая лабуда. На сотой странице я отчаялась наскрести хотя бы два балла для этой книжки, и тут..
разразилась СУПЕРЗЛОДЕЙСКАЯ ВАКХАНАЛИЯ. Ребята, сами того не желая, стали в глазах общественности злодеями. В начале они, конечно, пытались обелить свое имя, показать, что это было всего лишь недопонимание, но им никто не поверил, потому что слишком уж они хороши в роли злодеев :) И очень скоро ребята поняли, что это и является их призванием — сеять хаос среди порядка, красть редкие магические артефакты, вламываться в технически оснащенные супергеройские квартирки и нарушать покой рядовых спасителей мира.
Отдельно про главных героев. Повествование ведется от лица Пенни (она же Пенелопа Акк), и это редкий случай, когда рассказчик в лице девочки не раздражает. Никаких соплей. Конфликт интересов коснулся ее сильнее всех остальных, потому как ее родители — супергерои, а мама так вообще Аудит, гроза всех злодеев, раскалывающая их на раз-два. Пускай Пенни не знает, как работает ее дар, и не отличается особой физической силой, зато возмещает все своими изобретениями. Самой-самой ее фишечкой является магически заговоренные монетки, несущие оппонентам bad luck ;)
Клэр владеет ментальной силой и являет собой сплошное милашество. Чего стоит один только ее суперзлодейский костюм (teddy bear pajamas) и криповатая армия тряпичных кукол)
Рэй прошел самое интересное перевоплощение — из щуплого ботанистого паренька он превратился в галантного злодея. Масочка и британский акцент в наборе. Если у двух барышень уже были задатки сверхспособностей благодаря родителям, то Рэй получил быстроту и силу немного читерским способом. Что не делает его менее очаровательным)
О взрослых злодеях я могу написать целый трактат. Самое интересное — у них точно такие же тревоги, как и у простых смертных. Каждый повстречавшийся злодейский персонаж имеет ярко выраженную индивидуальность и не маячит меж сюжетных линий ради проформы – нет, эти ребята еще нескоро забудутся) Отдельный респект Lucyfar, которую я полюбила заочно уже за одно имя, а познакомившись поближе – за непробиваемую демоническую харизму <3
После прочтения этой книжки я осознала, насколько погрязла в банальных историях про «хороших парней», которые спасают мир. Здесь же главные герои — злодейские детки, причем не по праву наследования, а по собственному замыслу. Спасибо Ричарду Робертсу, он показал, что спасать мир горазды не только те, кто попадает под категорию «хороший», — с этим делом справятся и злодеи, если дать им шанс. Безбашенная kickass-книжка :)
Пару слов о том, что сбивает с курса.
annikeh.net
September 4, 2023
This book is steampunk sci-fi and it was so fun! I'm definitely going to read book 2 in this series.
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