Series Review: Masterminds by Gordon Korman

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Author: Gordon Korman

Genre: Science Fiction

Author: Gordon Korman 

Age Group: Middle Grade

Number of Books: 3

    Book #1: Masterminds

    Book #2: Criminal Destiny

    Book #3: Payback


Serenity is the perfect place to live. No crime, no homelessness, no unemployment--why would anyone ever want to leave? Eli Frieden has lived there his whole life, and he's perfectly happy. That is, until he tries to take a bike ride outside of town and becomes incredibly sick. Eli becomes suspicious. After all, Serenity seems too good to be true. And when something is too good to be true, it usually is, as Eli learns when he discovers a terrible secret about the town he calls home.

I did not expect to like this book. I've only read Gordon Korman once before (Restart), and the writing style and characters were way too cheesy for my taste. Even so, I needed a trilogy or duology to buddy read with someone, so we decided to give this a chance. And let me tell you that I'm so glad I gave this a chance! The "dark secret" trope is kind of overused, but Gordon Korman writes his own unique take on it and does a marvelous job. Filled with plot twists and revelations, the Masterminds series is a total page turner . Unfortunately, very few books can make it through a review without being critiqued, and this is not one of them. The world building felt a little flat, and I would have liked to see more of the science and psychology behind the experiment. Also, the characters could have been better. Still, the series is a fun and makes a great binge read, so I'll give it a solid seven out of ten stars.

This series is great for the phase between reading middle grade and young adult, so if you're a fifth, sixth, or seventh grade, this will be very enjoyable. (Although readers of all ages might find Masterminds to their liking.) Happy reading!





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