Genius Squad

"Genius Squad" by Catherine Jinks is the sequel to "Evil Genius."  Also by Catherine Jinks.
      Cadel Piggot--or Darkkon, or English--is fifteen years old and living in a foster home.  His involvement with the Axis Institute and his maybe father are not yet in the past, because Prosper English, alias Thaddus Roth, is not willing to say anything that would incriminate himself.  And, because no one can figure out if Cadel is a citizen of the United States or of Australia, Cadel's been stuck in a foster home with a malicious boy and limited computer access.  It's like death after all the privacy he wanted at the Piggots, and all the computer time he wanted at the Insitute.  So no wonder he jumps at the chance to join the Genius Squad in hopes of shutting down Phineas Darkkon's scam business, GenoME, with his best and only friend, Sonja.  But how far will Prosper English go to make sure that his heir is under his sole control?  And has Cadel finally found a good home--or is the Genius Squad just a more attractive and innocent-looking Institute?

HA!  Take that, public library system!  I finally found it!  I am convinced that the library had been keeping this book from me, even as I'd been searching for it.  They just didn't want me to read it.  But now I am reading it.  So, there. 
    It was well worth the wait, and the two months of nearly fruitless searching (Yes, I have heard of requesting a book, but I'm just to lazy, okay?).  Catherine Jinks provides a compelling squeal to her first story of a genius boy warped from age two.  This story, though, has a slightly different taste to it. 
    In "Evil Genius" we all know that Cadel was just that:  an evil genius.  Duh.  It's in the title of the book.  He wrecked all sorts of havoc on Sydney, and went to a school for villains.  He was not a good person.  Plain and simple.  But this story explores him trying to break away from his villainous urges.  Of course he still has them, and it would be completely unbelievable if he didn't. This older Cadel has gained a consciousness and a strong sense of dislike for his previous life.
    But he still does preform acts of revenge, and when he does they seem pettier.  He does know that, but still.  Dumping soiled bedsheets on someone's shoes?  What does that accomplish?  Maybe it symbolizes that he's leaving behind his past as a sophisticated villain, and becoming more of a kid . . . and maybe I'm just grasping at straws.   
     The computer lingo is just as intriguing.  I was reading the part in the book where a virus gets disguised as a software protection pop-up last night, and then I clicked on a McAfee "scan your computer" dialogue box a minute or so ago.  I clicked on it out of habit, and then I completely freaked out because someone might've been trying to get into my computer files to see if I had been communicating with any fraudulent companies.  Yeah.  It does make me think twice about putting anything out there on the Internet.
     It's also quite interesting how the information the author gives you is just barely understandable.  Like, what's a "honeytoken" in relation to computers?  She doesn't give you enough information so you know what it is, exactly, but she gives you enough to make sure that you aren't drowning.  As she gives it to you, too, it seems natural, not like you're stupid and she's lecturing you.  It's more like you're privy to Cadel's thoughts and he just barely thinks around the actual definition.  So you aren't crushed and dying underneath all the foreign terms in this book:  You're on top of the moon because you feel like a genius yourself for understanding it all.
      One half-complaint, though.  There are so many characters.  Sure, all their names are distinct and their personalities individual, but at first they leave my head spinning.  There are at least ten new character additions in this book, additions to an already numerous cast.  You get used to them all after a while, because they are constantly reused and brought back, but still.  It's mind-boggling, but it also makes it feel a bit more real, because don't we all know a gazillion people?  And, bonus, you feel proud of yourself just for remembering them all. 
     Oh, yeah, and this is the second book of a triology, I think.  The third one is called "The Genius Wars."  Sounds promising, no? 
     I would strongly recommend reading this story of a villain turned semi-do-gooder.  Science fiction has never been so down-to-Earth (sorry, I had to), and the genre of fantastical crime has never seemed so feasible.  Start putting up firewalls, CEOs of fraud companies, because the Genius Squad is coming for you. 

The author has her website at www.catherinejinks.com.  New books, old books, kid's books, and author's bio.  You know.  The usual.